Muammar al-Gaddafi

**Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi**( Romanized: **' ) ( – 20 October 2011), commonly referred to as **Colonel Gaddafi_', was a Libyan politician and statesman. He ruled Libya from 1969 to 2011, when he was killed in the revolts of the Arab Spring.

## Early life

Muammar al-Gaddafi was born in a tent near Qasr Abu Hadi. His family came from a small tribal group called Qadhadhfa. His family were Arabized Berber people in heritage. He joined the Libyan military in 1961; the military was one of the few ways for lower class Libyans like him to rise in social status. He became a colonel.

## Ruler of Libya

Gaddafi became head of state of Libya after removing King Idris from power in a 1969 bloodless coup. He ruled Libya from September 1, 1969 to August 23, 2011. After the coup, Gaddafi established the Libyan Arab Republic. He was one of the longest-serving non royal rulers in history, because he had ruled for more than 41 years. Gaddafi used Arab socialist and Arab nationalist ideas. He published a book about his philosophical views in 1975. This book is commonly known as _The Green Book''. In 1977, he left the power of Libya, and continued playing role of revolutionary. People called him the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution".

The Libyan Arab Republic was renamed to the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in 1977 later it was renamed again to the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya by Gaddafi in 1986.

In the 1980s, he made chemical weapons, because of it critics called Libya a pariah state. A Dutch investigation found that Gaddafi had built up a "billion-dollar empire", from assets in an international company in the oil industry. It also claims that his assets are scattered throughout much of Europe, Despite no trace or proof for even 1 billion have been found. Gaddafi had a strong interest in geo-political control, was a firm supporter of [OPEC] and led a Pan-African campaign for a United States of Africa. In 1986 Libya was bombed by the United States, the home of Gaddafi was also  targeted but he survived. The bombing was condemned by many nations and also by UN.

In 1988, the United Nations put economic sanctions onto Libya. Gaddafi started to have closer economic and security relations with the West. He cooperated with investigations into alleged Libyan anti-western acts, by 1999 he offered to dismantle weapon of mass destruction of Libya, which would be inspected in 2003. As a result, the UN sanctions were lifted in the same year.

Gaddafi was elected Chairperson of the African Union in 2009.

## 2011 Libyan protests

In February 2011 there were major violent protests against Libyan government. These came alongside other demonstrations in Tunisia, Egypt, and other parts of the Arab world. The protests quickly turned into a civil war. Gaddafi vowed to "die a martyr" if necessary in his fight against rebels and external forces; he also said that "peaceful protest is one thing but armed rebellion is another."

## Accusal of Crimes

On 17 May 2011 the International Criminal Court issued a request for an arrest warrant against Gaddafi for alleged crimes against humanity, which was approved on 27 June and a warrant was issued by the court. In June 2011, according to investigation made by Amnesty International, it was found that there was no evidence for many of the alleged crimes, and that the rebels had falsely blamed Gaddafi as well as the government. He was accused of ordering the Lockerbie bombing in Scotland that killed over 200 people. The bombing targeted a civilian plane and it was downed.

## Downfall and assassination

Gaddafi faced a tumultuous downfall in 2011 during the Arab Spring. Protests and rebel forces opposed his rule, leading to a NATO intervention. Gaddafi's forces clashed with rebels, and he eventually fled Tripoli. The Libyan Civil War (2011) erupted in February. The aim was to remove Gaddafi from power. Gaddafi was captured and shot dead by NATO backed rebels in Sirte, Libya, on 20 October 2011. Sirte was the last stronghold of the Gaddafi regime, marking the end of his authoritarian regime.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **honorific-prefix**: Colonel
- **name**: Muammar Gaddafi
- **image**: Muammar al-Gaddafi at the AU summit.jpg
- **caption**: Muammar al-Gaddafi at an African Union Summit in 2009
- **office**: List of heads of state of Libya, Leader and Guide of the Revolution
- **term start**: 1 September 1969
- **term end**: 23 August 2011
- **predecessor**: Position established
- **successor**: Mustafa Abdul Jalil (Chairman of the National Transitional Council)
- **office2**: List of heads of state of Libya, Secretary General of the General People's Congress of Libya
- **primeminister2**: Abdul Ati al-Obeidi
- **term start2**: 2 March 1977
- **term end2**: 2 March 1979
- **predecessor2**: Position established
- **successor2**: Abdul Ati al-Obeidi
- **office3**: List of heads of government of Libya, Prime Minister of Libya
- **term start3**: 16 January 1970
- **term end3**: 16 July 1972
- **predecessor3**: Mahmud Sulayman al-Maghribi
- **successor3**: Abdessalam Jalloud
- **office4**: List of heads of state of Libya, Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya
- **primeminister4**: Mahmud Sulayman al-Maghribi
Abdessalam Jalloud
Abdul Ati al-Obeidi
- **term start4**: 1 September 1969
- **term end4**: 2 March 1977
- **predecessor4**: Idris of Libya, Idris*
- **successor4**: Position abolished
- **office5**: Chairperson of the African Union
- **term start5**: 2 February 2009
- **term end5**: 31 January 2010
- **predecessor5**: Jakaya Kikwete
- **successor5**: Bingu wa Mutharika
- **birth place**: Qasr Abu Hadi, Italian Libya
- **death place**: Sirt, Libya
- **spouse**: Fatiha al-Nuri <small>(divorced)</small>
Safia Farkash
<small>(m. 1970–2011, his death)</small>
- **footnotes**: *As List of heads of state of Libya, King of Libya
- **signature**: Muammar al-Gaddafi Signature.svg
- **allegiance**: Kingdom of Libya <small>(1961–69)</small>
 Libyan Arab Republic <small>(1969–77)</small>
 Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya <small>(1977–2011)</small>
- **branch**: Libyan Army
- **serviceyears**: 1961–2011
- **rank**: Colonel
- **commands**: Commander-in-chief, Libyan Armed Forces
- **battles**: Libyan–Egyptian War
Chadian–Libyan conflict
Uganda–Tanzania War
2011 Libyan civil war
- **native name lang**: ar