Didn't some polls say he had the support of about 90% of the 'common people'. If he was allowing the US to torture people there it was most likely Americans who were doing the actual torture. As far as hie lifestyle and those of the 'leaders' what Nation does suffer from the same type of corruption, the leaders of companies and politics and the military had a lifestyle that would be envious of the common person, even when Russia went bankrupt the upper ones didn't endure any financial hardships.
If he came to power in 1969 and thingsa improved in the 1970's then who was running the place before then and were they 'sub-servant' to the US in the same way the Shaw of Iran was from 1963-1978? That would make him a rebel who won against the US and everybody knows the US never likes to lose something they consider as being theirs, ask Cuba and Iran and Venezuela.
(in part)
In April 1955, oil exploration started in the kingdom with its first oil fields being discovered in 1959. The first exports began in 1963 with the discovery of oil helping to transform the Libyan economy, although imposing a
resource curse on Libya. Although oil drastically improved Libya's finances, popular resentment grew as wealth was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the elite.
On 25 April 1963, the federal system of government was abolished and in line with this the name of the country was changed to the
Kingdom of Libya to reflect the constitutional changes.
As was the case with other African nations following independence, the remaining
Italian settlers in Libya held many of the best jobs, owned the best farmland and ran the most successful businesses.
The monarchy came to an end on 1 September 1969 when a group of military officers led by
Muammar al-Gaddafi staged a coup d’état against King Idris while he was in
Turkey for medical treatment. The revolutionaries arrested the army chief of staff and the head of security in the kingdom. After hearing about the coup, King Idris dismissed it as "unimportant" while it was initially reported (falsely) that the Crown Prince
Hasan as-Senussi had announced his support for the new regime.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Libya#Kingdom_of_Libya_.281951-1969.29