Office of the Historian

94. Memorandum From Secretary of State Rusk to President Kennedy0

Washington, June 15, 1962.

SUBJECT

  • Proposed Visit of Hasan al-Rida al-Sanusi, Crown Prince of Libya

I recommend that Hasan al-Rida al-Sanusi, Crown Prince of Libya, be invited to visit the United States officially in November 1962, or, if more convenient, in the Spring of 1963. Despite our considerable strategic interests in Libya, represented particularly by Wheelus Air Base, and our growing economic interests there in consequence of the recent discovery and development by American companies of extensive petroleum reserves, we have not had a visit by the Libyan Chief of State, 72-year-old King Idris I, who has an aversion to travel outside his kingdom. The Crown Prince’s visit would serve as a substitute for a State Visit by the King and would reinforce the favorable disposition towards the United States of the young man who is scheduled to be Libya’s next Chief of State. It would also, by enhancing the Crown Prince’s prestige among the Libyan people, improve the chances for an orderly succession on the death or abdication of King Idris; we feel that a continuation of the Libyan constitutional monarchy under Hasan al-Rida represents the best available means for ensuring the continued unity, independence, and stability of Libya under circumstances most favorable to United States interests there. Finally, the visit would serve as a dramatic demonstration to the Libyan people of the close ties between the two countries and as a reminder, at a time when Libya is on the verge of financial independence from oil revenues, of the value Libya has received in the form of aid in the past and may expect to derive in other forms in the future from close cooperation with the United States.

I would expect that your participation in the visit, which will consist of two days in Washington and several days outside the capital, would be limited to hosting a State luncheon, followed by a meeting, attending a return reception at Blair House and receiving the Crown Prince again at the White House prior to his departure from Washington. We do not anticipate any substantive talks.

[Page 140]

I request your approval of the visit and your authorization to extend the invitation.1

Dean Rusk2
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 773.11/6-1562. Confidential. Drafted by Post (AF/AFN) on June 12 and approved by the White House on June 22.↩
  2. On July 3, the Department of State notified the Embassy in Benghazi that the White House had approved a “modified official visit” for the Crown Prince to commence November 13, and transmitted a letter of invitation from the President to the Crown Prince to be formally delivered once his agreement on the date had been obtained. (Telegram 1 to Benghazi; ibid., 773.11/7-362) After Embassy discussions with the Crown Prince, the date of his arrival in the United States was changed to October 16. (Telegram 14 to Benghazi, August 1; ibid., 773.11/8-162)↩
  3. Printed from a copy that indicates Rusk signed the original.↩