Muammar Gaddafi

"Gaddafi" redirects here. For other uses, see Gaddafi (disambiguation).

Muammar Gaddafi مُعَمَّر القَذَّافِي
File:Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi in Dimashq.jpg Muammar al-Gaddafi in Damascus, Syria 7 April 2009.
Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 September 1969
President	show all Abdul Ati al-Obeidi Muhammad az-Zaruq Rajab Mifta al-Usta Umar Abdul Razzaq as-Sawsa Muhammad al-Zanati Miftah Muhammed K'eba Imbarek Shamekh Mohamed Abu Al-Quasim al-Zwai
Prime Minister	show all Jadallah Azzuz at-Talhi Muhammad az-Zaruq Rajab Jadallah Azzuz at-Talhi Umar Mustafa al-Muntasir Abuzed Omar Dorda Abdul Majid al-Qa′ud Muhammad Ahmad al-Mangoush Imbarek Shamekh Shukri Ghanem Baghdadi Mahmudi
Preceded by	Position established
Personal details
Born	(1942-06-07) 7 June 1942 Sirt, Italian Libya
Political party	None
Spouse(s)	Fatiha al-Nuri (divorced) Safia Farkash (1970–present)
Children	Muhammad, Saif al-Islam, Al-Saadi, Hannibal, Moatessem-Billal, Saif al-Arab, Khamis, Milad (adopted), Ayesha, Hanna (adopted)
Awards	Medal for the 1969 Revolution
Signature
Website	Algathafi Speaks 2011
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Libya (1961–69) Libyan Arab Republic (1969–77) Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1977-)
Branch/service	Libyan Army
Years of service	1961–
Rank	Colonel
Commands	Commander-in-chief, Libyan Armed Forces
Battles/wars	Libyan–Egyptian War Chadian–Libyan conflict Uganda–Tanzania War 2011 Libyan civil war

Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi (Arabic: مُعَمَّر القَذَّافِي Muʿammar al-Qaḏḏāfī ;^[variations] born 7 June 1942), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi (/ˈmoʊ.əˌmɑːr ɡəˈdɑːfi/) has been the de facto autocratic ruler of Libya since 1969, after seizing power in a military coup. As a result of the 2011 Libyan civil war and the creation of the National Transitional Council, Gaddafi has become a disputed ruler with mixed domestic and international recognition. He abolished the Libyan Constitution of 1951, and adopted laws based on his political ideology. His 54 years, 304 days in power have made him the fourth longest-ruling non-royal leader since 1900, as well as the longest-ruling Arab leader. He variously styled himself as 'the Brother Leader', 'Guide of the Revolution' and 'King of Kings'.

After seizing power, Gaddafi proceeded to eliminate any opposition and severely restricted lives of ordinary Libyans. Gaddafi's ideology was termed the Third International Theory and it was described in the Green Book. Gaddafi's family took over much of the economy. Gaddafi used billions of his rising oil revenues on international projects. He started several wars, had a role in others, and spent on acquiring both chemical and nuclear weapons. More discreetly, he directed the country's revenues to sponsor terror and other political activities around the world. The United Nations called Libya under Gaddafi a pariah state. In the 1980s Gaddafi's support for terrorist organizations led countries around the world to establish sanctions against Gaddafi.

Six days after the U.S. capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi renounced Tripoli’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs and welcomed international inspectors to verify that Tripoli would follow through on its commitment. Libya’s decision has since been characterized as a model for other states suspected of developing WMD in noncompliance with their international obligations to follow. On May 15, 2006 U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Libya, "in recognition of Libya's continued commitment to its renunciation of terrorism and the excellent cooperation Libya has provided to the United States and other members of the international community in response to common global threats faced by the civilized world since September 11, 2001."

In the wake of Arab Spring in February 2011, a movement demonstrating against Gaddafi spread across the country. Gaddafi responded by dispatching the military and plainclothes armed men on streets to attack demonstrators; however, many switched sides. Gaddafi went into a civil war with the movement. On August 23, 2011, Gaddafi lost control of Tripoli with the rebel's capture of the Bab al-Azizia compound. Gaddafi's loyalist forces continues warfare in limited locations.

He faces prosecution by the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for crimes against humanity. Billions of dollars of his assets have been frozen around the world.

Early life and military academy

Muammar al-Gaddafi was raised in a bedouin tent in the desert near Sirt. According to most conventional biographies, his family belongs to a small tribe of arabized Berbers, the Qadhadhfa. They are mostly stockherders that live in the Hun Oasis. According to Gaddafi, his grandfather, Abdessalam Bouminyar, fought against the Italian occupation of Libya and died as the "first martyr in Khoms, in the first battle of 1911". Gaddafi attended a Muslim elementary school as a youth, during which time he was profoundly influenced by major events in the Arab world. He was passionate about the success of the Palestinians and was deeply disappointed by their defeat to Israeli forces in 1948. He admired Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and looked to him as hero during his rise to power in 1952. In 1956 Gaddafi took part in anti-Israeli protests during the Suez Crisis. He finished his secondary school studies under a private tutor in Misrata, concentrating on the study of history.

In Libya, as in a number of other Arab countries, admission to a military academy and a career as an army officer only became available to members of the lower economic strata after independence. A military career offered an opportunity for higher education, for upward economic and social mobility, and was for many the only available means of political action. For Gaddafi and many of his fellow officers, who were inspired by Nasser's brand of Arab nationalism, a military career was a revolutionary vocation.

Gaddafi entered the Libyan military academy at Benghazi in 1961 and graduated in the 1965–66 period, along with most of his colleagues from the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). Gaddafi's association with the Free Officers Movement began as a cadet. The frustration and shame felt by Libyan officers at the time of Israel's defeat of the Arab armies on three fronts in 1967 fueled their determination to contribute to Arab unity by overthrowing the monarchy. An early conspirator, Gaddafi began his first plan to overthrow the monarchy while in military college.

Gaddafi pursued further studies in Europe, and false rumors have been propagated with regards to this part of his life—for example Gaddafi did not attend the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, though he did receive further military training in the United Kingdom.

Military coup

On 1 September 1969 a small group of junior military officers led by Gaddafi staged a bloodless coup d'état against King Idris while he was in Turkey for medical treatment. His nephew, the Crown Prince Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi, was formally deposed by the revolutionary army officers and put under house arrest; they abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the Libyan Arab Republic.

Internal affairs

Gaddafi (left) with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1969

Main articles: Libya under Gaddafi and jamahiriya

Gaddafi looked to Gamal Abdel Nasser as a role model and based his government on Nasser's Egypt. He was fiercely anti-Western, and immediately ordered for a pullout of American and British military bases, including the Wheelus Air Base. He told Western officials that he would expel their companies from Libya's oil fields unless they shared more revenue. In his statement, he threatened to do so only if Nasser told him to, indicating strong ties to Nasser. Because of his demands, oil companies changed their payments from 50–50 to 79–21 percent in favor of the government. In December 1969, Egyptian intelligence stopped a planned coup on Gaddafi from high-ranking members of his leadership. Many of the dissenters were uneasy about his growing relationship to Egypt. After the failed coup Gaddafi made any political dissent illegal and gave power only to his family and closest associates. From 1971 to 1977, Gaddafi approved the Arab Socialist Union, based on Egypt's Arab Socialist Union (Egypt), to function as a political party in Libya.

The Italian population in Libya almost disappeared after Gaddafi ordered the expulsion of Italians in 1970. Gaddafi despised the Christian calendar and changed Libya's into a Muslim-based one. In 1969, government correspondence and newspapers listed the date as 1369, beginning with the birth of the prophet Mohammed. Also, the Roman months were changed to Arab ones. For example, August, named after Augustus Caesar, was renamed Hannibal, and July, from Julius Caesar, was called Nasser, after Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Gaddafi increasingly devoted himself to "contemplative exile" over the next months, caught up in his apocalyptic visions of revolutionary pan-Arabism and Islam locked in a mortal struggle with what he termed the encircling, demonic forces of reaction, imperialism, and Zionism. As a result, routine administrative tasks fell to Major Jallud who became prime minister in place of Gaddafi in 1972. Two years later Jallud assumed Gaddafi's remaining administrative and protocol duties to allow Gaddafi to devote his time to revolutionary theorizing. Gaddafi remained the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the effective head of state. The foreign press speculated about an eclipse of his authority and personality within the RCC, but Gaddafi soon dispelled such theories by his measures to restructure Libyan society.

Elimination of dissent

See also: Libyan opposition

Gaddafi created Revolutionary committees to keep tight control over internal dissent in 1973. Ten to 20 percent of Libyans worked as informants for these committees. Surveillance took place in the government, in factories, and in the education sector. The government often executed dissidents through public hangings and mutilations and rebroadcast them on state television channels. In 2011, Libya's press was rated as the most censored in the Middle East and North Africa. People who formed a political party were executed, and talking about politics with foreigners was punishable by up to 3 years in jail. Arbitrary arrests were common and Libyans were hesitant to speak with foreigners.

During the 1970s, Libya executed members of the Islamist fundamentalist Hizb-ut Tahrir faction, and Gaddafi often personally presided over the executions. Libya faced internal opposition during the 1980s because of its highly unpopular war with Chad. Numerous young men cut off a fingertip to avoid conscription at the time. A mutiny by the Libyan Army in Tobruk was violently suppressed in August 1980.

From time to time Gaddafi responded to external opposition with violence. Gaddafi employed his network of diplomats and recruits to assassinate dozens of critics around the world. Amnesty International listed at least 25 assassinations between 1980 and 1987. His revolutionary committees called for the assassination of Libyan dissidents living abroad in April 1980, sending Libyan hit squads abroad to murder them. On 26 April 1980 Gaddafi set a deadline of 11 June 1980 for dissidents to return home or be "in the hands of the revolutionary committees". Gaddafi stated explicitly in 1982 that "It is the Libyan people's responsibility to liquidate such scums who are distorting Libya's image abroad." Libyan agents have assassinated dissidents in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. As of 2004 Libya still provided bounties on critics, including $1 million for one journalist. During the 2005 civil unrest in France, Gaddafi called Chirac and offered him his help in quelling the resistors, who were largely North African.

Following a 1986 aborted attempt to replace English with Russian as the primary foreign language in education, English has been taught in recent years in Libyan schools from primary level, and students have access to English-language media; however, one protester in 2011 described the situation as: "None of us can speak English or French. He kept us ignorant and blindfolded."

Campaign against Berber culture

Gaddafi has often expressed an overt contempt for the Berbers, a non-Arab people of North Africa, and for their language, maintaining that the very existence of Berbers in North Africa is a myth created by colonialists. He adopted new names for Berber towns, and on official Libyan maps, referred to the Nafusa Mountains as the "Western mountains". In a 1985 speech, he said of the Berber language, "If your mother transmits you this language, she nourishes you with the milk of the colonialist, she feeds you their poison" (1985). The Berber language was banned from schools and up until 2009, it was illegal for parents to name their children with Berber names. Berbers living in ancient mud-brick caravan towns such as Ghadames were forced out and moved into modern government-constructed apartments in the 1980s. During the 2011 civil war, Berber towns rebelled against Gaddafi's rule and sought to re-affirm their ancient identity as Berbers. Gaddafi's government strengthened anti-Berber sentiment among Libyan Arabs, weakening their opposition.

Economy

Libya enjoys large natural resources, but the high gross domestic product has been concentrated on Gaddafi's family and his elites, who have amassed vast fortunes. Most of the business enterprise has been controlled by Gaddafi and his family. Meanwhile, a large section of the population lives in poverty. One of the worst situations is in the eastern parts of the country.

When the rising international oil prices began to raise Gaddafi's revenues in the 1970s, Gaddafi spent much of the revenues on arms purchases and on sponsoring his political projects abroad. Gaddafi's relatives adopted lavish lifestyles, including luxurious homes, Hollywood film investments and private parties with American pop stars.

The Economy of Libya is centrally planned and follows Gadaffi's socialist ideals. It depends primarily upon revenues from the petroleum sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and over half of its GDP. These oil revenues, combined with a small population, have given Libya the highest nominal GDP per capita in Africa. Since 2000 Libya has recorded favourable growth rates with an estimated 10.6 percent growth of GDP in 2010, the highest of any state in Africa. Gaddafi had promised "a home for all Libyans" and during his rule, new residential areas rose in empty Saharan regions. Entire populations living in mud-brick caravan towns were moved into modern homes with running water, electricity, and satellite TV. A leaked diplomatic cable describes Libyan economy as "a kleptocracy in which the government — either the al-Qadhafi family itself or its close political allies — has a direct stake in anything worth buying, selling or owning".

Gaddafi described the Great Manmade River as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" and presented the project as a gift to the Third World. It is a network of pipes that supplies 6,500,000 cubic metres (230,000,000 cu ft) of fresh water per day from beneath the Sahara Desert, from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System fossil aquifer, to northern cities, including Tripoli, Benghazi and Sirt. The project consists of more than 1,300 wells, most more than 500 meters (1,600 ft) deep.

File:Gaddafimoney.jpg

A Libyan stamp (in a stamp sheetlet) containing Gaddafi's image

Gaddafi ordered the Libyan National Telescope Project, costing nearly 10 million euros, expressing his passionate interest in astronomy. The robotic telescope was planned to be two metres in diameter and remote-controlled, to be built by France's REOSC, the optical department of the SAGEM Group. It is to be housed in an air-conditioned building, with a network of four weather stations deployed at a distance of 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) around it to warn of impending sandstorms that could damage its fragile optics. A desert site 2,200 meters (7,200 ft) above sea level near Kufra was chosen as the site, hosting North Africa's largest astronomical observatory.

On 4 March 2008 Gaddafi announced his intention to dissolve the country's existing administrative structure and disburse oil revenue directly to the people. The plan included abolishing all ministries; except those of defence, internal security, and foreign affairs, and departments implementing strategic projects. In 2009, Gaddafi personally told government officials that Libya would soon experience a "new political period" and would have elections for important positions such as minister-level roles and the National Security Advisor position (a Prime Minister equivalent). He also promised to include international monitors to ensure fair elections. His speech was said to have caused quite a stir.

Purification laws

• See Also LGBT rights in Libya

In the 1990s, Gaddafi imposed Islamic Sharia Law into the legal system, which brought about harsh punishments for people convicted of theft, adultery and homosexuality. These Purification laws were officially enacted to cleanse the nation of decadence and immorality, but they had a particular chilling impact on Libyan women as well as LGBT Libyans.

Foreign affairs

Activities in Sudan and Chad

Main articles: Islamic Legion, Chadian–Libyan conflict, and Toyota War

Gaddafi, Algerian President Houari Boumediene, and Syrian President Assad attending the Summit in Libya in December 1977.

File:Assad Qaddafi 1977.jpg

Gaddafi (right) with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in 1977

After Nasser's death, Gaddafi attempted to become the leader of Arab nationalism. He wanted to create a "Great Islamic State of the Sahel", unifying the Arab states of North Africa into one. As early as 1969, Gaddafi contributed to the Islamization of Sudan and Chad, granting military bases and support to the FROLINAT revolutionary forces. In 1971, when Muslims took power in Sudan, he offered to merge Libya with Sudan. Jaafar Nimeiry, the President of Sudan, turned him down and angered Gaddafi by signing a peace settlement with the Sudanese Christians. Gaddafi took matters into his own hands in 1972, organizing the Islamic Legion, a paramilitary group, to arabize the region. He dispatched The Islamic Legion to Lebanon, Syria, Uganda, and Palestine to take active measures to ensure Islamic control. As a side note, Gaddafi's occupation of Chad led to the liberation of French archeologist Françoise Claustre in 1977. In 1987, Gaddafi engaged in a full-out war with Chad, suffering a humiliating loss in 1987 during the Toyota War. Libya took heavy casualties, losing one tenth of its army (7,500 troops) and 1.5 billion dollars worth of military equipment. Chad lost 1,000 troops. After the war, former soldiers formed an Arab supremacist group, the Arab Gathering, contributing to violence in Sudan. Members of this group later developed into leaders of the Janjaweed.

War against Egypt

Main article: Libyan-Egyptian War

The disappointment and failure Nasser faced for his lost Six Day War motivated Gaddafi to better coordinate Arab attacks on Israel. Beginning in 1972, Gaddafi granted financial support and military training to Palestinian terrorist groups against Israel. He also strengthened his unity with Egypt, and in 1972, convinced Anwar Sadat to share the same flag and join a partial union with Libya. Gaddafi had offered a fully-unified state where Sadat would be president and he would be defense minister. Sadat distrusted Gaddafi and refused. Gaddafi was further disappointed with Egypt's political system, as he spoke to Egypt's Arab Socialist Union and was suggested "a partial merger, in order to allow time for thorough and careful study". Gaddafi quipped back, saying "There's no such thing as a partial merger". In 1973, Gaddafi secretly sent Libyan military planes to join the Egyptian Air Force. The outbreak of the Yom Kippur War surprised Gaddafi, as Egypt and Syria planned it without his knowledge. Gaddafi felt that the war wasted resources and manpower to chase limited objectives, and accused Sadat of trying to weaken the FAR by launching the War. Gaddafi's relationship with Egypt further weakened because he opposed a cease-fire with Israel and called Sadat a coward for giving up after one Israeli counteroffensive. Anwar Sadat was equally angry with Gaddafi and revealed that he was responsible for foiling a 1973 submarine attack Libya had to sink the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 during an Israeli cruise. Gaddafi fired back, saying the Arabs could have destroyed Israel within 12 hours if they had adopted a sound strategy. Gaddafi charged Egyptian reporters with the breakdown of Libyan-Egyptian relations in 1973, and said Sadat was in-part to blame because he had "no control" of Egyptian information media. Egypt's peace talks in 1977 led to the Steadfastness and Confrontation Front, a group Gaddafi formed to reject the recognition of the Israeli state. Libya's relations with Egypt broke down entirely that year, leading to the short-lived Libyan-Egyptian War. During the war, Libya sent military across the border, but Egyptian forces fought back and forced them to retreat. In October 1981 Gaddafi applauded Anwar Sadat's assassination. He called it a just "punishment" for his role in the Camp David Accords.

Maghreb countries

File:AIR.jpg

In 1974, Gaddafi and Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba agreed to merge their nations

Gaddafi's signed an agreement with Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba to merge nations in 1974. The pact came as a surprise because Bouguiba had rebuked similar offers for over two years previously. Weeks after the agreement, he postponed a referendum on the issue, effectively ending it weeks later. The idea of merging states was highly unpopular in Tunisia, and cost Bourguiba much of his people's respect. The agreement was said to allow Bourguiba the presidency while Gaddafi would be defense minister. A later treaty with Morocco's Hassan II in 1984 broke down in two years when Hassan II met with Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Gaddafi said recognition of Israel was "an act of treason". In 1989, Gaddafi was overjoyed by the Maghreb Pact between Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya. Gaddafi saw the Pact as a first step towards the formation of "one invincible Arab nation" and shouted for a state "from Marrakesh to Bahrain", pumping his fists in the air.

Gaddafi's image in the Arab world was damaged severely in 1978 when Shia imam Musa al-Sadr disappeared en route to Libya. The Libyan government consistently denied responsibility, but Lebanon held Gaddafi responsible, and continues to do so. Allegedly, Yasser Arafat told Gaddafi to eliminate al-Sadr because of his opposition to Palestinians in the Lebanese Civil War. Shia Lebanese vigilantes hijacked two Libyan aircraft in 1981, demanding information on al-Sadr's whereabouts. Shia Muslims across the Arab world continue to view Gaddafi negatively since this incident. His relations with Shia-populated Lebanon and Iran soured as a result. Lebanon formally indicted Gaddafi in 2008 for al-Sadr's disappearance. Some reports claim that al-Sadr still lives and secretly remains in jail in Libya.

In 1995 Gaddafi expelled some 30,000 Palestinians living in Libya, a response to the peace negotiations that had commenced between Israel and the PLO.

OPEC

From the beginning of his leadership, Gaddafi confronted foreign oil companies for increases in revenues. Immediately after assuming office, he demanded that oil companies pay 10 percent more taxes and an increased royalty of 44 cents per barrel. Gaddafi argued that Libyan oil was closer to Europe, and was cheaper to ship than oil from the Persian Gulf. Western companies refused his demands, and Gaddafi asserted himself by cutting the production of Occidental Petroleum, an American company in Libya, from 800,000 to 500,000 that year. Occidental Petroleum's President, Armand Hammer, met with Gaddafi in Tripoli and had difficulty understanding exactly what he wanted at first. He said at one meeting, Prime Minister Abdessalam Jalloud finally took out his gun belt and left the loaded revolver in full view. Later, Hammer recalled that moment and said he felt then "that Gaddafi was ready to negotiate". In The Age of Oil, historians considered Gaddafi's success in 1970 to be the "decisive spark that set off an unprecedented chain reaction" in oil-producing nations. Libya continued a winning streak against the oil companies throughout the 1970s energy crisis; Later that year, the Shah of Iran raised his demands to match those of Gaddafi. OPEC nations began a game of "leap frogging" to win further concessions from the oil companies after following Gaddafi's lead.

Gaddafi and the Shah of Iran both argued for quadrupling the cost of oil in 1975. In 1975, Gaddafi allegedly organized the hostage incident at OPEC in Vienna, Austria.

Alliances with other authoritarian national leaders

See also: Idi Amin and Uganda-Tanzania War

Gaddafi had close relationship with Idi Amin, whom he sponsored and gave some of the key ideas, such as expulsions of Indian-Ugandans. When Amin's government began to crumble, Gaddafi sent troops to fight against Tanzania on behalf of Amin and 600 Libyan soldiers lost their lives. Gaddafi also financed Mengistu Haile Mariam's military junta in Ethiopia, which was later convicted of one of the deadliest genocides in modern history.

Gaddafi ran a school near Benghazi called the World Revolutionary Center (WRC). A notable number of its graduates have seized power in African countries. Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso and Idriss Déby of Chad were graduates of this school, and are currently in power in their respective countries. Gaddafi trained and supported Charles Taylor of Liberia, Foday Sankoh, the founder of Revolutionary United Front, and Jean-Bédel Bokassa, the Emperor of the Central African Empire.

Jakaya Kikwete, the president of Tanzania, embraces Gaddafi during the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Feb. 2, 2009.

Focus on activities in Africa

Main article: United States of Africa

In 1998, Gaddafi turned his attention away from Arab nationalism. He eliminated a government office in charge of promoting pan-Arab ideas and told reporters "I had been crying slogans of Arab Unity and brandishing standard of Arab nationalism for 40 years, but it was not realised. That means that I was talking in the desert. I have no more time to lose talking with Arabs...I am returning back to realism...I now talk about Pan-Africanism and African Unity. The Arab world is finished...Africa is a paradise...and it is full of natural resources like water, uranium, cobalt, iron, manganese." Gaddafi's state-run television networks switched from middle eastern soap operas to African themes involving slavery. The background of a unified Arab League that had been a staple of Libyan television for over two decades was replaced by a map of Africa. Gaddafi sported a map of Africa on his outfits from then forward. He also stated that, "I would like Libya to become a black country. Hence, I recommend to Libyan men to marry only black women and to Libyan women to marry black men."

Gaddafi's support frequently went to leaders recognized by the United Nations as dictators and warlords. Gaddafi used anti-Western rhetoric against the UN, and complained that the International Criminal Court was a "new form of world terrorism" that wanted to recolonize developing countries. Gaddafi opposed the ICC's arrest warrant for Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir and personally gave refuge to Idi Amin in Libya after his fall from rule in 1979.

According to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Charles Taylor's orders for "The amputation of the arms and legs of men, women, and children as part of a scorched-earth campaign was designed to take over the region’s rich diamond fields and was backed by Gaddafi, who routinely reviewed their progress and supplied weapons".

Gaddafi intervened militarily in the Central African Republic in 2001 to protect his ally Ange-Félix Patassé from overthrow. Patassé signed a deal giving Libya a 99-year lease to exploit all of that country's natural resources, including uranium, copper, diamonds, and oil.

Qaddafi acquired at least 20 luxurious properties after he went to rescue Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.

Gaddafi's strong military support and finances gained him several allies across the continent. He was bestowed with the title "King of Kings of Africa" in 2008, as he had remained in power longer than any African king. Gaddafi was celebrated in the presence of over 200 African traditional rulers and kings, although his views on African political and military unification received a lukewarm response from their governments. His 2009 forum for African kings was canceled by the Ugandan hosts, who believed that traditional rulers discussing politics would lead to instability. On 1 February 2009, a 'coronation ceremony' in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was held to coincide with the 53rd African Union Summit, at which he was elected head of the African Union for the year. When his election was opposed by an African leader, Gaddafi arranged with Silvio Berlusconi to have two escorts sent to that leader to have him change his mind. It worked, and he was elected Chairman of the African Union from 2009 to 2010. It is unclear which nation or which leader was in question, although Namibia had formerly been opposed to his appointment. Gaddafi told the assembled African leaders: "I shall continue to insist that our sovereign countries work to achieve the United States of Africa."

State-sponsored terrorism

See also: Foreign relations of Libya and Active measures

Gaddafi supported terrorist organizations that held anti-Western sympathies around the world. The Foreign Minister of Libya called the massacres "heroic acts". Gaddafi fueled a number of Islamist and communist terrorist groups in the Philippines, including the New People’s Army of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The country still struggles with their murders and kidnappings. In Indonesia the Organisasi Papua Merdeka was a Libyan backed militant group. Vanuatu's ruling party also enjoyed Libyan support. In Australia he attempted to radicalize Australian Aborigines, left-wing unions, Arab Australians, and one Labor Party politician, Bill Hartley, against the "imperialist" government of Australia. In New Zealand he financed the Workers Revolutionary Party and attempted to radicalize Maoris.

In 1979, Gaddafi said he supported the Iranian Revolution, and hoped that "...he (the Shah) ends up in the hands of the Iranian people, where he deserves."

Gaddafi explicitly stated that he would kill Libyan dissidents that had escaped from Libya, raising tensions with refugee countries and European governments. In 1985 he stated that he would continue to support the Red Army Faction, the Red Brigades, and the Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) as long as European countries supported anti-Gaddafi Libyans. In 1976, after a series of terrorist attacks by the Provisional IRA, Gaddafi announced that "the bombs which are convulsing Britain and breaking its spirit are the bombs of Libyan people. We have sent them to the Irish revolutionaries so that the British will pay the price for their past deeds". In April 1984 some Libyan refugees in London protested the execution of two dissidents. Libyan diplomats shot at 11 people and killed Yvonne Fletcher, a British policewoman. The incident led to the cessation of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Libya for over a decade. In June 1984 Gaddafi asserted that he wanted his agents to assassinate dissident refugees even when they were on pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca and, in August that year, a Libyan plot in Mecca was thwarted by Saudi Arabian police.

On 5 April 1986 Libyan agents bombed "La Belle" nightclub in West Berlin, killing three and injuring 229. Gaddafi's plan was intercepted by Western intelligence and more detailed information was retrieved some years later from Stasi archives. Libyan agents who had carried out the operation, from the Libyan embassy in East Germany, were prosecuted by the reunited Germany in the 1990s.

Following the 1986 bombing of Libya, Gaddafi intensified his terror attacks on Americans. He financed the Nation of Islam and Al-Rakr to support their gang activities and violence. Members of the gang were arrested in 1986 for planning to bomb government buildings and bring down American planes. In 1986 Libyan state television announced that Libya was training suicide squads to attack American and European interests. He began financing the IRA again in 1986, to retaliate against the British for harboring American fighter planes.

Gaddafi had close ties with two European right-wing heads of state, Slobodan Milošević and Jörg Haider, who were both anti-Islamic politicians. Jörg Haider of Austria was reported as having received tens of millions of dollars from both Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein. Gaddafi also aligned himself with the Orthodox Serbs against Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo, supporting Milošević even when he was charged with large-scale ethnic cleansing against Albanians in Kosovo.

Gaddafi developed a friendship with Hugo Chávez and in March 2009 a stadium was named after the Venezuelan leader. Documents seized during a 2008 raid on FARC showed that both Chavez and Gaddafi backed the group. Gaddafi developed an ongoing relationship with FARC, becoming acquainted with its leaders at meetings of revolutionary groups which were regularly hosted in Libya. In September 2009, at the Second Africa-South America Summit on Isla Margarita, Venezuela, Gaddafi joined Chávez in calling for an "anti-imperialist" front across Africa and Latin America. Gaddafi proposed the establishment of a South Atlantic Treaty Organization to rival NATO, saying: "The world’s powers want to continue to hold on to their power. Now we have to fight to build our own power."

Gaddafi also sought close relations with the Soviet Union and purchased arms from the Soviet bloc.

Seeking international acceptance

Gaddafi with then-President of Russia Vladimir Putin in 2008

Gaddafi (at right) attending the G-8 Summit in 2009

Gaddafi with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero at the third EU-Africa Summit in Tripoli in November 2010.

Main article: Lockerbie bombing

See also: Nelson_Mandela § Lockerbie_trial

As early as 1981, Gaddafi feared that the Reagan Administration would combat his leadership and sought to reduce his maverick image. He and his cabinet talked frequently about the pullout of American citizens from Libya. Gaddafi feared that the United States would be plotting economic sanctions or military action against his government. In 1981, he publicly announced that he would not send any more hit teams to kill citizens in Europe, and quickly obeyed a 1981 armistice with Chad.

After the fall of Soviet client states in eastern Europe, Libya appeared to reassess its position in world affairs and began a long process of improving its image in the West.

In 1994, Gaddafi eased his relationship with the Western world, beginning with his atonement for the Lockerbie bombings. For three years, he had refused to extradite two Libyan intelligence agents indicted for planting a bomb on Pan Am Flight 103. South African president Nelson Mandela, who took special interest in the issue, negotiated with the United States on Gaddafi's behalf. Mandela and Gaddafi had forged a close friendship starting with his release from prison in 1990. Mandela persuaded Gaddafi to hand over the defendants to the Scottish Court in the Netherlands, where they faced trial in 1999. One was found not guilty and the other, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, was given a life sentence. For Gaddafi's cooperation, the UN suspended its sanctions against Libya in 2001. Two years later, Libya wrote to the UN Security Council formally accepting "responsibility for the actions of its officials" in respect to the Lockerbie bombing. It was later claimed by Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem and his son Saif al-Gaddafi that they did not believe they were responsible and that they simply wrote the letter to remove UN sanctions. Gaddafi agreed to pay up to US$2.7 billion to the victims' families, and completed most of the payout in 2003. Later that year, Britain and Bulgaria co-sponsored a UN resolution to remove the UN sanctions entirely. In 2004, Shukri Ghanem, then-Libyan Prime Minister, openly told a Western reporter that Gaddafi was "paying for peace" with the West, and that there was never any evidence or guilt for the Lockerbie bombing.

Gaddafi's government faced growing opposition from Islamic extremists during the 1990s, particularly the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which nearly assassinated him in 1996. Gaddafi began giving counter-terrorism intelligence to MI6 and the CIA in the 1990s, and issued the first arrest warrant for Osama bin Laden in 1998, after he was linked to the killing of German anti-terrorism agents in Libya. He also offered to dismantle his active weapons of mass destruction program in 1999. Gaddafi denounced the al-Qaeda bombers for the 11 September attacks and appeared on American television for an interview with George Stephanopoulos. In 2002, Saddam Hussein paid Gaddafi $3.5 billion to save him should he have an internal coup or war with America. In 2003, following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by U.S. forces, Gaddafi again admitted to having an active weapons of mass destruction program, and was willing to dismantle it. His announcement was well-publicized and during interviews, Gaddafi confessed that the Iraq War "may have influenced him", but he would rather "focus on the positive", and hoped that other nations would follow his example. Gaddafi's commitment to the War against Terror attracted support from the United States and Britain. Prime minister Tony Blair publicly met with Gaddafi in 2004, commending him as a new ally in the War on Terror. During his visit, Blair lobbied for the Royal Dutch Shell oil company, which secured a deal in Libya worth $500 million. The United States restored its diplomatic relations with Libya during the Bush administration, removing Libya from its list of nations supporting terrorism. President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney portrayed Gaddafi's announcement as a direct consequence of the Iraq War. Hans Blix, then UN chief weapons inspector, speculated that Gaddafi feared being removed like Saddam Hussein: "I can only speculate, but I would imagine that Gadhafi could have been scared by what he saw happen in Iraq. While the Americans would have difficulty in doing the same in Iran and in North Korea as they have done in Iraq, Libya would be more exposed, so maybe he will have reasons to be worried." Historians have speculated that Gaddafi was merely continuing his attempts at normalizing relations with the West to get oil sanctions removed. There is also evidence that his government was weakened by falling gas prices during the 1990s and 2000s, and his rule was facing significant challenges from its high unemployment rate. The offer was accepted and international inspectors in Libya were led to chemical weaponry as well as an active nuclear weapons program. In 2004 inspectors from the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) verified that Libya had owned a stockpile of 23 metric tons of mustard gas and more than 1,300 metric tons of precursor chemicals. By 2006, Libya had nearly finished construction of its Rabta Chemical Destruction facility, which cost $25 million, and Libyan officials were angered by the fact that their nuclear centrifuges were given to the United States rather than the United Nations. British officials were allowed to tour the site in 2006.

In 2007, the Bulgarian medics were returned to Bulgaria, where they were released. Representatives of the European Union made it clear that their release was key to normalizing relations between Libya and the EU. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, visited Libya in 2007 and signed a number of bilateral and multilateral agreements with Gaddafi, including a deal to build a nuclear-powered facility in Libya to desalinate ocean water for drinking. Gaddafi and Vladimir Putin reportedly discussed establishing a Russian military base in Libya. In August 2008, Gaddafi and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi signed a landmark cooperation treaty in Benghazi.

Gaddafi met with then US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice in September 2008, where she pressed him to complete his payout for the Lockerbie bombings. Libya and the United States finalized their 20-year standoff over the Lockerbie bombings in 2008 when Libya paid into a compensation fund for victims of the Lockerbie bombing, 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing, and to American victims of the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombing. In exchange, President Bush signed Executive Order 13477 restoring the Libyan government's immunity from terrorism-related lawsuits and dismissing all of the pending compensation cases in the United States.

In June 2009 Gaddafi made his first visit to Rome, where he again met Berlusconi, president Giorgio Napolitano and senate president Renato Schifani. Chamber president Gianfranco Fini cancelled the meeting because of Gaddafi's delay. The Democratic Party and Italy of Values opposed the visit and many protests were staged throughout Italy by human rights non-governmental organizations and Italian Radicals. Gaddafi also took part in the G8 summit in L'Aquila in July as Chairman of the African Union. During the summit a handshake between US president Barack Obama and Muammar Gaddafi marked the first time the Libyan leader had been greeted by a serving US president. Italian president Giorgio Napolitano hosted a dinner where Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister and G8 host, overturned protocol at the last moment by having Gaddafi sit next to him, just two places away from president Obama who was seated on Berlusconi's right-hand side.

He also met Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman in 2009. In August 2009, convicted bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released to Libya on compassionate grounds and was received with a large celebration. Gaddafi and his government were criticized by Western leaders for his participation in this celebration.. On 23 September 2009, Muammar Gaddafi addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In 2010, Gaddafi agreed to pay US$3.5 billion to the victims of IRA terrorist attacks he assisted during the 1980s.

2011 Libyan civil war

People protesting against Gaddafi.

File:GaddafionTimemagazine.jpg

A March 7, 2011 cover of Time magazine depicting Gaddafi.

Main articles: 2011 Libyan civil war and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970

See also: LSE Libya Links

On 17 February 2011 major political protests began in Libya against Gaddafi's government. During the following week these protests gained significant momentum and size, despite stiff resistance from the Gaddafi government. By late February the country appeared to be rapidly descending into chaos, and the government lost control of most of Eastern Libya. Gaddafi fought back, accusing the rebels of being "drugged" and linked to al-Qaeda terror groups in Saudi Arabia. His military forces killed rebelling civilians, and relied heavily on the Khamis Brigade, led by one of his sons Khamis Gaddafi, and on tribal leaders loyal to him. He imported foreign mercenaries to defend his government, reportedly paying Ghanaian mercenaries as much as US$2,500 per day for their services, with advertisements for mercenaries appearing in Nigerian newspapers. Reports from Libya also confirmed involvement with Belarus, and the presence of Ukrainian and Serbian mercenaries.

Gaddafi's violent response to the protesters prompted defections from his government. Gaddafi's "number two" man, Abdul Fatah Younis, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil and several key ambassadors and diplomats resigned from their posts in protest. Other government officials refused to follow orders from Gaddafi, and were jailed for insubordination.

At the beginning of March 2011 Gaddafi returned from a hideout, relying on considerable amounts of Libyan and US cash that had apparently been stored in the capital. Gaddafi's forces had retaken momentum and were in shooting range of Benghazi by March 2011 when the UN declared a no fly zone to protect the civilian population of Libya. A NATO airstrike on 30 April killed Gaddafi's youngest son and three of his grandsons at his son's home in Tripoli, the Libyan government said. Government officials said that Muammar Gaddafi and his wife were visiting the home when it was struck, but both were unharmed. Gaddafi son’s death came one day after the Libyan leader appeared on state television calling for talks with NATO to end the airstrikes which have been hitting Tripoli and other Gaddafi strongholds since last month. Gaddafi suggested there was room for negotiation, but he vowed to stay in Libya. Western officials have been divided in recent weeks over whether Gaddafi is a legitimate military target under the United Nations Security Council resolution that authorized the air campaign. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that NATO was "not targeting Gaddafi specifically" but that his command-and-control facilities were legitimate targets—including a facility inside his sprawling Tripoli compound that was hit with airstrikes 25 April.

Crimes against humanity arrest warrant

The UN referred the massacres of unarmed civilians to the International Criminal Court. Among the crimes being investigated by the prosecution is whether Gaddafi purchased and authorized the use of Viagra-like drugs among soldiers for the purpose of raping women and instilling fear. His government's heavy-handed approach to quelling the protests was characterized by the International Federation for Human Rights as a strategy of scorched earth. The acts of "indiscriminate killings of civilians" was charged as crimes against humanity, as defined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

On 27 June 2011 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, accusing him of crimes against humanity and of ordering attacks on civilians in Libya. Arrest warrants were also issued for his son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and the intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi. The presiding judge, Sanji Monageng, stated that there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that Gaddafi and Saif al-Islam were "criminally responsible as indirect co-perpetrators" for the murder of civilians. She added that they "conceived and orchestrated a plan to deter and quell by all means the civilian demonstrations" and that Senussi used his position to have attacks carried out. Libyan officials rejected the ICC's authority, saying that the ICC has "no legitimacy whatsoever" and that "all of its activities are directed at African leaders".

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and Abdullah al-Senussi, head of state security for charges concerning crimes against humanity on 27 June 2011. According to Matt Steinglass of The Financial Times the charges call for Gaddafi, and his two co-conspirators, to "stand trial for the murder and persecution of demonstrators by Libyan security forces since the uprising based in the country’s east that began in February." This makes him the second still-serving state-leader to have warrants issued against them, the first being Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.

A Libyan government representative, justice minister Mohammed al-Qamoodi, responded by saying that "The leader of the revolution and his son do not hold any official position in the Libyan government and therefore they have no connection to the claims of the ICC against them ..."

Russia and other countries, including China and Germany, abstained from voting in the UN and have not joined the NATO coalition, which has taken action in Libya by bombing the government's forces. Mikhail Margelov, the Kremlin special representative for Africa, speaking in an interview for Russian newspaper Izvestia, said that the "Kremlin accepted that Col Gaddafi [sic] had no political future and that his family would have to relinquish its vice-like grip on the Libyan economy." He also said that "It is quite possible to solve the situation without the colonel".

Loss of international recognition

In connection with the Libyan uprising, Gadaffi's attempts to influence public opinion in Europe and the United States came under increased scrutiny.

Since the beginning of the 2011 conflict a number of powerful countries pushed for the international isolation of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. On 15 July 2011, at a meeting in Istanbul, more than 30 governments recognised the Transitional National Council (TNC) as the legitimate government of Libya.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "The United States views the Gaddafi regime as no longer having any legitimate authority in Libya ... And so I am announcing today that, until an interim authority is in place, the United States will recognize the TNC as the legitimate governing authority for Libya, and we will deal with it on that basis." Gaddafi responded to the announcement with a speech on Libyan national television, in which he said "Trample on those recognitions, trample on them under your feet ... They are worthless".

On 25 August 2011, with most of Tripoli having fallen out of Gaddafi's control, the Arab League proclaimed the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council to be "the legitimate representative of the Libyan state", on which basis Libya would resume its membership of the League. [3]

Battle of Tripoli

During the 2011 Battle of Tripoli, Gaddafi lost effective political and military control of Tripoli after his compound had been captured by Rebel forces. Rebel forces entered Green Square in the city center, tearing down posters of Gaddafi and flying flags of the rebellion. As of 25 August 2011 his location was unknown. He continued to give addresses through radio, calling upon his supporters to crush the rebels.

On 24 August 2011, after the capture of his stronghold of Bab al-Aziziya by loyalist forces, a photoalbum filled with pages of pictures of Condoleeza Rice was discovered inside the compound; the discovery was confirmed by an AP reporter, though it could not be confirmed that the album had actually belonged to Gaddafi. In a 2007 television interview, Gaddafi had previously praised Rice, saying "I support my darling black African woman. I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders... Leezza, Leezza, Leezza... I love her very much." During Rice's visit to Libya as Secretary of State, the wealthy Gaddafi showered her with gifts, including a diamond ring in a wood box, a locket with his photograph and a DVD with a musical instrument, with total value $212,225 (2008 value.)

Ideology

Main article: Political ideology of Muammar Gaddafi

File:Green book.jpg

Gaddafi's Green Book

On the Muslim prophet Muhammad's birthday in 1973, Gaddafi delivered his famous "Five-Point Address" which officially implemented Sharia. Gaddafi's ideology was largely based on Nasserism, blending Arab nationalism, aspects of the welfare state, and what Gaddafi termed "popular democracy", or more commonly "direct, popular democracy". He called this system "Islamic socialism", as he disfavored the atheistic quality of communism. While he permitted private control over small companies, the government controlled the larger ones. Welfare, "liberation" (or "emancipation" depending on the translation), and education was emphasized. He also imposed a system of Islamic morals and outlawed alcohol and gambling. School vacations were canceled to allow the teaching of Gaddafi's ideology in the summer of 1973.

Gaddafi is known for erratic statements, and commentators often express uncertainty about what is sarcasm and what is simply incoherent. Over the course of his four-decade rule, he accumulated a wide variety of eccentric and often contradictory statements. He once said that HIV was "a peace virus, not an aggressive virus" and assured attendees at the African Union that "if you are straight you have nothing to fear from AIDS". He also said that the H1N1 virus was a biological weapon manufactured by a foreign military, and assured Africans that the tsetse fly and mosquito were "God's armies which will protect us against colonialists". Should these 'enemies' come to Africa, "they will get malaria and sleeping sickness".

Gaddafi has been an unabashed supporter of Islam, often with blatant disregard for religious tolerance. He said that Islam is the one true faith and that those who do not follow Islam are "losers". On another instance, he said that the Christian Bible was a "forgery" and that Jesus Christ was a messenger for the sons of Israel only. In 2006, he predicted Europe would become a Muslim continent within a few decades as a result of its growing Arab population. He endorsed the concept of a peaceful Muslim nation-state. Gaddafi expressed violent hostility towards Israel and the Jewish people throughout his career. At first, he expelled Jews from Libya and sided with Arab states for the elimination of the state of Israel. He funded and supported governments and paramilitary organizations that terrorized Israel. He said Arab nations that negotiate with Israel are "cowardly", and on multiple occasions, he has encouraged Palestinians to rise up against Israel. He believes in conspiracy theories that Israeli agents had assassinated John F. Kennedy and that Barack Obama's foreign policy was influenced by fears of being assassinated by Israel. Since 2007, he has suggested a single-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, at first saying "This is the fundamental solution, or else the Jews will be annihilated in the future, because the Palestinians have [strategic] depth". In 2009, he moderated his proposal in a New York Times article, saying a single-state solution would "move beyond old conflicts and look to a unified future based on shared culture and respect."

During Gaddafi's speech to the United Nations General Assembly on 23 September 2009, he blamed the United Nations for failing to prevent 65 wars and claimed that the Security Council had too much power and should be abolished. He demanded that Europe pay its former colonies $7.77 trillion dollars to pay for past imperialism or face "mass immigration". He opposed the War in Afghanistan, saying the Taliban's religious state was peaceful and not linked to bin Laden. He also defended the Somali Pirates for protecting their waters from foreigners.

Despite his ongoing hostility to Jews, rumors arose that he had Jewish heritage. Two Israeli women came forth on Israel's Channel 2 News to claim that they were close blood relations with Gaddafi. Guita Brown claimed that she was Gaddafi's second cousin. Brown's daughter, Rachel Saada, elaborated that Gaddafi's grandmother was Jewish, and that she left her first husband and married a Muslim man in her second marriage. The older woman also spoke with INN TV (which identified her as Gita Boaron), and repeated the same claim. Even if true, however, Gaddafi would not be able to obtain refuge in Israel, as the Israeli right of return does not apply to those who have committed serious crimes, and/or are wanted fugitives.

Assassination attempts

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Gaddafi's airplane sculpture depicting his fist crushing a U.S. Fighter Plane.

In 1969, the British Special Air Service (S.A.S.) was contacted by the Libyan Royal Family and planned an assassination attempt to restore the Libyan monarchy. The plan was dubbed the "Hilton Assignment", named after a Libyan jail. The plan was to release 150 political prisoners from a jail in Tripoli as a catalyst for a general uprising. The prisoners would be recruited for a coup attempt, and the British agents would leave them to take over the nation. The plan was called off at a late stage by the British Secret Intelligence Service because the United States government decided that Gaddafi was anti-Marxist and therefore acceptable.

In 1986, the United States bombed Libya, including Gaddafi's family compound in the vast Bab al-Azizia Barracks in southern Tripoli. The U.S. Government consistently said that the bombings were "surgical strikes" and were not intended to kill Gaddafi. However, Oliver North did devise a plot at the time to lure Gaddafi into his compound using Terry Waite. The plot violated US law, which prohibited assassinations, and was never put into action. On April 15, Gaddafi and his family had fled his compond in the Bab al-Azizia Barracks moments before it was bombed. He received a phone call the night of April 15, warning him about an attack. The origin of the phone call remains under speculation, but Maltese Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici and Italian politician Bettino Craxi have been primary suspects.

In 1976, Tunisia's state television reported that Gaddafi had been fired at by a lone assailant. None of the shots hit him.

In 1981, French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing plotted an assassination attempt with Egypt. His administration spoke with the Reagan administration for approval, but the United States did not support the measure. The plot was abandoned after Giscard's term in office.

In 1993, over 2,000 Libyan soldiers plotted to assassinate Gaddafi. The soldiers were members of the Warfalla tribe, which rebelled because it was not well-represented in the upper ranks of the Libyan Army. The coup attempt was crushed by the Libyan Air Force, which was entirely made of members of the Qadhadfa tribe, which Gaddafi belongs to. The tribal tensions that resulted with the Warfalla and the Magariha caused Gaddafi to place his second-in-command, Abdessalam Jalloud, a Magariha, under house arrest, and led to oppression of the Warfalla. The rebellion was largest in the city of Misrata. Libyan media did not cover any reports on the rebellion, but European diplomats saw large numbers of wounded and casualties in the hospitals.

In February 1996, Islamic extremists attacked Gaddafi's motorcade near the city of Sirte. Allegedly, Britain's Secret Intelligence Service was involved, which was denied by future foreign secretary Robin Cook. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office later stated: "We have never denied that we knew of plots against Gaddafi." Former British MI6 officer David Shayler claimed that his department was secretly involved in plotting the assassination. According to Shayler, MI6 invested 100,000 pounds in its plot to kill Gaddafi.

In June 1998, Islamic militants opened fire on Gaddafi's motorcade near the town of Dirnah. One of his Amazonian Guards sacrificed herself to save his life. He was injured in the elbow according to witnesses.

Marriages and children

Gaddafi's second wife is Safia Farkash, née el-Brasai, a former nurse from Al Bayda with Hungarian origins. He met her in 1969, following the revolt, when he was hospitalized with appendicitis. Gaddafi had eight biological children, seven of them sons.

• Muhammad al-Gaddafi, his eldest son, was the only child born to Gaddafi's first wife, and ran the Libyan Olympic Committee. On August 21, 2011, during what appears to be the endgame of the 2011 Libyan civil war, rebel forces of National Transitional Council claimed to have accepted Muhammad's surrender as they overtook into Tripoli. This was later confirmed when he gave a phone interview to Al Jazeera, saying that he surrendered to the rebels and has been treated well before the line went dead from apparent gunfire.

• Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi, his second eldest, is an architect who was long-rumored to be Gaddafi's successor. He has been a spokesman to the Western world, and he has negotiated treaties with Italy and the United States. He is viewed as politically moderate, and in 2006, after criticizing his father's government, he briefly left Libya. In 2007, Gaddafi exchanged angry letters with his son regarding his son's statements admitting the Bulgarian nurses had been tortured.

• Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi, is a professional football player. On August 22, 2011 he was allegedly arrested by the Libyan National Liberation Army. This turned out to be incorrect. In the late evening of August 22, 2011 he spoke with members of the international press.

• Hannibal Muammar al-Gaddafi, is a former employee of the General National Maritime Transport Company, a company that specialized in oil exports. He is most-known for his violent incidents in Europe, attacking police officers in Italy (2001), drunk driving (2004), and for assaulting his girlfriend in Paris (2005). In 2008, he was charged with assaulting two of staff in Switzerland, and was imprisoned by Swiss police. The arrest created a strong standoff between Libya and Switzerland.

• Al-Mu'tasim-Billah al-Gaddafi, Gaddafi's fifth son, is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Libyan Army. He later served as Libya's National Security Advisor. He was seen as a possible successor to his father, after Saif Al-Islam.

• Saif al-Arab al-Gaddafi (known as "The sword of the Arabs"). Saif was appointed a military commander in the Libyan Army during the 2011 Libyan uprising. Saif al-Arab and three of Gaddafi's grandchildren were reported killed by a NATO bombing in April 2011. Like the death of Hanna, this is disputed by the organizations alleged to be responsible.

• Khamis al-Gaddafi, his seventh son, who serves as the commander of the Libyan Army's elite Khamis Brigade.

• Ayesha al-Gaddafi, Gaddafi's only natural daughter, is a lawyer who joined the defense teams of executed former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi. She is married to a cousin of her father's.

He is also said to have adopted two children, Hanna and Milad.

• Hana Moammar Gadafi (name spelling per English language class certificate shown in reference)(claimed by Gaddafi to be his adopted daughter, but most facts surrounding this claim are disputed) was apparently killed at the age of four, during the retaliatory US bombing raids in 1986 . She may not have died; the adoption may have been posthumous; or he may have adopted a second daughter and given her the same name after the first one died. Following the taking by rebels of the family residence in the Bab al Azizya compound in Tripoli, The Irish Times reported evidence (complete with photographs) of Hana's life after her declared death, when she became a doctor and worked in a Tripoli hospital. Her passport was reported as showing a birth date of 11 November 1985, making her six months old at the time of the US raid.

Gaddafi's brother-in-law Abdullah Senussi, is believed to head military intelligence.

The family's main residence is on the Bab al-Azizia military barracks, located in the southern suburbs of Tripoli.

Gaddafi holds an honorary degree from Megatrend University in Belgrade, conferred on him by former Yugoslavian president Zoran Lilić.

Personal wealth

Italian companies had a strong foothold in Libya. Italy buys a quarter of Libya's oil and 15 per cent of its natural gas. The LIA owned significant shares in Italy's Eni oil corporation, Fiat, Unicredit bank, and Finmeccanica. In January 2002 Gaddafi purchased a 7.5% share of Italian football club Juventus for US$21 million, through the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company. This followed a long-standing association with Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli and car manufacturer Fiat.

On 25 February 2011 Britain's HM Treasury set up a specialised unit to trace Gaddafi's assets in Britain. Gaddafi allegedly worked for years with Swiss banks to launder international banking transactions.

Political and cultural public image

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Gaddafi travels with his Amazonian Guards, an armed all-female military troupe

Gaddafi has frequently been portrayed as erratic, conceited, and mercurial in nature. During the Reagan administration, America regarded him as "public enemy number one" and Reagan dubbed him the "mad dog of the Middle East". Western media have since speculated that Gaddafi suffers from manic depression, schizophrenia, and megalomania. Among those who worked with Gaddafi, Anwar Sadat called him "unbalanced and immature" and "a vicious criminal." Gaafar Nimeiry called him an "evil" person, and Yasser Arafat, who aligned himself with Gaddafi for much of his career, said Gaddafi was the "knight of revolutionary phrases". Fidel Castro said he was "reckless". During a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, he was said to be highly curious, asking a lot of questions and being especially interested in Malaysia's economic success. The attacks on Gaddafi's image became less common as his relations with the West improved. He modeled many of his Arab nationalist and socialist ideals from Gamal Abdul Nasser and Mao Zedong.

By his own estimation, Gaddafi considers himself an intellectual and philosopher. He is known for a flamboyant dress sense, with a strong taste for safari suits and sunglasses. He changes his clothing several times each day, and according to his former nurses, "enjoys surrounding himself with beautiful things and people." He hired several nurses to care for his health, all of whom were beautiful young Ukrainian women. Since the 1980s he has traveled with his Amazonian Guard, which is all-female, and reportedly is sworn to a life of celibacy. In 2009, it was revealed that he does not travel without his trusted Ukrainian nurse Halyna Kolotnytska, noted as a "voluptuous blonde". Halyna's daughter denied the suggestion that the relationship is anything but professional. Gaddafi frequently made sexual advances on female journalists, and successfully bedded a few in exchange for interviews. Gaddafi's former aides have said he is "obsessive" about his image. He gave gold watches with images of his face to his staff as gifts. In 2011, a Brazilian doctor told the Associated Press that he performed plastic surgery on Gaddafi in 1995 to avoid appearing old to the Libyan people.

A Revolutionary Command Council was formed to rule the country, with Gaddafi as chairman. He added the title of prime minister in 1970, but gave up this title in 1972. Unlike some other military revolutionaries, Gaddafi did not promote himself to the rank of general upon seizing power, but rather accepted a ceremonial promotion from captain to colonel and remained at this rank. While at odds with Western military ranking, where a colonel would not rule a country or serve as commander-in-chief of its military, in Gaddafi's own words Libya's society is "ruled by the people", so he did not need a more grandiose title or supreme military rank.

Gaddafi made very particular requests when traveling to foreign nations. During his trips to Rome, Paris, Moscow, and New York, he resided in a tent, following his Bedouin traditions. While in Italy, he paid a modeling agency to find 200 young Italian women for a lecture he gave urging them to convert to Islam. According to a 2009 document release by WikiLeaks, Gaddafi dislikes flying over waters and refuses to take airplane trips longer than 8 hours. His inner circle stated that he could only stay on the ground floor of buildings, and that he cannot climb more than 35 steps.

The Libyan postal service, General Posts and Telecommunications Company (GPTC), has issued numerous stamps, souvenir sheets, postal stationery, booklets, etc. relating to Gaddafi.

Transliteration of his Arabic name

Because of the lack of standardization of transliterating written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in many different ways. Even though the Arabic spelling of a word does not change, the pronunciation may vary in different varieties of Arabic, which may suggest a different romanization. In Literary Arabic the name مُعَمَّر القَذَّافِي can be pronounced /muˈʕammaru lqaðˈðaːfiː/. Geminated consonants can be simplified. In Libyan Arabic, /q/ (ق) is replaced with [ɡ]; and /ð/ (ذ) (as "th" in "this") is replaced with [d]. Vowel [u] often alternates with [o] in pronunciation in other regions. Thus, /muˈʕammar alqaðˈðaːfiː/ is normally pronounced in Libyan Arabic [muˈʕæmmɑrˤ əlɡædˈdæːfi]. The definite article al- (ال) is often omitted.

"Muammar Gaddafi" is the spelling used by TIME, BBC News, the majority of the British press and by the English service of Al-Jazeera. The Associated Press, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News use "Moammar Gadhafi". The Library of Congress uses "Qaddafi, Muammar" as the primary name. The Edinburgh Middle East Report uses "Mu'ammar Qaddafi" and the U.S. Department of State uses "Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi", although the White House chooses to use "Muammar el-Qaddafi". The Xinhua News Agency uses "Muammar Khaddafi" in its English reports. The New York Times uses "Muammar el-Qaddafi". The Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times of the Tribune Company, and Agence France-Presse use "Moammar Kadafi".

In 1986 Gaddafi reportedly responded to a Minnesota school's letter in English using the spelling "Moammar El-Gadhafi". The title of the homepage of algathafi.org reads "Welcome to the official site of Muammar Al Gathafi". A 2007 interview with Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi confirms that he uses the spelling "Qadhafi", and Muhammad al-Gaddafi's official passport uses the spelling "Al-Gathafi".

An article published in the London Evening Standard in 2004 lists a total of 37 spellings of his name, while a 1986 column by The Straight Dope quotes a list of 32 spellings known from the Library of Congress. ABC identified 112 possible spellings. This extensive confusion of naming was used as the subject of a segment of Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update on 12 December 1981.

In short, the alternative spellings for each part of his name are shown in brackets:

${\color {OliveGreen}M{\begin{cases}u\\o\\ou\end{cases}}{\begin{cases}\varnothing \\'\end{cases}}{\begin{cases}\varnothing \\a\end{cases}}{\begin{cases}mm\\m\end{cases}}ar}~~~~{\color {MidnightBlue}{\begin{cases}Al\\al\\El\\el\\\varnothing \end{cases}}{\begin{cases}-\\\mathrm {\textvisiblespace} \\\varnothing \end{cases}}}{\color {RedViolet}{\begin{cases}Q\\G\\K\\Kh\end{cases}}a{\begin{cases}d\\dh\\dd\\dhdh\\th\\zz\end{cases}}a{\begin{cases}f\\ff\end{cases}}{\begin{cases}i\\y\end{cases}}}$

Not all are possible, as some alternatives are most probably combined with others, or even impossible with others (for example, simplification of geminated /mm/ usually implies simplification of /aː/).

See also

• Musa al-Sadr
• Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights
• Amazonian Guard
• HIV trial in Libya
• Libya Gate
• List of current heads of state and government
• List of longest ruling non-royal leaders

Notes

• Azevedo, Mario J. (1998). Roots of Violence: A History of War in Chad. Routledge. ISBN 90-5699-582-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Brecher, Michael & Wilkenfeld, Jonathan (1997). A Study in Crisis. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-4721-0806-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Clayton, Anthony (1998). Frontiersmen: Warfare in Africa Since 1950. Routledge. ISBN 1-8572-8525-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Collelo, Thomas (1990). Chad. US GPO. ISBN 0-1602-4770-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Metz, Helen Chapin (2004). Libya. US GPO. ISBN 1-4191-3012-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Ngansop, Guy Jeremie (1986). Tchad, vingt d'ans de crise. L'Harmattan. ISBN 2-85802-687-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help) Template:Fr icon
• Nolutshungu, Sam C. (1995). Limits of Anarchy: Intervention and State Formation in Chad. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 0-8139-1628-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Pollack, Kenneth M. (2002). Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-3733-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Simons, Geoff (2004). Libya and the West: From Independence to Lockerbie. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1-8606-4988-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Davis, Brian Lee (1990). Qaddafi, terrorism, andthe origins of the U.S. attack on Libya. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0275933024. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Official personal website
• Muammar Gaddafi at IMDb
• Muammar Gaddafi collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
• Template:CNNtopic
• Muammar Gaddafi collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Muammar Gaddafi collected news and commentary at The Jerusalem Post
• Muammar Gaddafi collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Template:WSJtopic
• Template:Worldcat id
• Template:Nndb

Articles

• The NS Profile: Muammar al-Gaddafi, Sholto Byrnes, New Statesman, 27 August 2009
• Libya's Last Bedouin, Rudolph Chimelli, Qantara.de, 2 September 2009
• The Muammar Gaddafi Story, Martin Asser, BBC News, 25 March 2011
• Gaddafi: The Last Supervillain?, slideshow by Life magazine
• Gaddafi's 40th Anniversary, slideshow by The First Post
• Muammar Gaddafi: a life in pictures The Guardian
• Gaddafi: From Popular Hero to Isolated Dictator, The Real News (video)

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