Jalloud was a classmate of Gaddafi. Major Abdessalam Jalloud entered the military academy of Benghazi where they formed the hard core of the "free officers" who staged a military coup in September 1969 launching the Libyan revolution. Jalloud became Gaddafi’s adviser and deputy chairman of the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). He was entrusted with the supervision of the oil sector, which represented 96% of the country's income. In September 1970 Jalloud succeeded in imposing a rise in oil prices to all companies operating in Libya, opening the way for the other oil producers and for the subsequent rises of the 1970s. The same year, Jalloud also succeeded in negotiating for the evacuation of American and British military bases from Libya. During the negotiations for the evacuation of the American Air Force base at Wheelus, on the outskirts of Tripoli, the then 25-year-old Jalloud, dressed in military regalia, was advised by the American diplomatic envoy leading the U.S. delegation that he could not negotiate, "under the gun," nor, in the clamorous atmosphere of the hundreds of Libyan protesters who had been gathered outside the venue, loudly refusing to depart the scene prior to an evacuation date being set. Jalloud exited the room and removed his pistol, returning to state, "As for the demonstrators, you take your orders from the U.S. Government while I take mine from those voices outside." American troops were subsequently evacuated and Wheelus was handed over to the Libyans, on 11 June 1970.