June 06, 2006

Moses '55 and his royal limo

Today’s Springfield Republican has an article about Abraham Moses ‘55 and his unique car: a late-50s Mercedes previously owned by King Idrus of Libya.

Moses became acquainted with the King’s family when he served in Libya as a local government liason for the U.S. Air Force after graduating from Amherst, and renewed his acquaintance with them while working in North Africa for Occidental Petroleum, Northrop Corp, and Chase Manhattan Bank. When the King and Queen decided, after a bloodless coup sent them into exile in Egypt, that the car was a liability, Moses offered to buy it. Instead, the King gave it to him as a gift.

Although it is a car fit for royalty, Moses didn’t drive it much. Every year or so, [he] might put some gas in the black four-door sedan and drive it to the Amherst-Williams football game.

Whether or not Amherst won, the car gave the Williams alumni something to chew on. Those who could read Arabic surely did a double-take at the license plate: “Special for the King.”

Last year, Moses offered the car back to the Libyan government, and this week the Mercedes began its trip back to Libya, where Moses will be on hand to see it put on display in the National Museum.

Parker Morse '96 | June 6, 2006 09:28 AM | Alumni