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{{Short description|Leader of Libya from 1969 to 2011}}
{{current}}
{{Redirect|Gaddafi|other people with the name|Gaddafi (name)}}
{{Recent death presumed}}
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{{Redirect|Gaddafi|other people named Gaddafi|Gaddafi (name)}}
{{pp-move-indef}}{{pp-semi|small=yes}} {{pp|small=yes}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2011}}

{{Use Oxford spelling|date=February 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder {{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = ]<br/>]
|name = Muammar Gaddafi<br><small>{{lang|ar|مُعَمَّر القَذَّافِي}}</small>
| native_name = {{nobold|معمر القذافي}}
|image = Muammar al-Gaddafi at the AU summit.jpg
| native_name_lang = ar
|caption = Gaddafi at the ] ] summit (2009)
|office = ] | office = ]
| image = Moamer el Gadafi (cropped).jpg<!--Please do not change unless a final consensus has been established.-->
|president = {{List collapsed|title=''See list''|1=]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]}}
| caption = Gaddafi in 1970
|primeminister = {{List collapsed|title=''See list''|1=]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]}}
| predecessor = ''Himself'' (as Chairman of the RCC)
|term_start = 1 September 1969
| primeminister = {{Collapsible list|title={{nobold|''See list''}}
|term_end = 20 September 2011<ref>{{cite news | title = African Union officially recognises Libya's new leadership | url = http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h2NflCTWlrw96Cs-Ts7A7Xcem2dA?docId=CNG.a8a1185f4a08d2928999ea8643dc5bd9.501 }}</ref><ref name="unga_144">{{cite news|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_18910663|agency=San Jose Mercury News|first=Edith|last=Lederer|title=UN approves Libya seat for former rebels|date=16 September 2011|accessdate=16 September 2011}}</ref><ref name="unga_144_17">{{cite news|url=http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/ga11137.doc.htm|title=General Assembly Seats NTC of Libya as Country's Representative for Sixty-Sixth Session|date=16 September 2011|accessdate=16 September 2011}}</ref>
|]
|predecessor = Position established
|]
|successor = ] <small>(Chairman of the National Transitional Council)</small>
|]
|office2 = ]
|Jadallah Azzuz at-Talhi
|primeminister2 = ]<br>]<br>]
|]
|term_start2 = 1 September 1969
|]
|term_end2 = 2 March 1977
|]
|predecessor2 = ] <small>(King)</small>
|]
|successor2 = Himself <small>(Secretary General of the General People's Congress)</small>
|]
|office3 = ]
|]
|primeminister3 = ]
}}
|term_start3 = 2 March 1977
| successor = ] (as Chairman of the NTC)
|term_end3 = 2 March 1979
| signature = Muammar al-Gaddafi Signature.svg
|predecessor3 = Himself <small>(Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council)</small>
| office2 = ]
|successor3 = ]
| predecessor2 = ''Position established''
|office4 = ]
| primeminister2 = ]
|term_start4 = 16 January 1970
| party = {{ubl|] (1971–1977)|] (1977–2011)}}
|term_end4 = 16 July 1972
| office1 = ]
|predecessor4 = ]
| predecessor1 = ] (as King of Libya)
|successor4 = ]
| primeminister1 = {{Collapsible list|title={{nobold|''See list''}}
|office5 = ]
|]
|term_start5 = 2 February 2009
|]
|term_end5 = 31 January 2010
}}
|predecessor5 = ]
| successor1 = ''Himself'' (as Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution)
|successor5 = ]
| successor2 = Abdul Ati al-Obeidi
|birth_date = {{birth date|1942|6|7|df=y}}
| birth_name = Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi
|death_date =
| birth_date = <!-- His birth date does not appear to have been published in reliable sources. Please discuss on talk page. -->{{circa|1942}}
|death_place =
|birth_place = ], ]<br><small>(now ])</small> | birth_place = ], ]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|10|20|1942|||df=y}}
|party = ] <small>(1971–1977)</small>
| death_place = ], ]
|spouse = Fatiha al-Nuri <small>(1969–1970; divorced)</small><br>] <small>(1971–2011)</small>
| resting_place = In an unknown location in the ]
|children = {{List collapsed|title=''Sons''|1=]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>Milad <small>(Adopted)</small>}}{{List collapsed|title=''Daughters''|1=]<br>Hanna <small>(Adopted)</small>}}
| spouse = {{Ubl| {{Marriage|]|1969|1970|end=div}} | {{Marriage|]|1970}}}}
|alma_mater = ]
|religion = ] | children = 10
{{Collapsible list|title=Sons {{nobold|(8)}}
|signature = Muammar al-Gaddafi Signature.svg
|]
|allegiance = {{flagicon|Libya|1951}} ] <small>(1961–1969)</small><br>{{flagicon|Libya|1972}} ] <small>(1969–1977)</small><br>{{flagicon|Libya|1977}} ] <small>(1977–2011)</small>
|]
|branch = ]
|]
|serviceyears = 1961–2011
|] (deceased)
|rank = ]
|]
|commands = ]
|] (deceased)
|battles = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]
|] (deceased)(disputed)
|awards = ]<br>]
|Milad (adopted)
|footnotes =
}}
{{Collapsible list|title=Daughters {{nobold|(2)}}
|]
|] (adopted)
}}
| residence = ]
| alma_mater = {{Plain list|
* ]
* ]
}}
| death_cause = ]
| allegiance = {{Plain list|
* {{flagicon|Libya|1951}} ] (1961–1969)
* {{flagicon|Libya|1969}} ] (1969–1977)
* {{flagicon|Libya|1977}} ] (1977–2011)
}}
| branch = ]
| serviceyears = 1961–2011
| rank = ]
| commands = ]
| battles = {{tree list}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
** ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
** ]
{{tree list/end}}
| term_start = 2 March 1979
| term_end = 20 October 2011{{Efn|For purposes of this article, 20 October 2011—the date on which Gaddafi died<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15390980 |title=Muammar Gaddafi: How He Died |date=31 October 2011 |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324201718/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15390980 |archive-date=24 March 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=6 October 2017}}</ref>—is considered to be the date he left office. Other dates might have been chosen:
* On 15 July 2011, at a meeting in Istanbul, more than 30 governments, including the United States, withdrew recognition from Gaddafi's government and recognized the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the legitimate government of Libya.<ref name="INDtncofficialgov" />
* On 23 August 2011, during the ], Gaddafi lost effective political and military control of Tripoli after his compound was captured by rebel forces.<ref name="liveblog23811">Staff (23 August 2011). . ''Libya Live Blog''. ]. Retrieved 23 August 2011.</ref>
* On 25 August 2011, the ] proclaimed the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council to be "the legitimate representative of the Libyan state".<ref name="taipeitimmes20110826" />
* On 16 September 2011, the ] sat the representatives of the ] as Libya's official delegation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2011/ga11137.doc.htm |title=After Much Wrangling, General Assembly Seats National Transitional Council of Libya as Country's Representative for Sixty-Sixth Session |publisher=United Nations |date=16 September 2011 |access-date=20 October 2020 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601170251/https://www.un.org/press/en/2011/ga11137.doc.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| term_start1 = 1 September 1969
| term_end1 = 2 March 1977
| term_start2 = 2 March 1977
| term_end2 = 2 March 1979
| office3 = ]
| status3 = As ]
| term_start3 = 16 January 1970
| term_end3 = 16 July 1972
| predecessor3 = ]
| successor3 = ]
| office4 = 7th ]
| term_start4 = 2 February 2009
| term_end4 = 31 January 2010
| predecessor4 = ]
| successor4 = ]
| nationality = Libyan
}} }}
{{Muammar Gaddafi series}}
'''Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi'''<ref name="iccwarrant">{{cite web|title=The Prosecutor v. Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi|url=http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/Situations+and+Cases/Situations/ICC0111/Related+Cases/ICC01110111/Court+Records/ |work=ICC-01/11-01/11|publisher=]|accessdate=3 September 2011|date=4 July 2011 - October 2011}}</ref> ({{lang-ar|مُعَمَّر القَذَّافِي}} ''{{transl|ar|DIN|Muʿammar al-Qaḏḏāfī}}'' {{Audio|Ar-Muammar al-Qaddafi.ogg|audio}};<sup>]]</sup> 7&nbsp;June&nbsp;1942), commonly known as '''Muammar Gaddafi''' {{IPAc-en|icon|ˈ|m|oʊ|.|ə|m|ɑr|_|ɡ|ə|ˈ|d|ɑː|f|i}} or '''Colonel Gaddafi''', was the ]<ref>http://graphics.eiu.com/PDF/Democracy_Index_2010_web.pdf</ref><ref>http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2049665,00.html</ref> of ], from 1969 when he seized power in a ], until 2011 when his government was overthrown by a NATO-backed rebel force in ]. His 41-year rule prior to the uprising made him the fourth ] since 1900, as well as the longest-ruling Arab leader.<ref>Charles Féraud, "Annales Tripolitaines", the Arabic version named "Al Hawliyat Al Libiya", translated to Arabic by Mohammed Abdel Karim El Wafi, Dar el Ferjani, Tripoli, Libya, vol. 3, p.797.</ref> He has variously styled himself as 'the Brother Leader', 'Guide of the Revolution', and the 'King of Kings'.
'''Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi'''{{#tag:ref| English pronunciation: {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|oʊ|ə|m|ɑr|_|ɡ|ə|ˈ|d|æ|f|i}} {{respell|MOH|ə|mar|_|gə|DAF|ee}} or {{IPAc-en|ɡ|ə|ˈ|d|ɑː|f|i}} {{respell|gə|DAH|fee}}; {{Langx|ar|مُعمّر محمد أبو منيار القذّافي|Muʿammar Muḥammad ʾAbū Minyār al-Qaḏḏāfī}}, {{IPA|arb|muˈʕamːar alqaˈðːaːfi|-|Ar-Muammar al-Qaddafi.ogg|link=yes|small=no}}, {{IPA|ayl|ɡəˈðːaːfiː|link=yes|small=no}} (eastern dialects) {{IPA|ayl|ɡəˈdːaːfiː|label=or|small=no}} (western dialects).<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics |publisher=Brill |volume=3 |year=2008 |pages=52–58 |chapter=Libya |first=Christophe |last=Pereira}}</ref><p>Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been ] in various ways. A 1986 column by '']'' lists 32 spellings known from the US ],<ref>{{cite web |title=How are you supposed to spell Muammar Gaddafi/Khadafy/Qadhafi? |url=https://www.straightdope.com/21341687/how-are-you-supposed-to-spell-muammar-gaddafi-khadafy-qadhafi |url-status=live |website=] |year=1986 |access-date=5 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205230030/http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/513/how-are-you-supposed-to-spell-muammar-gaddafi-khadafy-qadhafi |archive-date=5 February 2017}}</ref> while ] identified 112 possible spellings.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gibson |first=Charles |url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2009/09/how-many-different-ways-can-you-spell-gaddafi.html |title=How Many Different Ways Can You Spell 'Gaddafi' |publisher=] |date=22 September 2009 |access-date=22 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206125143/https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2009/09/how-many-different-ways-can-you-spell-gaddafi/ |archive-date=6 February 2012}}</ref></p>A 2007 interview with Gaddafi's son ] confirms that Saif spelled his own name '''Qadhafi'''<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/videos/2011/03/01/saif-gaddafi-on-how-to-spell-his-last-name.html |title=Saif Gaddafi on How to Spell His Last Name |newspaper=] |date=1 March 2011 |access-date=1 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006185631/https://www.thedailybeast.com/saif-gaddafi-on-how-to-spell-his-last-name |archive-date=6 October 2017}}</ref> and the passport of Gaddafi's son Mohammed used the spelling '''Gathafi'''.<ref>{{Cite news |website=] |title=Rebel Discovers Qaddafi Passport, Real Spelling of Leader's Name |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/08/rebel-discovers-qaddafi-passport-real-spelling-of-leaders-name/244077/ |date=24 August 2011 |last=Fisher |first=Max |access-date=6 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130405081500/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/08/rebel-discovers-qaddafi-passport-real-spelling-of-leaders-name/244077/ |archive-date=5 April 2013}}</ref> According to ] the variant '''Qaddafi''' was slightly more widespread, followed by '''Qadhafi''', '''Gaddafi''' and '''Gadhafi'''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecogito.net/anil/2011/02/how-do-you-spell-gaddafis-name/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110228031945/http://www.ecogito.net/anil/2011/02/how-do-you-spell-gaddafis-name/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 February 2011 |title=How Do You Spell Gaddafi's Name? |author=Anil Kandangath |date=25 February 2011 |website=Doublespeak Blog}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Qaddafi,Gaddafi,Qadhafi,Gadhafi,Khadafi,Khadafy,Qadhdhafi&year_start=1998&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3|title=Google Books Ngram Viewer|website=books.google.com}}</ref> Scientific romanizations of the name are '''Qaḏḏāfī''' (], ], ]) or (rarely used) '''Qadhdhāfī''' (]).|group=pron}}<!------END OF NOTE------> ({{circa|1942}}{{spaced ndash}}20 October 2011) was a Libyan ], politician and political theorist who ruled ] from 1969 until his ] by ] in 2011. He came to power through a ], first becoming ] of the ] from 1969 to 1977 and then the '] of the ] from 1977 to 2011. Initially ideologically committed to ] and ], Gaddafi later ruled according to his own ].


<!--Early life and the republic-->
After seizing power in 1969, he abolished the ] of 1951 and imposed laws based on the political ideology<ref name=SalakLibya>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirasalak.com/Libya.html |title=Libya: The Land of Cruel Deaths|last=Salak |first=Kira |authorlink=Kira Salak|publisher=kirasalak.com|year=2008|accessdate=29 August 2011}}</ref> he had formulated, called the ] and published in '']''.<ref>Daniel Don Nanjira, ''African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy: From Antiquity to the 21st Century'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2010, p. n. 2</ref><ref>Background Notes, (November 2005) , '']''. Retrieved on 14 July 2006.</ref> Gaddafi and his relatives took over much of the economy. Gaddafi started several wars, and acquired ].{{cn|date=October 2011}} Gaddafi also supplied weapons to the ], a listed terrorist organisation in Great Britain and other countries. The ] called ] a ].<ref>{{cite web|author=David Blundy and Andrew Lycett Martin Sicker |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/42735/john-c-campbell/qaddafi-and-the-libyan-revolution-the-making-of-a-pariah-state-t |title=Qaddafi and the Libyan Revolution; The Making of a Pariah State: The Adventurist Policies of Muammar Qaddafi |publisher=Foreign Affairs |date=1 December 1987 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3371269.stm |work=BBC News | first=Paul | last=Keller | title=Libya's two decades as pariah state | date=6 January 2004}}</ref> In the 1980s, countries around the world imposed sanctions against Gaddafi.<ref></ref>
Born near ], ], to a poor ] Arab family, Gaddafi became an Arab nationalist while at school in ], later enrolling in the ]. Within the military, he founded a revolutionary group known as the ] which deposed the ]-backed ] monarchy of ] in a ]. After taking power, Gaddafi converted Libya into a republic governed by his ]. ], he ] and ejected its Western military bases. He strengthened ties to Arab nationalist governments—particularly ]'s Egypt—and unsuccessfully advocated ]. An ], he introduced '']'' as the basis for the legal system and promoted ]. He nationalized the oil industry and used the increasing state revenues to bolster the military, ], and implement social programs emphasizing housebuilding, healthcare and education projects. In 1973, he initiated a "]" with the formation of ], presented as a system of ], but retained personal control over major decisions. He outlined his Third International Theory that year in '']''.
Six days after the capture of Iraqi dictator ] by United States troops,<ref>Saddam Hussein captured 13 December 2003: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/WCPD-2003-12-22/pdf/WCPD-2003-12-22-Pg1799.pdf</ref> Gaddafi renounced Tripoli’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs and welcomed international inspections to verify that he would follow through on the commitment.<ref name="armscontrol_201108">{{cite web |url=http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/LibyaChronology |title=Chronology of Libya's Disarmament and Relations with the United States| publisher=]|accessdate=23 August 2011 |quote=The factors that induced Libya to give up its weapons programs are debatable. Many Bush administration officials have emphasized the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as the October 2003 interdiction of a ship containing nuclear-related components destined for Libya, as key factors in Tripoli’s decision. But outside experts argue that years of sanctions and diplomatic efforts were more important.}}</ref> A leading advocate for a ], he served as ] of the ] (AU) from 2 February 2009 to 31 January 2010.
During Gaddafi's period of rule many of Libya's human development indicators improved significantly. By 2010, Libya had the highest GDP per capita,<ref></ref> Education Index,<ref name=autogenerated7></ref> and Human Development Index<ref>http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/Lets-Talk-HD-HDI_2010.pdf</ref> in Africa as well as some of the best health indicators in the continent.<ref name=autogenerated5></ref><ref>ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/012/i0876e/i0876e05.pdf</ref><ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2102.html</ref>


<!--Jamahiriya and downfall-->
The ] issued arrest warrants on 27 June 2011 for Gaddafi, his son ], and his brother-in-law ], concerning ].<ref name="iccwarrant"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/video/2011-05/17/c_13878741.htm |title=ICC requests Gaddafi arrest warrant |publisher=News.xinhuanet.com |date=17 May 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref name=BBC_ICC>{{cite news | title = Libya: ICC issues arrest warrant for Muammar Gaddafi | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13927208 | work=BBC News | date=27 June 2011}}</ref> ] has also issued an arrest warrant for him for crimes against humanity.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite journal|last=Nordland|first=Rod |date=9 September 2011|title=Libyan Rebels Attack Qaddafi Loyalists in 2 Cities|journal=The New York Times|publisher=Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr.|issn=0362-4331|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/10/world/africa/10libya.html?_r=1|accessdate=9 September 2011}}</ref> Gaddafi has been accused by the UK government of having links with the ].<ref>http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/ira-victims-battle-for-gaddafirsquos-cash-16058214.html</ref>
In 1977 Gaddafi transformed Libya into a new ] called a '']'' ("state of the masses"). He officially adopted a symbolic role in governance but remained head of both the military and the Revolutionary Committees responsible for policing and suppressing dissent. During the 1970s and 1980s, Libya's unsuccessful border conflicts with ] and ], support for foreign militants, and alleged responsibility for bombings of ] and ] left it increasingly isolated on the world stage. A particularly hostile relationship developed with Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom, resulting in the ] and United Nations–imposed economic sanctions. From 1999, Gaddafi shunned pan-Arabism, and encouraged ] and rapprochement with ]; he was ] from 2009 to 2010. Amid the 2011 ], protests against widespread corruption and unemployment broke out in eastern Libya. The situation descended into ], in which ] ] on the side of the anti-Gaddafist ] (NTC). Gaddafi's government was overthrown; he retreated to Sirte only to be captured, tortured and killed by NTC militants.


<!--Legacy and assessment:-->
As of October 2011, Gaddafi loyalists remain in control of his birthplace ] and smaller villages around Libya.<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/01/world/africa/libya-war/</ref> He was also reportedly receiving support from loyalists near the Algerian and Niger borders.<ref>http://www.ewn.co.za/Story.aspx?Id=74883</ref>
A highly divisive figure, Gaddafi dominated Libya's politics for four decades and was the subject of a pervasive ]. He was decorated with various awards and praised for his ] stance, support for Arab—and then African—unity, as well as for significant development to the country following the discovery of oil reserves. Conversely, many Libyans strongly opposed Gaddafi's social and economic reforms; he was accused of various human rights violations. He was condemned by many as a dictator whose ] administration systematically violated ] and financed global ] in the region and abroad.
{{TOC limit|3}}


==Early life and career==
On 20 October 2011, the media reported that a ] official had told ] that Gaddafi had been captured.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15385955 |title=BBC News - Libyan forces 'capture Gaddafi' |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2011-09-18 |accessdate=2011-10-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Weaver |first=Matthew |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/oct/20/syria-libya-middle-east-unrest-live |title=Libya: fall of Sirte - live updates &#124; World news &#124; guardian.co.uk |publisher=Guardian |date= |accessdate=2011-10-20}}</ref> According to Abdel Majid, Gaddafi's legs were both wounded.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/10/20111020111520869621.html |title=NTC claims capture of Gaddafi - Africa |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=2011-10-04 |accessdate=2011-10-20}}</ref> Gaddafi reportedly died of wounds suffered during capture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://live.reuters.com/UK/Event/Latest_from_Libyan_conflict |title=Latest from Libyan conflict &#124; Liveblog live blogging &#124; Reuters.com |publisher=Live.reuters.com |date=2009-02-09 |accessdate=2011-10-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/10/20111020111520869621.html |title=Muammar Gaddafi 'killed' in gun battle - Africa |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=2011-10-04 |accessdate=2011-10-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://wordswithmeaning.org/2011/10/breaking-libyan-leader-muammar-gaddafi-has-been-killed/|accessdate=20 October 2011|newspaper=WwM Online Australia}}</ref>
{{TOC limit|4}}


===Childhood: 1940s to 1950===
==Early life and military academy==
Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi<ref name="iccwarrant">{{cite web |title=The Prosecutor v. Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi and Abdullah al-Senussi |url=http://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/situations%20and%20cases/situations/icc0111/related%20cases/icc01110111/Pages/icc01110111.aspx |work=ICC-01/11-01/11 |publisher=International Criminal Court |access-date=5 December 2013 |date=11 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113152832/https://www.icc-cpi.int/libya/gaddafi?ln=en |archive-date=13 November 2016 }}</ref> was born near ], a rural area outside the town of ] in the deserts of ], Italian western Libya.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=33|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=9|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=135}} Gaddafi was the only son of his parents and the youngest of four siblings. His family came from a small, relatively uninfluential tribe called the ],{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=58|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=33|3a1=Simons|3y=1996|3p=170|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=9}} who were ] in heritage. His mother was named Aisha bin Niran (died 1978), and his father, Mohammad Abdul Salam bin Hamed bin Mohammad, was known as Abu Meniar (died 1985); the latter earned a meager subsistence as a goat and camel herder.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=58|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=33|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=9}}
Muammar al-Gaddafi was raised in a ] tent in the desert near ] (Sidra). According to many biographies, his family belongs to a small tribe of ], the ]. They are mostly herders that live in the Hun Oasis. According to Gaddafi, his grandfather, Abdessalam Bouminyar, fought against the ] and died as the "first martyr in Khoms, in the first battle of 1911".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsy.com/videos/amid-unrest-gaddafi-vows-death-before-resignation/ |title=Global Video News: Gaddafi Regime Still Twitching in Libya |publisher=Newsy.com |date=22 February 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> Gaddafi attended a ] elementary school far from home in ], during which time he was profoundly influenced by major events in the ] world. He was passionate about the success of the ] and was deeply disappointed by their defeat by Israeli forces in 1948. He admired Egyptian President ] and looked to him as a hero during his rise to power in 1952. In 1956 Gaddafi took part in anti-Israeli protests during the ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/434599.stm |title=Africa &#124; Colonel Gaddafi: A maverick veteran |publisher=BBC News |date= 31 August 1999|accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> In Sabha he was was briefly a member of ].<ref name="Libya: Boy Scouts on the front line">{{cite news| title =Libya: Boy Scouts on the front line|publisher =The Telegraph| date = 2011-08-25| url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8723352/Libya-Boy-Scouts-on-the-front-line.html| accessdate =2011-09-27}}</ref> He finished his secondary school studies under a private tutor in ], concentrating on the study of history.


Like other contemporary nomadic ] tribes, the family were illiterate and did not keep any birth records.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=35|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=9|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=135}} His birthday is not known with certainty and sources have set it in 1942 or the spring of 1943,{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=35|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=9|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=135}} although his biographers ] and ] noted that it could have been pre-1940.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=35}} His parents' only surviving son, he had three older sisters.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=35|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=9|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=135}} Gaddafi's upbringing in Bedouin culture influenced his personal tastes for the rest of his life; he preferred the desert over the city and would retreat there to meditate.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=9|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=135}}
Gaddafi entered the Libyan military academy at ] in 1961, and graduated in 1966. Both towards the end of his course and after graduation, Gaddafi pursued further studies in ]. False rumours have been propagated with regards to this part of his life, for example, the rumour that he attended the United Kingdom's ].<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/rmasarchives.pdf| title= The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst's Archives| author=Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom| year= 2009| publisher=Ministry of Defence| page= 1}}</ref> He did in fact receive four months further military training in the ], and spent some time in ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1375227/Libya-Portrait-young-Gaddafi-shows-nutcase-loathed-ugly-British.html|title=Portrait of the young Gaddafi: A nutcase who loathed the 'ugly British' and was so unworldly he drank water from a finger bowl|publisher=Daily Mail|date=13 April 2011|accessdate=6 September 2011|location=London|first1=Sharon|last1=Churcher|first2=Robert|last2=Verkaik}}</ref><ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{Cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7594790.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Profile: Muammar Gaddafi | date=28 August 2009 | accessdate=13 May 2010 | first=Aidan | last=Lewis}}</ref> After this, as a commissioned officer he joined the Signal Corps.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Qaddafi.html|title=Muammar Gaddafi|publisher=jewishvirtuallibrary.org|accessdate=6 September 2011}}</ref> Although often referred to as "Colonel Gaddafi", he was in fact only a lieutenant when he seized power in 1969.<ref>http://www.anhri.net/en/reports/libya/</ref>


From childhood, Gaddafi was aware of the involvement of European colonial powers in Libya; his nation was ], and during the ] of the ] it witnessed conflict between Italian and British forces.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=35–37|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=135}} According to later claims, Gaddafi's paternal grandfather, Abdessalam Bouminyar, was killed by the Italian Army during the ].{{sfnm|1a1=Bianco|1y=1975|1p=4|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=37|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=4}} At the end of the Second World War in 1945, Libya was occupied by British and French forces. Britain and France considered dividing the nation between their empires, but the ] of the United Nations (UN) decided that the country was to be granted political independence,{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=38–39|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=7–9, 14|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=108}} and in 1951 created the ], a federal state under the leadership of a pro-Western monarch, ], who banned political parties and centralized power in his own hands.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=38–39|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=7–9, 14|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=108}}
==Libyan Revolution of 1969==
{{main|Libyan coup d'etat (1969)}}
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 ], a military career was a revolutionary vocation.


===Education and political activism: 1950–1963===
As a cadet, Gaddafi associated with the Free Officers Movement. Most of his future colleagues on the ] (RCC) were fellow members of his graduating class at the military academy. The frustration and shame felt by Libyan officers by Israel's massive defeat of the Arab armies on three fronts in 1967 fuelled their determination to contribute to Arab unity by overthrowing the Libyan monarchy. An early conspirator, Gaddafi first started planning the overthrow of the monarchy while a cadet.


Gaddafi's earliest education was of a religious nature, imparted by a local Islamic teacher.{{sfnm|1a1=Bianco|1y=1975|1p=5|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=135–136}} Subsequently, moving to nearby Sirte to attend elementary school, he progressed through six grades in four years.{{sfnm|1a1=Bianco|1y=1975|1pp=5–6, 8–9|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=39|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=10|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=136}} Education in Libya was not free, but his father thought it would greatly benefit his son despite the financial strain. During the week Gaddafi slept in a mosque, and only at weekends and holidays walked {{convert|20|miles|km}} to visit his parents. Even though Gaddafi's father was not educated, he made great sacrifices to send his son to school.{{sfnm|1a1=Bianco|1y=1975|1pp=5–6, 8–9|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=39|3a1=Simons|3y=1996|3p=170|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=10|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=136}} As an impoverished Bedouin, he faced bullying and discrimination from his city-dwelling classmates. However, he had many Egyptian teachers who informed him of the dramatic events occurring in their homeland.{{sfnm|1a1=Bianco|1y=1975|1pp=5–6, 8–9|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=39|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=10|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=136}} From Sirte, he and his family moved to the market town of ] in ], south-central Libya, where his father worked as a caretaker for a tribal leader while Muammar attended secondary school, something neither parent had done.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=39|2a1=Simons|2y=1996|2pp=170–171|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=10–11|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=136}} Gaddafi was popular at this school; some friends made there received significant jobs in his later administration, most notably his best friend, ].{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=58|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=39–40|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=11}}
On 1 September 1969 a small group of junior military officers led by Gaddafi staged a bloodless ] against King ] while the king was in ] for medical treatment. Idris's nephew, Crown Prince ], was formally deposed by the revolutionary army officers and put under ]; they abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the ].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/1/newsid_3911000/3911587.stm |title=Bloodless coup in Libya |publisher=BBC News |date=20 December 2003 |accessdate=14 February 2010 | location=London}}</ref>


] was Gaddafi's political hero.]]
==Internal affairs==
] in 1969]]
{{main|History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi}}
On gaining power he immediately ordered the shutdown of American and British military bases, including ]. He told Western officials that he would expel their companies from Libya's oil fields unless they shared more revenue. In his warning, he alluded to consultation with Nasser. The oil companies complied with the demand, increasing Libya's share from 50 to 79 percent.<ref></ref> In December 1969, Egyptian intelligence thwarted a planned coup against Gaddafi from high-ranking members of his leadership. Many of the dissenters had grown uneasy with his growing relationship to Egypt.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb3.htm#SOCIAL |title=The Green Book, Third Volume "The Social Basis of the Third World Theory", The Social Basis of the Third World Theory |publisher=Mathaba.net |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref> In response to the failed coup, Gaddafi criminalized all political dissent and shared power only with his family and closest associates.


Many teachers at Sabha were Egyptian, and for the first time, Gaddafi had access to pan-Arab newspapers and radio broadcasts, especially the ]-based '']''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=58|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=40|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=11–12|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=136}} Growing up, Gaddafi witnessed significant events severely disturb the ], including the ], the ], the ] of 1956, and the short-lived existence of the ] (UAR) between 1958 and 1961.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=136}} Gaddafi admired the political changes implemented in the ] under his hero, President ]. Nasser argued for ]; the rejection of Western ], ], and ]; and a transition from ] to ].{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=40|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=10|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=11–12|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=136}} Gaddafi was influenced by Nasser's book, ''Philosophy of the Revolution'', which outlined how to initiate a coup.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=40|2a1=Simons|2y=1996|2p=171}} One of Gaddafi's Egyptian teachers, Mahmoud Efay, was reportedly sympathetic towards the youth's political ideas, and advised him that a successful revolution would need the support of the army.{{sfn|Simons|1996|p=171}}
Gaddafi expelled ] in 1970.<ref>. BBC News. 27 October 2005.</ref>
Despising the ], he replaced it as the country's official with an Islamic calendar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/299/308/728826 |title=New Vision Online : A date with Gaddafi |publisher=Newvision.co.ug |date=14 August 2010 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> He renamed the months of the calendar. August, named for ], was renamed ], and July, after ], was renamed Nasser, for ]. From 1971 to 1977, Gaddafi approved the ], modeled on Egypt's ], to function as a political party in Libya.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.scotsman.com/world/Former-PM-is-latest-senior.6822266.jp |title=Former PM is latest senior figure to defect from Gaddafi's side - Scotsman.com News |publisher=News.scotsman.com |date= 21 August 2011|accessdate=2011-09-01 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref>


Gaddafi organized demonstrations and distributed posters criticizing the monarchy.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=42–43|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=11–12|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=136}} In October 1961, he led a demonstration protesting against Syria's secession from the UAR and raised funds to send cables of support to Nasser. Twenty students were arrested as a result of the disorder. Gaddafi and his companions also broke windows in a local hotel that was ]. To punish Gaddafi, the authorities expelled him and his family from Sabha.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=58|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=42–43|3a1=Simons|3y=1996|3pp=171–172|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=11|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=136}} Gaddafi moved to ], there attending Misrata Secondary School.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=58|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=44|3a1=Simons|3y=1996|3p=172|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=11|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=137}} Maintaining his interest in Arab nationalist activism, he refused to join any of the banned political parties active in the city—including the ], the ], and the ]—claiming that he rejected factionalism.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=137}} He read voraciously on the subjects of Nasser and the ] of 1789, as well as the works of the Syrian political theorist ] and biographies of ], ], and ].{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=137}}
Gaddafi increasingly devoted himself to "contemplative exile" over the next months,<ref name="SalakLibya"/> caught up in 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 within the RCC, but Gaddafi soon dispelled such theories by imposing measures to restructure Libyan society.


===Elimination of dissent=== ===Military training: 1963–1966===
Gaddafi briefly studied history at the ] in ] before dropping out to join the military.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1pp=46–47|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=138}} Despite his police record, in 1963 he began training at the ], Benghazi, alongside several like-minded friends from Misrata. The armed forces offered the only opportunity for upward social mobility for underprivileged Libyans, and Gaddafi recognized it as a potential instrument of political change.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=45|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=12|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=138}} Under Idris, Libya's armed forces were trained by the British military; this angered Gaddafi, who viewed the British as imperialists, and accordingly, he refused to learn English and was rude to the British officers, ultimately failing his exams.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=45}} British trainers reported him for insubordination and abusive behaviour, stating their suspicion that he was involved in the assassination of the military academy's commander in 1963. Such reports were ignored, and Gaddafi quickly progressed through the course.{{Contradictory inline |reason=contradicts statement a few sentences earlier that he ultimately failed his exams|date=September 2023}}{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=46, 48–49|2a1=Simons|2y=1996|2p=173}}
{{see also|Libyan opposition}}


With a group of loyal cadres, in 1964, Gaddafi established the Central Committee of the Free Officers Movement, a revolutionary group named after Nasser's ]. Led by Gaddafi, they met secretively and were organized into a ], pooling their salaries into a single fund.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=47–48|2a1=Simons|2y=1996|2p=173|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=12–13}} Gaddafi travelled around Libya collecting intelligence and developing connections with sympathizers, but the government's intelligence services ignored him, considering him little threat.{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|p=13}} Graduating in August 1965,{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=138}} Gaddafi became a communications officer in the army's signal corps.{{sfnm|1a1=Simons|1y=1996|1p=174|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=138}}
In 1969, Gaddafi created Revolutionary committees to keep tight control over internal dissent. 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.<ref name="Mohamed Eljhami"/> 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.<ref></ref> The government conducted executions and mutilations of political opponents in public and broadcast recordings of the proceedings on state television. Dissent was illegal under Law 75 of 1973, which denied freedom of expression.<ref name="Mohamed Eljhami">{{cite web|url=http://www.meforum.org/878/libya-and-the-us-qadhafi-unrepentant|title=Libya and the U.S.: Qadhafi Unrepentant|publisher=The Middle East Quarterly|author=Mohamed Eljahmi|year=2006}}</ref><ref name="Davis 1990">{{harvnb|Davis|1990}}</ref> In 2010, Libya's press was rated as 160th out of 178 nations in the ] by Reporters without borders.<ref></ref>


In April 1966, he was assigned to the United Kingdom for further training; over nine months he underwent an English-language course at ], Buckinghamshire, an ] signal instructors course in ], Dorset, and an infantry signal instructors course at ], Kent.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=49–50|2a1=Simons|2y=1996|2p=174|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=13|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=138}} Despite later rumours to the contrary, he did not attend the ].{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|p=13}} The Bovington signal course's director reported that Gaddafi successfully overcame problems learning English, displaying a firm command of voice procedure. Noting that Gaddafi's favourite hobbies were reading and playing ], he thought of him as an "amusing officer, always cheerful, hard-working, and conscientious".{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=138–139}} Gaddafi disliked England, claiming ] officers had racially insulted him and finding it difficult adjusting to the country's culture; asserting his Arab identity in London, he walked around ] wearing traditional Libyan robes.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=49–50|2a1=Simons|2y=1996|2p=174|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=13|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=139}} He later related that while he travelled to England believing it more advanced than Libya, he returned home "more confident and proud of our values, ideals and social character".{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=49–50|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=13|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=139}}
During the 1970s, Libya executed members of the Islamist fundamentalist ] faction, and Gaddafi often personally presided over the executions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sijill.tripod.com/victims/ |title=Libya: April Victims of Gaddafi Madness |publisher=Sijill.tripod.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Mark Almond |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1192494/More-make-hair-dye-40-virgin-bodyguards-Gaddafi-murderous-menace.html |title=More make-up (and hair dye) than his 40 virgin bodyguards, but Gaddafi is still a murderous menace &#124; Mail Online |publisher=Dailymail.co.uk |date=12 June 2009 |accessdate=2011-09-01 |location=London}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Zucchino|first=David|title=In Libya minefields, ill-equipped rebel teams defuse devices|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-mines-20110729,0,6444557,full.story|accessdate=3 September 2011|newspaper=]|date=29 July 2011}}</ref> A mutiny by the Libyan Army in ] was violently suppressed in August 1980.<ref>{{cite news|author=Atul Aneja |url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article1495534.ece |title=Opinion / Lead : Libya: in the throes of change |publisher=The Hindu |date=27 February 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01 |location=Chennai, India}}</ref>


==Libyan Arab Republic==
From time to time Gaddafi responded to external opposition with violence. Between 1980 and 1987, Gaddafi employed his network of diplomats and recruits to assassinate at least 25 critics living abroad.<ref name="Mohamed Eljhami" /><ref name="autogenerated758">The Middle East and North Africa 2003 (2002). Eur. p. 758</ref> His revolutionary committees called for the assassination of Libyan ] living abroad in April&nbsp;1980, sending Libyan hit squads abroad to murder them. On 26&nbsp;April&nbsp;1980 Gaddafi set a deadline of 11&nbsp;June&nbsp;1980 for dissidents to return home or be "in the hands of the revolutionary committees".<ref>Facts on File 1980 Yearbook p353, 451</ref> Gaddafi stated explicitly in 1982 that "It is the Libyan people's responsibility to liquidate such scums who are distorting Libya's image abroad."<ref name="autogenerated183"/> Libyan agents have assassinated dissidents in the United States,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953172,00.html |title=Gaddafi's Western Gunslingers |work=Time Magazine |date=16 November 1981 |first1=Walter |last1=Isaacson |first2=Richard |last2=Woodbury |first3=Jonathan |last3=Beaty}}</ref> Europe,<ref name="Fletcher">{{cite news | title = On this Day 17 April 1984: Libyan embassy shots kill policewoman |work=BBC | accessdate=28 March 2011 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/17/newsid_2488000/2488369.stm | date=17 April 1984}}</ref> and the Middle East.<ref name="Mohamed Eljhami" /><ref name="autogenerated183">{{harvnb|Davis|1990|p=183}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/mideast/sep/30/abduct28.htm |title=Egypt, Libya Linked to Abduction |last1=Hoagland |first1=Jim |date=28 September 1997 |work=Washington Post |accessdate=1 May 2011}}</ref> As of 2004 Libya still provided bounties on critics, including $1&nbsp;million for one journalist.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2004/mar/28/politics.libya |title=Gadaffi still hunts 'stray dogs' in UK |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=28 March 2004 |first=Martin |last=Bright}}</ref> During the ], Gaddafi called Chirac and offered him his help in quelling the resistors, who were largely North African.<ref name="huffingtonpost.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amir-madani/dead-man-walking_1_b_891032.html |title=Amir Madani: Dead Man Walking |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date=5 April 1986 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> There is growing indication that Libya's Gaddafi-era ] had a cozy relationship with western spy organizations including the ], who voluntarily provided information on Libyan dissidents to the regime in exchange for using Libya as a base for ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/03/libya.west.spies/|title=Documents shed light on CIA, Gadhafi spy ties|author=Ben Wedeman|publisher=CNN|accessdate=3 September 2011|date=4 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/files-show-mi6-cia-ties-to-libya-reports-20110904-1jrzy.html|title=Files show MI6, CIA ties to Libya: reports |publisher=Sidney Morning Herald|accessdate=4 September 2011|date=4 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8739893/Libya-secret-dossier-reveals-Gaddafis-UK-spy-links.html|title=Libya: secret dossier reveals Gaddafi's UK spy links|publisher=The Telegraph|author=Richard Spencer|accessdate=3 Sep 2011|location=London|date=3 September 2011}}</ref>
{{Further|History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi}}


===Coup d'état: 1969===
Following a 1986 aborted attempt to replace ] with ] as the primary foreign language in education,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/libya/43.htm|title=Libya: A Country Study- Education|publisher=US Library of Congress|author=Helen Chapin Metz|year=1987}}</ref> English has been taught in recent years in Libyan schools from primary level, and students have access to English-language media.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/a-23-2007-03-28-voa6-83134272.html|title=English Teaching in the Arab World: Insights From Iraq and Libya|publisher=Voice of America|author=Avi Arditti|year=2007}}</ref>
{{Main|1969 Libyan coup d'état}}


{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=People of Libya! In response to your own will, fulfilling your most heartfelt wishes, answering your most incessant demands for change and regeneration, and your longing to strive towards these ends: listening to your incitement to rebel, your armed forces have undertaken the overthrow of the corrupt regime, the stench of which has sickened and horrified us all. At a single blow our gallant army has toppled these idols and has destroyed their images. By a single stroke it has lightened the long dark night in which the Turkish domination was followed first by Italian rule, then by this reactionary and decadent regime which was no more than a hotbed of extortion, faction, treachery and treason.|salign=right |source=—Gaddafi's radio speech after seizing power, 1969{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=54|2a1=Simons|2y=1996|2pp=178–179}} }}
===Campaign against Berber culture===
Gaddafi has often expressed an overt contempt for the ], a non-Arab people of North Africa, and for ], 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 ] as the "Western mountains".<ref>{{cite web|last=Sherlock |first=Ruth |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/Rockets-and-rhetoric-from-proGaddafi.6799873.jp?articlepage=1 |title=Rockets and rhetoric from pro-Gaddafi PR offensive |publisher=Scotsman.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201103200010.html |title=Libya: Gaddafi Rails Against 'No Fly' Attacks and Berbers |date=20 March 2011 |publisher=allAfrica.com}}</ref> The Berber language was banned from schools and up until 2009, it was illegal for parents to name their children with Berber names.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://shabablibya.org/news/april-2011/week-commencing-april-18-2011/libyan-man-says-gaddafi-crushing-berbers |title=Libyan man says Gaddafi crushing Berbers « Shabab Libya |publisher=Shabablibya.org |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> Berbers living in ancient mud-brick caravan towns such as ] were forced out and moved into modern government-constructed apartments in the 1980s.<ref name="SalakLibya"/> During the 2011 civil war, Berber towns rebelled against Gaddafi's rule and sought to reaffirm their ancient identity as Berbers.<ref>{{cite news|author=Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Zentan |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/28/libya-amazigh-identity-tribes-gaddafi |title=Libya's Berbers join the revolution in fight to reclaim ancient identity &#124; World news |publisher=The Guardian |date= 28 February 2011|accessdate=2011-09-01 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/07/11/ancient-language-renewed-in-libyan-rebellion/ |title=Ancient language renewed in Libyan rebellion &#124; News &#124; National Post |publisher=News.nationalpost.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Laub |first=Karin |url=http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article481156.ece |title=With rebels in charge, life returns to Libyan town |publisher=Arab News |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> Gaddafi's government strengthened anti-Berber sentiment among Libyan Arabs, weakening their opposition.<ref>{{cite web|author=17 July 2011 8:33 pm |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4d2f617c-b090-11e0-a5a7-00144feab49a.html#axzz1U7rcs8EK |title=Anti-Gaddafi Berbers tune in to new freedom |publisher=FT.com |date=17 July 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>


Idris' government was increasingly unpopular by the latter 1960s; it had exacerbated Libya's traditional regional and tribal divisions by ] the country's ] to take advantage of the country's oil wealth.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=14|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=52|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=15–16}} Corruption and entrenched systems of patronage were widespread throughout the oil industry.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=51|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=136}} Arab nationalism was increasingly popular, and protests flared up following Egypt's 1967 defeat in the ] with Israel; Idris' administration was seen as pro-Israeli due to its alliance with the Western powers.{{sfnm|1a1=Simons|1y=1996|1p=175|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2006|2p=70|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=16–17}} Anti-Western riots broke out in ] and Benghazi, while Libyan workers shut down oil terminals in solidarity with Egypt.{{sfnm|1a1=Simons|1y=1996|1p=175|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2006|2p=70|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=16–17}} By 1969, the US ] (CIA) was expecting segments of Libya's armed forces to launch a coup. Although claims have been made that they knew of Gaddafi's ], they have since claimed ignorance, stating that they were instead monitoring ]'s Black Boots revolutionary group.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=53|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=19|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=139–140}} Shalhi, who effectively served as Idris' chief of staff, and his brother Omar were the sons of Idris' former chief advisor Ibrahim Shalhi, who had been murdered by ]'s nephew in the fall of 1954.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1955-07-04 |title=LIBYA: Family Troubles |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,807255,00.html |access-date=2023-02-10 |issn=0040-781X |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210080151/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,807255,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After their father's assassination, they became the favorites of Idris.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Qaddafi – The Man and His Rise to Power – Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training |url=https://adst.org/2013/08/qaddafi-the-man-and-his-rise-to-power/ |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=adst.org |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210074629/https://adst.org/2013/08/qaddafi-the-man-and-his-rise-to-power/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
===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.<ref name=risen>{{registration required|date=March 2011}} {{cite news |author=]; ] | date=9 March 2011 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/world/africa/10qaddafi.html?_r=1&ref=world |title=Hoard of Cash Lets Qaddafi Extend Fight Against Rebels | work = ] |accessdate=10 March 2011}}</ref> Most of the business enterprise has been controlled by Gaddafi and his family.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/04/idUS108205791820110304 | title=Lesson from Libya: Despotism, Poverty and Risk | publisher=Reuters | date=4 March 2011}}</ref>
Meanwhile, a large section of the population lives in poverty. One of the worst situations is in the eastern parts of the country.<ref name="econ470">{{Cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/18290470 |title=A Civil War Beckons: As Muammar Qaddafi fights back, fissures in the opposition start to emerge|date=3 March 2011 |work=]|accessdate=12 March 2011}}</ref><ref name="econ9900">{{Cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/18239900 |title=The Liberated East: Building a New Libya&nbsp;– Around Benghazi, Muammar Qaddafi’s enemies have triumphed|date=24 February 2011|work=]|accessdate=12 March 2011}}</ref>


In mid-1969, Idris travelled abroad to spend the summer in Turkey and Greece amid widespread rumors of an abdication or a British-backed coup by the Shalhi brothers on 5 September.<ref name=":7" /> Gaddafi's Free Officers, recognizing this as their last chance to preempt the Shelhis in overthrowing the monarchy, initiated "Operation Jerusalem".{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=52|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=18}} If Gaddafi's Free Officers had not preempted the Shelhis, they would have almost certainly been defeated by the combined forces of Abdul Aziz Shelhi, the deputy commander of Libya's army, and the prominent families in ] that supported the Shelhi family.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fathali, `Umar Ibrahim |first1=`Umar Ibrahim |title=Political Development and Social Change in Libya |last2=Palmer |first2=Monte |publisher=] |year=1980 |location=Lexington, Massachusetts |pages=40}}</ref> On 1 September, Gaddafi's Free Officers occupied airports, police depots, radio stations, and government offices in Tripoli and Benghazi. Gaddafi took control of the Berka barracks in Benghazi, while ] occupied Tripoli barracks and Jalloud seized the city's anti-aircraft batteries. ] took over the Tripoli radio station and was sent to arrest crown prince ] and force him to relinquish his claim to the throne.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=14|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=57–59|3a1=Simons|3y=1996|3pp=177–178|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=18}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ash |first=Nigel |date=2015-07-27 |title=Qaddafi collaborator Khuwaildi Al-Hamidi dies of heart attack |url=https://www.libyaherald.com/2015/07/qaddafi-collaborator-khuwaildi-al-hamidi-dies-of-heart-attack/ |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=LibyaHerald |language=en-US |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210014017/https://www.libyaherald.com/2015/07/qaddafi-collaborator-khuwaildi-al-hamidi-dies-of-heart-attack/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They met no serious resistance and wielded little violence against the monarchists.{{sfnm|1a1=Simons|1y=1996|1p=178|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=18}}
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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/18239888 |title=Endgame in Tripoli |date=24 February 2011 |publisher=The Economist}}</ref> Gaddafi's relatives adopted lavish lifestyles, including luxurious homes, Hollywood film investments and private parties with American pop stars.<ref name=autogenerated6>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/world/africa/24qaddafi.html?pagewanted=all | title=Shady Dealings Helped Qaddafi Build Fortune and Regime | publisher=The New York Times | date=24 March 2011 | first1=Eric | last1=Lichtblau | first2=David | last2=Rohde | first3=James | last3=Risen}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/04/libya | title=One reason Qaddafi might fold | publisher=The Economist | date=1 April 2011}}</ref>


Once Gaddafi removed the monarchical government, he announced the foundation of the ].{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=55|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=15|3a1=Simons|3y=1996|3p=179}} Addressing the populace by radio, he proclaimed an end to the "reactionary and corrupt" regime, "the stench of which has sickened and horrified us all".{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=54|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=14|3a1=Blundy|3a2=Lycett|3y=1987|3pp=59–60|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=18}} Due to the coup's bloodless nature, it was initially labelled the "White Revolution", although was later renamed the "One September Revolution" after the date on which it occurred.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=134}} Gaddafi insisted that the Free Officers' coup represented a revolution, marking the start of widespread change in the socio-economic and political nature of Libya.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1983|1p=472|2a1=Bearman|2y=1986|2p=56|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=159}} He proclaimed that the revolution meant "freedom, socialism, and unity", and over the coming years implemented measures to achieve this.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=62|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=15|3a1=Blundy|3a2=Lycett|3y=1987|3p=64|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=148}}
The ] is ] and follows Gaddafi's ] ideals. It benefits greatly from revenues from the ], which contributes practically all export earnings and 30% of its ]. These oil revenues, combined with a small population and by far Africa's highest Education Index<ref name=autogenerated7 /> have given Libya the highest ] in ]. 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.<ref name="SalakLibya"/> A leaked diplomatic cable describes Libyan economy as "a kleptocracy in which the government — either the al-Gaddafi family itself or its close political allies — has a direct stake in anything worth buying, selling or owning".<ref name="nytimes" />


===Consolidating leadership: 1969–1973===
Some of the worst economic conditions are in the eastern parts of the state.<ref name="econ470"/><ref name="econ9900"/> The sewage facilities in Banghazi are over 40 years old, and untreated sewage flows into ground and coast.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2056521,00.html | title=Dispatch from Libya: Why Benghazi Rebelled | publisher=Time magazine | date=3 March 2011}}</ref> 97% of urban dewellers have access to "improved sanitation facilities" in Libya, this is 2% points lower than the OECD average, or 21% points above the world average.<ref>http://data.worldbank.org/topic/urban-development http://data.worldbank.org/country/libya</ref> In the first 15 years of Gaddafi rule, the number of doctors per 1000/citizens increased by seven times, with the number of hospital beds increasing by three time.<ref></ref> During Gaddafi's rule, infant mortality rates went from 125/1000 live births, about average for Africa at the time, to 15.04/1,000, the best rate in Africa.<ref name=autogenerated5 /> Libyans who afforded often had to seek medical care in neighboring countries such as Tunisia and Egypt because of lack of decent medical care in Libya.<ref name="econ9900"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/20/the_improvised_state?page=0,1 | title=The Improvised State - Who's actually running things in free Libya? | publisher=Foreign Policy | date=20 April 2011}}</ref>
The 12-member central committee of the Free Officers proclaimed themselves the ] (RCC), the government of the new republic.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=63|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=9|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=134}} Lieutenant Gaddafi became RCC chairman, and therefore the ''de facto'' head of state, also appointing himself to the rank of ] and becoming commander-in-chief of the armed forces.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=15|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=64|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=134}} Jalloud became Prime Minister,{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|pp=91–92}} while a civilian Council of Ministers headed by Sulaiman Maghribi was founded to implement RCC policy.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=17|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=63}} Libya's administrative capital was moved from ] to Tripoli.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=71}}


]
Gaddafi described the ] as the "]".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Watkins |first=John |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4814988.stm |title=Libya's thirst for 'fossil water' |publisher=BBC News |date=18 March 2006 |accessdate=14 February 2010 | location=London}}</ref>


Although theoretically a collegial body operating through consensus building, Gaddafi dominated the RCC.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=134}} Some of the others attempted to constrain what they saw as his excesses.{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|p=20}} Gaddafi remained the government's public face, with the identities of the other RCC members only being publicly revealed on 10 January 1970.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2006|1p=79|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=9|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=134}} All young men from (typically rural) working and middle-class backgrounds, none had university degrees; in this way they were distinct from the wealthy, highly educated conservatives who previously governed the country.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=38|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2006|2p=79|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=10|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=20}}
Gaddafi ordered the Libyan National Telescope Project, costing about 10&nbsp;million euros.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mil.eastday.com/eastday/mil/node3230/node3231/node3401/userobject1ai776743.html|title =卡扎菲千万美元定购望远镜 可能安装在沙漠深处(组图)|publisher=]|date=6 January 2005|accessdate=27 July 2008}}</ref>


The coup completed, the RCC proceeded with their intentions of consolidating the revolutionary government and modernizing the country.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=134}} They purged monarchists and members of Idris' ] clan from Libya's political world and armed forces; Gaddafi believed this elite were opposed to the will of the Libyan people and had to be expunged.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=11|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=21–23}} ] were founded to try various monarchist politicians and journalists, many of whom were imprisoned, although none executed. Idris was sentenced to execution '']''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=71|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=16|3a1=Blundy|3a2=Lycett|3y=1987|3p=62}} Three months after Gaddafi came to power, the army minister and interior minister, both of whom were from the eastern ] region, tried to overthrow him in a failed ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reuters Archive Licensing |url=https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/194993 |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=Reuters Archive Licensing |language=en |archive-date=19 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719153903/https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/194993 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1970, Idris' great nephew ] tried to instigate another coup against Gaddafi; the ] was foiled in August and Ahmed was sentenced to death (commuted in 1988 and pardoned by Gaddafi in 2001).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stock |first=Jonathan |date=2011-03-13 |title=Gaddafi-Opfer Al-Senussi: "Gott entscheidet, was mit dir passiert" |language=de |work=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/gaddafi-opfer-al-senussi-gott-entscheidet-was-mit-dir-passiert-a-750656.html |access-date=2023-02-10 |issn=2195-1349 |archive-date=31 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831122008/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,750656,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-03-23 |title=Arm us to save us: Libyan ex-prisoner appeals - Univision Wires |url=http://wires.univision.com/english/article/2011-03-13/arm-us-to-save-us |access-date=2023-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323161343/http://wires.univision.com/english/article/2011-03-13/arm-us-to-save-us |archive-date=23 March 2012 }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=19968&prog=zgp&proj=zdrl,zme#news |title=Libya: Ministries Abolished |publisher=Carnegieendowment.org |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|author=Passed to the ''Telegraph'' by WikiLeaks 9:38PM GMT 31 Jan 2011 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/libya-wikileaks/8294906/AL-QADHAFI-SUGGESTS-LIBYAN-ELECTIONS-MAY-BE-IN-THE-OFFING.html |title=Al-Qadhafi Suggests Libyan Elections May Be In The Offing |publisher=Telegraph |date=31 January 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01 |location=London}}</ref>


In May 1970, the Revolutionary Intellectuals Seminar was held to bring intellectuals in line with the revolution,{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=17}} while that year's Legislative Review and Amendment united secular and religious law codes, introducing '']'' into the legal system.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=16}} ], the RCC maintained the monarchy's ban on political parties, in May 1970 banned trade unions, and in 1972 outlawed workers' strikes and suspended newspapers.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=17|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=63–64|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=11|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=153}} In September 1971, Gaddafi resigned, claiming to be dissatisfied with the pace of reform, but returned to his position within a month.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|pp=91–92}} In July 1972, amid widespread speculation that Gaddafi had been ousted or jailed by his political opponents, a new 18-man cabinet was formed with only two of them, Jalloud and ], being military men; the rest were civilian ] per Gaddafi's insistence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1972-07-17 |title=COUNCIL IN LIBYA FORMS A CABINET |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/17/archives/council-in-libya-forms-a-cabinet-qaddafi-not-member-but-he-is.html |access-date=2023-03-05 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212224158/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/17/archives/council-in-libya-forms-a-cabinet-qaddafi-not-member-but-he-is.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1972-07-18 |title=New Cabinet Meets |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/18/archives/new-cabinet-meets.html |access-date=2023-03-05 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306053807/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/18/archives/new-cabinet-meets.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 1973, Gaddafi resigned again, once more returning the following month.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=85}}
===Purification laws===
{{See also|LGBT rights in Libya|Women in Libya}}


====Economic and social reform====
Libya's society became increasingly Islamic during Gaddafi's rule. His "purification laws" were put into effect in 1994, punishing theft by the amputation of limbs, and fornication and adultery by flogging.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stokke|first=Hugo|title=Human Rights in Developing Countries: Yearbook 1997|year=1997|publisher=Kluwer International|location=The Hague|isbn=978-9041105370 |page=241|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=9PcEULjohrUC&lpg=PA241&ots=NXUi1543dV&dq=%22purification%20laws%22%20people's%20congress&pg=PA241#v=onepage&q=%22purification%20laws%22%20people's%20congress&f=false|coauthors=Suhrke, Astri; Tostensen, Arne}}</ref> Under the Libyan constitution, homosexual relations are punishable by up to 5 years in jail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/31/article_10027.php |title=Being gay under Gaddafi |publisher=Gaynz.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> A Westerner was shocked in 2005 to see Libyan society, saying it was:
{{quote|... a country without alcohol, where the population abides by strict codes of male-female conduct that require both sexes to stay virgins until marriage—there are no dance clubs, no bars, no young couples strolling down the street, holding hands...I go in search of the town hotspot and discover it to be the local internet café, where crowds of young men play video games, enter English-language chat rooms, and examine—however surreptitiously—Western porn sites. It takes me a few minutes to notice that there’s not a single woman in the place. Away from the progressive cities of Tripoli and Benghazi, women stay largely in the home, out of sight. A local man, Mahmud, tells me that women here aren’t allowed to see or interact with males outside of their immediate family, including any would-be husband."<ref name="SalakLibya"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Salak|first=Kira|title=Rediscovering Libya |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0504/excerpt1.html|accessdate=29 August 2011|newspaper=]|date=April 2005|authorlink=Kira Salak}}</ref>}}


]. Gaddafi sits in military uniform in the middle, surrounded by Egyptian President ] (left) and Syrian President ] (right).]]
==Foreign affairs==
===Activities in Sudan and Chad===
{{main|Islamic Legion|Chadian–Libyan conflict|Toyota War}}
], and Syrian President ] attending the ] in Libya in December 1977.]]
]n President ] in 1977]]


The RCC's early economic policy has been characterized as being ] in orientation.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=124}} Many initiatives were established to aid entrepreneurs and develop a Libyan bourgeoisie.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=123}} Seeking to expand the cultivatable acreage in Libya, in September 1969 the government launched a "Green Revolution" to increase agricultural productivity so that Libya could rely less on imported food.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=128}} The hope was to make Libya self-sufficient in food production.{{sfn|El-Khawas|1984|p=34}} All land that had either been expropriated from Italian settlers or which was not in use was repossessed and redistributed.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=129}} Irrigation systems were established along the northern coastline and around various inland oases.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|pp=130–132}} Production costs often surpassed the value of the produce and thus Libyan agricultural production remained in deficit, relying heavily on state subsidies.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=132}}
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 ] revolutionary forces.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2CV1upnEMmoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Darfur:+The+Ambiguous+Genocide%22&hl=en&ei=apSGTefAFojUtQPEy8iCAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=even%20offered%20him%20a%20merger&f=true |title=Darfur: the ambiguous genocide – Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date=15 June 2005 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> In 1971, when Muslims took power in Sudan, he offered to merge Libya with Sudan.<ref>Joffe, Lawrence (5 June 2009). "", '']''.</ref> ], the ], turned him down and angered Gaddafi by signing a ] with the Sudanese Christians.<ref>Prunier, Gérard. ''Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide'', Cornell University Press, 2005, pages ISBN 0-8014-4450-0</ref> Gaddafi took matters into his own hands in 1972, organizing the ], a paramilitary group, to arabize the region.<ref name=prunier45>G. Prunier, ''Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide'', p. 45</ref> He dispatched The Islamic Legion to Lebanon, Syria, Uganda, and Palestine to take active measures to ensure Islamic control. The Islamic Legion was highly active in Sudan and Chad, and nearly removed the ] population of southern Libya through violence.<ref></ref> Through the 1970s and 1980s, Gaddafi led an armed conflict against Chad, and occupied the ]. During the 1970s, two Muslim leaders, ] and Habre, were fighting against the Christian southerners for control of Chad. Gaddafi supported them, and when they seized control in 1979, he offered to merge with Chad. Goukouni turned him down, and Gaddafi withdrew Libyan troops in 1981 because of growing opposition from France and neighboring African nations. Gaddafi's withdrawal left Goukouni vulnerable in Chad, and in 1982, his former partner, Habre, led a coup to remove him from Chad. Gaddafi helped Goukouni regain territory in Chad, and fought with Habre's forces.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926091-4,00.html</ref> As a side note, Gaddafi's occupation of Chad led to the liberation of French archeologist ] in 1977.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/csmonitor_historic/access/184339712.html?dids=184339712:184339712&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Feb+01%2C+1977&author=By+Jim+Browning+Special+to+The+Christian+Science+Monitor&pub=Christian+Science+Monitor&desc=Libyans+the+liberators+in+%27Claustre+affair%27&pqatl=google |title=Libyans the liberators in 'Claustre affair' |publisher=Pqasb.pqarchiver.com |date=1 February 1977 |accessdate=2011-09-01 |first=Jim |last=Browning}}</ref> In 1987, Gaddafi engaged in a full-out war with Chad, suffering a humiliating loss in 1987 during the ]. Libya took heavy casualties, losing one tenth of its army (7,500 troops) and 1.5 billion dollars worth of military equipment.<ref name=Simons58>{{harvnb|Simons|2004|p=58}}</ref> Chad lost 1,000 troops, and was supported by both the United States and France.<ref name=Pollack391>{{harvnb|Pollack|2002|p=391}}</ref> During the war, Gaddafi lost his long-time ally, Goukouni Oueddei, who repaired his relationship with Habre in 1987. Gaddafi gave Habre an offer to make complete peace, and promised to return all Chadian prisoners in Libya. He also promised to pay reparations for the damage done to Chad, and promised financial support to fight poverty. He also announced that he would push to end the death penalty in Libya, end "revolutionary" courts, free hundreds of political prisoners, and warmed relations with African leaders concerned about his "Green revolution."<ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=y2NKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MoYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1150,3788509&dq=gaddafi+chad+habre&hl=en</ref> Former Libyan soldiers and rebel groups supported by Libya continued to fight the Chadian government independent of Gaddafi. Their organization, the Arab Gathering, was an Arab supremacist group that also contributing to violence in Sudan. Members of this group later developed into leaders of the ].<ref>{{cite web|author=Friday, 22 April 2011 08:55 |url=http://www.defenceviewpoints.co.uk/articles-and-analysis/civil-militias-in-northern-africa-echoes-of-gaddafis-islamic-legion |title=The Janjaweed in Darfur : echoes of Gaddafi's Islamic Legion - Defence Viewpoints from UK Defence Forum |publisher=Defence Viewpoints |date=22 April 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>


With ] as the country's primary export, Gaddafi sought to improve Libya's oil sector.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=66–67|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=145–146}} In October 1969, he proclaimed the current trade terms unfair, benefiting foreign corporations more than the Libyan state, and threatened to decrease production. In December Jalloud successfully increased the price of Libyan oil.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=80–88|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=66–67|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=145–146}} In 1970, other ] states followed suit, leading to a global increase in the price of crude oil.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=66–67|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=145–146}} The RCC followed with the Tripoli Agreement of 20 March 1971, in which they secured income tax, back-payments and better pricing from the oil corporations; these measures brought Libya an estimated $1&nbsp;billion in additional revenues in its first year.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=15|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=147}}
===War against Egypt===
{{main|Libyan–Egyptian War}}
The disappointment and failure Nasser faced for his lost ] motivated Gaddafi to better coordinate Arab attacks on Israel.<ref name="1970israel"></ref> Beginning in 1972, Gaddafi granted financial support and military training to Palestinian militant groups against Israel.<ref name="leedavis182">{{harvnb|Davis|1990|p=182}}</ref><ref name="Washington Post 12 June 1972">''Washington Post'' 12 June 1972</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">''The New York Times'' 12 June 1972</ref> He also strengthened his unity with Egypt, and in 1972, convinced ] 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 ] 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".<ref name="bangor_201108">{{cite web | url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QRtbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qk4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1923,335727&dq=arab+socialist+union+libya&hl=en | title=Lybian Leader Impatient Over Union With Egypt | publisher=UPI | work=Bangor Daily News | date=3 July 1973 | accessdate=23 August 2011 | page=3}}</ref> In 1973, Gaddafi secretly sent Libyan military planes to join the Egyptian Air Force. The outbreak of the ] surprised Gaddafi, as Egypt and Syria planned it without his knowledge.<ref name="countrystudies.us">{{cite web | url=http://countrystudies.us/libya/32.htm | title=Libya: A Country Study; Libya and Arab Unity | publisher=United States Government | work=U.S. Library of Congress | year=1987 | accessdate=23 August 2011 | author=Metz, Helen Chapin | quote=Qadhafi became the foremost exponent of Arab unity in the 1970s. Although all Arab governments endorsed the idea in principle, most observed that conditions were not right for putting it into practice or that unity would come only at the end of a long process of historical evolution. But Qadhafi rejected these views. As he conceived it, Arab unity was not an ideal but a realistic goal. He agreed that achieving Arab unity was a process that required sequential and intermediate stages of development, but the challenge he posed to other Arab leaders was that the process had to begin somewhere. Qadhafi expressed his determination to make a contribution to the process and offered Libya as the leavening agent. Throughout 1970 Qadhafi consulted with Egyptian and Sudanese leaders about how to achieve some form of union. Nasser died in September 1970, but Egyptian participation in the unity talks continued under his successor, President Anwar as Sadat. It was the young Qadhafi, however, who moved to assume Nasser's mantle as the ideological leader of Arab nationalism.}}</ref> Gaddafi felt that the war wasted resources and manpower to chase limited objectives, and accused Sadat of trying to weaken the ] by launching the War. According to Gaddafi, the Assad and Sadat were foolish to fight for small areas of Israeli-occupied territory when the entire land could be returned to the Palestinians outright. He said, "I will participate only in a war if the aim is to oust the usurpers and send the Jews back to Europe from where they have come since 1948 to colonize an Arab land."<ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s5wQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wZADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6881,5735400&dq=gaddafi&hl=en</ref> 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. Gaddafi also believed that the Soviet Union and the United States would join forces with Israel, and would deploy troops on the ]s to invade and "colonize" the Arab nations.<ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s5wQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wZADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6881,5735400&dq=gaddafi&hl=en</ref> Anwar Sadat was equally angry with Gaddafi and revealed that he was responsible for foiling a 1973 submarine attack Libya had to sink the ] 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.<ref name="stannik">{{cite book | title=El Dorado Canyon: Reagan's undeclared war with Qaddafi | publisher=US Naval Institute Press | author=Stanik, Joseph T. | year=December 2002 | isbn=978-1557509833 | quote=In a speech delivered only hours after the assassination Qaddafi applauded the killing and remarked that 'the sound of the bullets that resounded firmly and courageously in the face of as-Sadat this morning was in fact saying this is the punishment of those who betray the Arab nation.'}}</ref> Egypt's peace talks in 1977 led to the ], 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 ]. During the war, Libya sent its military across the border, but Egyptian forces fought back and forced them to retreat. Gaddafi's animosity with Sadat was so high that in 1981, Gaddafi declared his death a national holiday.<ref></ref> He called it a just "punishment" for his role in the ].<ref name="stannik" />


Increasing state control over the oil sector, the RCC began a program of ], starting with the expropriation of ]'s share of the British Petroleum-N.B. Hunt Sahir Field in December 1971.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=90|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=68|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=147}} In September 1973, it was announced that all foreign oil producers active in Libya were to see 51 per cent of their operation nationalized, including the stake of ], son of ], who had played a key role in the discovery of oil in Libya.<ref name="Libya">{{Cite book| last = Greenwood| first = C. J.| title = International Law Reports| publisher = Cambridge University Press| year = 1984| volume = 66| page = 340| isbn = 0-521-46411-0}}</ref> Among the companies that were partially nationalized was ]'s ].<ref>{{Cite news|date=29 November 1981|title=The Riddle of Armand Hammer|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/29/magazine/the-riddle-of-armand-hammer.html|access-date=3 February 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=17 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217222637/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/29/magazine/the-riddle-of-armand-hammer.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=8 February 1974|title=Occidental-Libya Exploration Pact Set|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/08/archives/occidentallibya-exploration-pact-set.html|access-date=3 February 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=11 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011054821/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/08/archives/occidentallibya-exploration-pact-set.html|url-status=live}}</ref> For Gaddafi, this was an essential step towards socialism.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=91|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=68|3a1=St. John|3y=1987|3p=116|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=147}} It proved an economic success; while gross domestic product had been $3.8&nbsp;billion in 1969, it had risen to $13.7&nbsp;billion in 1974, and $24.5&nbsp;billion in 1979.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=107}} In turn, the Libyans' standard of life greatly improved over the first decade of Gaddafi's administration, and by 1979 the average per-capita income was at $8,170, up from $40 in 1951; this was above the average of many industrialized countries like Italy and the UK.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=107}} In 1969, the government also declared that all foreign owned banks must either close down or convert to joint-stock operations.{{sfn|El-Khawas|1984|p=28}}
===Maghreb countries===


], Libya's Gaddafi and Syria's ] signed an agreement ]. The agreement never materialized into a federal union between the three Arab states.]]
Gaddafi's signed an agreement with Tunisian president ] to ] in 1974.<ref></ref> The pact came as a surprise because Bouguiba had rebuked similar offers for over two years previously.<ref></ref> 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 ] with ]'s ] in 1984 broke down in two years when Hassan II met with Israeli Prime Minister ].<ref>{{cite news | title=Washington's Closest Arab Ally Neutralizes Foes : Moroccan King a Success on Tightrope: U.S. Ties Warm Despite His Libya Pact | url=http://articles.latimes.com/1985-05-28/news/mn-16288_1_closest-arab-ally |work=LA Times | date=28 May 1985 | accessdate=27 March 2011 | first=David | last=Lamb}}</ref> Gaddafi said recognition of Israel was "an act of treason".<ref>{{cite news | title=Morocco cancelling treaty aimed at union with Libya | url=http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/30/world/morocco-canceling-treaty-aimed-at-union-with-libya.html | work=] | date=30 September 1986 | accessdate=27 March 2011}}</ref> In 1989, Gaddafi was overjoyed by the ] 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.<ref></ref>


The RCC implemented measures for social reform, adopting ''sharia'' as a basis.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=64|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=31|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=21|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=134}} The consumption of alcohol was prohibited, night clubs and ] were shut down, traditional Libyan dress was encouraged, and Arabic was decreed as the only language permitted in official communications and on road signs.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=72|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=64|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=31|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=21|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=134}} The RCC doubled the ], introduced statutory price controls, and implemented compulsory rent reductions of between 30 and 40 per cent.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=73}} Gaddafi also wanted to combat the strict social restrictions that had been imposed on women by the previous regime, establishing the ] to encourage reform.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=196}} In 1970, a law was introduced affirming equality of the sexes and insisting on wage parity.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=198}} In 1971, Gaddafi sponsored the creation of a Libyan General Women's Federation.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=197}} In 1972, a law was passed criminalizing the marriage of any females under the age of sixteen and ensuring that a woman's consent was a necessary prerequisite for a marriage.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=198}} Gaddafi's regime opened up a wide range of educational and employment opportunities for women, although these primarily benefited a minority in the urban middle-classes.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=198}}
===Palestinians===
Gaddafi's image in the Arab world was damaged severely in 1978 when Shia imam ] disappeared ''en route'' to Libya.<ref name="time.com">{{cite news|last=Blanford |first=Nicholas |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2053630,00.html |title=Is the Missing Shi'ite Cleric Imam Musa Sadr Alive in Libya? |publisher=TIME |date=25 February 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> The Libyan government consistently denied responsibility, but Lebanon held Gaddafi responsible, and continues to do so. Allegedly, ] asked Gaddafi to eliminate al-Sadr because of his opposition to Palestinians in the ].<ref name="huffingtonpost.com"/><ref name="time.com"/> 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.<ref name="countrystudies.us"/> Lebanon formally indicted Gaddafi in 2008 for al-Sadr's disappearance.<ref>'']'', 27&nbsp;August&nbsp;2006.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7584557.stm |title=Gaddafi charged for cleric kidnap|publisher=BBC News|date=27 August 2008 |accessdate=14 February 2010 | location=London}}</ref> Some reports claim that al-Sadr still lives and secretly remains in jail in Libya.


From 1969 to 1973, it used oil money to fund social welfare programs, which led to housebuilding projects and improved healthcare and education.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=23|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=149}} House building became a major social priority, designed to eliminate homelessness and to replace the ]s created by Libya's growing urbanization.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=73}} The health sector was also expanded; by 1978, Libya had 50 per cent more hospitals than it had in 1968, while the number of doctors had increased from 700 to over 3000 in that decade.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=74}} ] was eradicated, and ] and ] greatly curtailed.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=74}} Compulsory education was expanded from 6 to 9 years, while adult literacy programs and free university education were introduced.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=38}} ] was founded, while ] and ] were expanded.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=38}} In doing so, the government helped to integrate the poorer strata of Libyan society into the education system.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|pp=74–75}} Through these measures, the RCC greatly expanded the ], providing employment for thousands.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=23|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=149}} These early social programs proved popular within Libya.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=19|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=22|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=149}} This popularity was partly due to Gaddafi's personal charisma, youth and underdog status as a Bedouin, as well as his rhetoric emphasizing his role as the successor to the anti-Italian fighter ].{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1pp=31–32|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=22}}
In 1995 Gaddafi expelled some 30,000 ]s living in Libya, a response to the peace negotiations that had commenced between Israel and the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V115/N40/arab.40w.html|title=Tech.mit.edu|publisher=Tech.mit.edu |date=12 September 1995 |accessdate=28 February 2011}}</ref>


To combat the country's strong regional and tribal divisions, the RCC promoted the idea of a unified pan-Libyan identity.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=154}} In doing so, they tried discrediting tribal leaders as agents of the old regime, and in August 1971 a Sabha military court tried many of them for counter-revolutionary activity.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=154}} Long-standing administrative boundaries were re-drawn, crossing tribal boundaries, while pro-revolutionary modernizers replaced traditional leaders, yet the communities they served often rejected them.{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=154–155}} Realizing the failures of the modernizers, Gaddafi created the ] (ASU) in June 1971, a mass mobilization ] of which he was president.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=136–137|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=91|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2006|3p=83|4a1=Vandewalle|4y=2008b|4p=11|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=155}} The ASU recognized the RCC as its "Supreme Leading Authority", and was designed to further revolutionary enthusiasm throughout the country.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=91|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=11|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=155}} It remained heavily bureaucratic and failed to mobilize mass support in the way Gaddafi had envisioned.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=138}}
===Weapons of mass destruction programs===
Gaddafi's attempts to procure ] began in 1972, when Gaddafi tried to get the People's Republic of China to sell him a ].<ref name="riskreport"/>


====Foreign relations====
In 1977, he tried to get a bomb from ], but Pakistan severed ties before Libya succeeded in building a weapon.<ref name="riskreport"/> After ties were restored, Gaddafi tried to buy a nuclear weapon from India, but instead, India and Libya agreed for a peaceful use of nuclear energy, in line with India's "atoms for peace" policy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Libya/Nuclear/index.html |title=1968 to 1990: Program Beginnings |publisher=]}}</ref>
{{Further|Foreign relations of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi}}


]
Several people around the world were indicted for assisting Gaddafi in his ]s programs. Thailand reported its citizens had helped build a storage facility for ]. Germany sentenced a businessman, Jurgen Hippenstiel-Imhausen, to five years in prison for involvement in Libyan chemical weapons.<ref name="riskreport">{{cite journal |title=Libya Has Trouble Building the Most Deadly Weapons |url=http://www.wisconsinproject.org/countries/libya/trouble.html |journal=The Risk Report |volume=1 |number=10 |date=December 1995}}</ref><ref name="chemweapon">{{cite web|title=Libyan Chemical Weapons|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/libya/cw.htm|publisher=]|work=Weapons of Mass Destruction |accessdate=28 August 2011|date=24 July 2011}}</ref>
The influence of Nasser's Arab nationalism over the RCC was immediately apparent.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2006|1pp=79–80|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=9|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=137}} The administration was instantly ] by the neighbouring Arab nationalist regimes in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Sudan,{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=55|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=60|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=18}} with Egypt sending experts to aid the inexperienced RCC.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=62–63|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=18}} Gaddafi propounded ] ideas, proclaiming the need for a single Arab state stretching across North Africa and the Middle East.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=96|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=75|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=65|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=186}} In December 1969, Libya signed the Tripoli Charter alongside Egypt and Sudan. This established the Arab Revolutionary Front, a pan-national union designed as a first step towards the eventual political unification of the three nations.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=64|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=75|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=65|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=186}} In 1970 Syria declared its intention to join.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=96}}


Nasser died unexpectedly in September 1970, with Gaddafi playing a prominent role at his funeral.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=66}} Nasser was succeeded by ], who suggested that rather than creating a unified state, the Arab states should create ], implemented in April 1971; in doing so, Egypt, Syria, and Sudan received large grants of Libyan oil money.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=97|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=87|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=65|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=151–152}} In July 1971, Gaddafi sided with Sadat against the Soviet Union in the ] and dispatched Libyan fighter jets to force down a ] jetliner carrying the leading coup plotters, ] and Babikir al-Nour. They were extradited back to ], where they were promptly executed by Sudanese leader ].<ref name="Korn 88">{{cite book |last=Korn |first=David A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDcwB0LusBEC&q=Hashem+al-Atta&pg=PA87 |title=Assassination in Khartoum |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1993 |isbn=0253332028 |page=88 |access-date=5 March 2023 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307180303/https://books.google.com/books?id=NDcwB0LusBEC&q=Hashem+al-Atta&pg=PA87 |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 1972, Gaddafi and Sadat signed an unofficial charter of merger, but it was never implemented because relations broke down the following year. Sadat became increasingly wary of Libya's radical direction, and the September 1973 deadline for implementing the Federation passed by with no action taken.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=66|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=182}}
Inspectors from the ] (CWC) verified in 2004 that Libya owned a stockpile of 23 ]s of ] and more than 1,300 metric tons of precursor chemicals. Disposing of such large quantities of chemical weapons was expected to be expensive.<ref name="arms2006">{{cite web |last=Nguyen|first=Michael|url=http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2006_05/Libya |title=Libya Chemical Weapons Destruction Costly|publisher=]|accessdate=28 August 2011}}</ref>
Following the overthrow of ] by US&nbsp;forces in 2003, Gaddafi announced that his nation had an active ] program, but was willing to allow international inspectors into his country to observe and dismantle them. US&nbsp;President ] and other supporters of the ] portrayed Gaddafi's announcement as a direct consequence of the Iraq War. Italian Premier ], a supporter of the ], was quoted as saying that Gaddafi had privately phoned him, admitting as much.
Many foreign policy experts, however, contend that Gaddafi's announcement was merely a continuation of his prior attempts at normalizing relations with the West and getting the sanctions removed. To support this, they point to the fact that Libya had already made similar offers starting four years before one was finally accepted.<ref name="brookings309">{{cite web|url=http://www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/indyk/20040309.htm|title=The Iraq War did not Force Gadaffi's Hand|work=]|date=9 March 2004|first=Martin S. |last=Indyk|accessdate=28 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bush/libya.htm
|first=Flynt |last=Leverett
|title=Why Libya Gave Up on the Bomb |work=The New York Times |year=2004
|accessdate=5 March 2006 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060101191245/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bush/libya.htm|archivedate = 1 January 2006}}</ref>
International inspectors turned up several tons of chemical weaponry in Libya, as well as an active ]s program.


After the 1969 coup, representatives of the ]—France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the ]—were called to meet RCC representatives.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=140}} The UK and the US quickly extended diplomatic recognition, hoping to secure the position of their military bases in Libya and fearing further instability. Hoping to ingratiate themselves with Gaddafi, in 1970 the US informed him of at least one planned counter-coup.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=65|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=18|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=140–141}} Such attempts to form a working relationship with the RCC failed; Gaddafi was determined to reassert national sovereignty and expunge what he described as foreign colonial and imperialist influences. His administration insisted that the US and the UK remove their military bases from Libya, with Gaddafi proclaiming that "the armed forces which rose to express the people's revolution tolerate living in their shacks while the bases of imperialism exist in Libyan territory." The British left in March and the Americans in June 1970.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=76–77|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=61|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=19|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=141–143}}
===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 ], an American company in Libya, from 800,000 to 500,000 that year.<ref name="bare_url">{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mA6R4gJ9YUUC&pg=PA240&lpg=PA240&dq=gaddafi+occidental+1970&source=bl&ots=VkuyBdSct0&sig=nEvgL141BJpfC6W4W86MmeQ_aFs&hl=en&ei=g7xRTriCM5OugQfngZHhBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CEkQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Other Arab-Israeli Conflict ... - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> Occidental Petroleum's President, ], met with Gaddafi in Tripoli and had difficulty understanding exactly what he wanted at first. He said at one meeting, Prime Minister ] 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".<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2oPi-iJIaJEC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=armand+hammer+gaddafi+gun&source=bl&ots=i6A0xFbVs-&sig=VxoP2R6I5wfn7Jkvz5FP8dx-Fo8&hl=en&ei=wcRRTsbFKszngQfC7vDjBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Power of a Good Fight: Executive ... - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/conflict-in-libya-us-oil-companies-sit-on-sidelines-as-gaddafi-maintains-hold/2011/06/03/AGJq2QPH_story.html |title=Conflict in Libya: U.S. oil companies sit on sidelines as Gaddafi maintains hold |publisher=The Washington Post |date=16 August 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01 |first=Marjorie |last=Censer}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=JWmx5uKA6gIC&pg=PA102&sig=Bkxzm1yvO88UWHVEyfdF34LrHVQ&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The age of oil: the mythology ... - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> Libya continued a winning streak against the oil companies throughout the ]; 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.<ref name="bare_url" />


Moving to reduce Italian influence, in October 1970 all Italian-owned assets were expropriated, and the 12,000-strong ] was expelled from Libya alongside the smaller community of ]. The day became a ] known as "Vengeance Day".{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=72|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=64|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=21–22|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=142}} Italy complained that this was in contravention of the 1956 Italo-Libyan Treaty, although no UN sanctions were forthcoming.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=72}} Aiming to reduce ] power in the Mediterranean, in 1971 Libya requested that ] cease allowing NATO to use its land for a military base, in turn offering Malta foreign aid. Compromising, Malta's government continued allowing NATO to use the island, but only on the condition that NATO would not use it for launching attacks on Arab territory.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1983|1p=475|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2pp=87–88|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=150–151}} Over the coming decade, Gaddafi's government developed stronger political and economic links with ]'s Maltese administration, and under Libya's urging Malta did not renew the UK's airbases on the island in 1980.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=117}} Orchestrating a military build-up, the RCC began purchasing weapons from France and the Soviet Union.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1987|1pp=74–75|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=144–145}} The commercial relationship with the latter led to an increasingly strained relationship with the US, which was then engaged in the ] with the Soviets.{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=144–145}}
Gaddafi and the ] both argued for quadrupling the cost of oil in 1975.<ref></ref> In 1975, Gaddafi allegedly organized the ] in ], Austria.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ion Mihai Pacepa |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/205932/berlins-new-anti-american-axis/ion-mihai-pacepa# |title=Berlin’s New Anti-American Axis - Ion Mihai Pacepa - National Review Online |publisher=Nationalreview.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>


] including an interview with Gaddafi about his support for foreign militants]]
===Alliances with other authoritarian national leaders===
{{See also|Idi Amin|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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Idi Amin speaks: an annotated selection of his speeches|author=Idi Amin, Benoni Turyahikayo-Rugyema|year=1998|page=43}}</ref>
When Amin's government began to crumble, Gaddafi sent troops to ] on behalf of Amin and 600 Libyan soldiers lost their lives.<ref name="stanik23">{{Cite book|title=El Dorado Canyon: Reagan's undeclared war with Qaddafi|author=Joseph T. Stanik|year=2003}}</ref>
Gaddafi also financed ]'s military junta in Ethiopia, which was later convicted of one of the deadliest genocides in modern history.<ref name="leedavis16"/>


Gaddafi was especially critical of the US due to its support of Israel and sided with the ] in the ], viewing the 1948 creation of the State of Israel as a Western colonial occupation forced upon the ].{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=70–71|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=34|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=64|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=150–152}} He believed that Palestinian violence against Israeli and Western targets was the justified response of an oppressed people who were fighting against the colonization of their homeland.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=114}} Calling on the Arab states to wage "continuous war" against Israel, in 1970 he initiated a Jihad Fund to finance anti-Israeli militants.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1983|1p=478|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=71|3a1=St. John|3y=1987|3p=36|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=185}} In June 1972 Gaddafi created the First Nasserite Volunteers Centre to train anti-Israeli guerrillas.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=37|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=151}}
Gaddafi ran a school near ] called the World Revolutionary Center (WRC). A notable number of its graduates have seized power in African countries.<ref name="Harvard for Tyrants"/> ] of ] and ] of Chad were graduates of this school, and are currently in power in their respective countries.<ref name="school for scoundrels"/> Gaddafi trained and supported ] of ], ], the founder of ], and ], the Emperor of the ].<ref name="stanik23"/><ref name="leedavis16">{{harvnb|Davis|1990|p=16}}</ref>
], the president of Tanzania, embraces Gaddafi during the ] Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2 Feb. 2009.]]


Like Nasser, Gaddafi favoured the Palestinian leader ] and his group, ], over more militant and ] Palestinian groups.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=64–65|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2p=37}} As the years progressed however, Gaddafi's relationship with Arafat became strained, with Gaddafi considering him too moderate and calling for more violent action.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=116|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=69–70|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=37|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=178}} Instead, he supported militias like the ], ], the ], ], the ], and the ] Organization.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=116|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=150|3a1=St. John|3y=2008|3p=95}} He funded the ] whose members perpetrated the 1972 ] of Israeli athletes in West Germany and had the killed militants' bodies flown to Libya for a hero's funeral.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=114|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=78|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=38|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=178}}
In Europe, Gaddafi had close ties with ] and ]. According to the ], Jörg Haider received tens of millions of dollars from both Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1300028/Did-Austrian-far-right-leader-Joerg-Haider-receive-funding-Saddam-Gaddafi.html|title=Did Austrian far-right leader receive hidden £40m fortune thanks to funding from Saddam and Gaddafi? |date=4 August 2010|publisher=The Mail Online|location=London}}</ref> Gaddafi also aligned himself with the ] against Muslims in ] and ], supporting Milošević even when he was charged with ].<ref name="belgrade-tripoli">{{cite news |publisher=Radio Free Europe |title=Qaddafi's Serbian TV Interview Result Of Close Belgrade-Tripoli Ties |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/2323834.html |date=28 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Qaddafi's Yugoslav friends |date=25 February 2010 |work=The Economist |url=http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2011/02/libyas_balkan_connections}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.alb-net.com/kcc/102699.htm |title=Gaddafi Given Yugoslavia's Top Medal By Milosevic |date=26 October 1999|agency=Reuters }}</ref>


Gaddafi financially supported other militant groups across the world, including the ], the ], the ], the ], the ] and the ] in Nicaragua, the ] among other ] in the fight against ] in South Africa, the ], ], ], the ], and the ] in Europe, and the ], the ], the ], and the ] in the ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ap |date=1987-12-31 |title=Five Draw Long Sentences for Terrorism Scheme |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/31/us/five-draw-long-sentences-for-terrorism-scheme.html |access-date=2023-02-02 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=11 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211085951/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5D71F3CF932A05751C1A961948260 |url-status=live }}</ref> Gaddafi was indiscriminate in the causes which he funded, sometimes switching from supporting one side in a conflict to the other, as in the ].{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=78–81, 150, 185|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=34–35, 40–53|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=151}} Throughout the 1970s these groups received financial support from Libya, which came to be seen as a leader in the ]'s struggle against ] and ].{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=78–81, 150|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=34–35, 40–53|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=151}} Though many of these groups were labelled "]" by critics of their activities, Gaddafi rejected this characterization, instead considering them to be revolutionaries who were engaged in liberation struggles.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=55}}
Gaddafi developed a friendship with ] and in March 2009 a stadium was named after the ]n leader.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=2914 |title=Libya Names Stadium after Hugo Chavez |publisher=Tripolipost.com|accessdate=28 February 2011}}</ref> Documents seized during a 2008 raid on ] showed that both Chavez and Gaddafi backed the group.<ref name="school for scoundrels"/> Gaddafi developed an ongoing relationship with ], becoming acquainted with its leaders at meetings of revolutionary groups which were regularly hosted in Libya.<ref name="Harvard for Tyrants">{{cite web|url=http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/04/harvard_for_tyrants |title=Harvard for Tyrants |date=4 March 2011 |publisher=The Foreign Policy |author=Douglas Farah}}</ref><ref name="school for scoundrels">{{cite web|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/news/858166-revealed-colonel-gaddafis-school-for-scoundrels |author=James Day|title=Revealed: Colonel Gaddafi's school for scoundrels |publisher=Metro |date=15 March 2011 }}</ref> In September 2009, at the ] on ], Venezuela, Gaddafi joined Chávez in calling for an "anti-]" front across Africa and Latin America. Gaddafi proposed the establishment of a South Atlantic Treaty Organization to rival ], saying: "The world’s powers want to continue to hold on to their power. Now we have to fight to build our own power."<ref>{{Cite news
|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6851632.ece |title=Gaddafi proposes 'Nato of the South' at South America-Africa summit |date=28 September 2009 |work=The Times |location=UK |author=Hannah Strange |accessdate=29 September 2009 }}</ref>


===The "Popular Revolution": 1973–1977===
===Focus on activities in Africa===
{{main|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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oocities.org/~dagmawi/News/News_Sep17_Gadhafi.html |title=Libya's Gaddafi turns attention to black Africa |publisher=Oocities.org |date=16 September 1998 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|last=Shepherd |first=Chuck |url=http://www2.orlandoweekly.com/news/story.asp?id=942 |title=Orlandoweekly.com – COLUMNS: Brand recognition |publisher=.orlandoweekly.com |date=5 November 1998 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libyanet.com/1098nwsc.htm |title=Libya: News and Views |publisher=Libyanet.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1998/oct/02/news/mn-28652 |title=Kadafi Lambastes Arab Allies' Stance in Pan Am Blast Case – Los Angeles Times |publisher=Articles.latimes.com |date=15 March 1985 |accessdate=2011-09-01 |first=John |last=Daniszewski}}</ref>


] in Bucharest, 1974]]
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 ] was a "new form of world terrorism" that wanted to recolonize developing countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/30/2529298.htm |title=Gaddafi slams ICC as 'new form of world terrorism' |date=30 April 2009 |publisher=ABC}}</ref> Gaddafi opposed the ICC's arrest warrant for Sudan's president ] and personally gave refuge to ] in Libya after his fall from rule in 1979.<ref>{{cite news |last=Keatley |first=Patrick |title=Obituary: Idi Amin |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2003/aug/18/guardianobituaries |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=18 August 2003 |accessdate=18 March 2008 }}</ref>


On 16 April 1973, Gaddafi proclaimed the start of a "Popular Revolution" in a speech at ].{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=139|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=85|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2006|3p=82|4a1=Vandewalle|4y=2008b|4p=12|5a1=Kawczynski|5y=2011|5p=22|6a1=St. John|6y=2012|6p=156}} He initiated this with a five-point plan, the first point of which dissolved all existing laws, to be replaced by revolutionary enactments. The second point proclaimed that all opponents of the revolution had to be removed, while the third initiated an administrative revolution that Gaddafi proclaimed would remove all traces of ] and the ]. The fourth point announced that the population must form People's Committees and be armed to defend the revolution, while the fifth proclaimed the beginning of the ], to expunge the country of "poisonous" foreign influences.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=140|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=18|3a1=Blundy|3a2=Lycett|3y=1987|3pp=85–86|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=22|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=156}} He began to lecture on this new phase of the revolution in Libya, Egypt, and France.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=93–94}} As a process, it had many similarities with the ] implemented in China.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=140}}
According to the ], ]'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".<ref name="school for scoundrels"/><ref name="economistfall">{{cite news |url= http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9441341 |title= How the mighty are falling | accessdate=17 July 2007 | date=5 July 2007 |work=The Economist}}</ref>


As part of this Popular Revolution, Gaddafi invited Libya's people to found ]s as conduits for raising political consciousness. Although offering little guidance for how to set up these councils, Gaddafi claimed that they would offer a form of ] ] that was more democratic than a traditional party-based ]. He hoped that the councils would mobilize the people behind the RCC, erode the power of the traditional leaders and the bureaucracy, and allow for a new legal system chosen by the people.{{sfnm|1a1=El-Khawas|1y=1984|1p=20|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=86|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=156}} Many such committees were established in schools and colleges,{{sfnm|1a1=El-Khawas|1y=1984|1p=20|2a1=Bearman|2y=1986|2p=140}} where they were responsible for vetting staff, courses, and textbooks to determine if they were compatible with the country's revolutionary ideology.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=140}}
Gaddafi intervened militarily in the ] in 2001 to protect his ally ] from overthrow. Patassé signed a deal giving Libya a 99-year lease to exploit all of that country's natural resources, including ], ], ]s, and ].<ref name="Harvard for Tyrants"/>


The People's Committees led to a high percentage of public involvement in decision making, within the limits permitted by the RCC,{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=157}} but exacerbated tribal divisions and tensions.{{sfnm|1a1=Davis|1y=1982|1p=78|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=103–104}} They also served as a surveillance system, aiding the security services in locating individuals with views critical of the RCC, leading to the arrest of ], ], and ].{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=141|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=18|3a1=Blundy|3a2=Lycett|3y=1987|3p=116|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=157}} Operating in a pyramid structure, the base form of these Committees were local working groups, who sent elected representatives to the district level, and from there to the national level, divided between the ] and the ].{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=104|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=26}} Above these remained Gaddafi and the RCC, who remained responsible for all major decisions.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=64|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=163}} In crossing regional and tribal identities, the committee system aided national integration and centralization and tightened Gaddafi's control over the state and administrative apparatus.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=141}}
Gaddafi acquired at least 20 luxurious properties after he went to rescue ] in ].<ref name="Harvard for Tyrants"/>


==== Third International Theory and ''The Green Book'' ====
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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7588033.stm |title=Gaddafi: Africa's king of kings |publisher=BBC News|date=29 August 2008|accessdate=14 February 2010|location=London}}</ref> His 2009 forum for African kings was canceled by the Ugandan hosts, who believed that traditional rulers discussing politics would lead to instability.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7825843.stm|title=''Uganda bars Gaddafi kings' forum'' |publisher=BBC News |date=13 January 2009 |accessdate=14 February 2010 |location=London}}</ref> On 1&nbsp;February&nbsp;2009, a '] ceremony' in ], Ethiopia, was held to coincide with the 53rd African Union Summit, at which he was elected head of the African Union for the year.<ref>{{cite news|last=Malone|first=Barry|title=Gaddafi pushes for union after election to head AU|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/2009/02/02/idUKL2210323|accessdate=2 September 2011|date=2 February 2009|agency=Reuters}}</ref> When his election was opposed by an African leader, Gaddafi arranged with ] 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Pisa |first=Nick |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/silvio-berlusconi/8364768/Berlusconi-sent-escorts-to-Gaddafi-opponent-as-favour-to-Libya-leader.html |title=Berlusconi 'sent escorts to Gaddafi opponent as favour to Libya leader' |publisher=Telegraph |date=6 March 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01 |location=London}}</ref> Gaddafi told the assembled African leaders: "I shall continue to insist that our sovereign countries work to achieve the ]."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7864604.stm|title=Gaddafi vows to push Africa unity|date=2 February 2009|publisher=BBC News |accessdate=3 February 2009| location=London}}</ref>
{{Main|Third International Theory|The Green Book (Muammar Gaddafi)}}


In June 1973, Gaddafi created a political ideology as a basis for the Popular Revolution: ]. This approach regarded both the US and the Soviet Union as imperialist and thus rejected Western ] as well as Marxist–Leninist atheism.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=150|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=86–87|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=157–158}} In this respect, it was similar to the ] developed by China's political leader ].{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=58}} As part of this theory, Gaddafi praised ] as a progressive force and advocated the creation of a pan-Arab state which would lead the Islamic and Third Worlds against imperialism.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=158}} Gaddafi saw Islam as having a key role in this ideology, calling for an ] that returned to the origins of the ], rejecting scholarly interpretations and the ]; in doing so, he angered many Libyan clerics.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=49|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=122|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=159}} During 1973 and 1974, his government deepened the legal reliance on ''sharia'', for instance by introducing ] as punishment for those convicted of adultery or homosexual activity.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=163|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=112}}
===State-sponsored terrorism===
{{See also|Foreign relations of Libya|Active measures}}
Gaddafi supported militant organizations that held anti-Western sympathies around the world.<ref name="Ronald Bruce St. John">{{Cite journal|last=St. John|first=Ronald Bruce|title=Libyan terrorism: the case against Gaddafi|journal=Contemporary Review|date=1 December 1992|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Libyan+terrorism:+the+case+against+Gaddafi.-a014151801}}</ref> The Foreign Minister of Libya called the massacres "heroic acts".<ref name=Seale245>]. ''Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire''. Hutchinson, 1992, p. 245.</ref> Gaddafi fueled a number of Islamist and communist militant groups in the Philippines, including the ] of the ] and the ]. The country still struggles with their murders and kidnappings.<ref name="Mohamed Eljhami" /><ref name="Ronald Bruce St. John"/><ref name="A Rogue Returns">{{cite web|url=http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2003/282/Libya-return.html |title=A Rogue Returns |publisher=AIJAC |date=February 2003}}</ref><ref name=Geoffrey>{{Cite book|title=Libya: The Struggle for Survival|author=Simons, Geoffrey Leslie|page=281|year=1993|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0312089979}}</ref><ref name="Niksch, Larry">{{cite web |author=Niksch, Larry |title=Abu Sayyaf: Target of Philippine-U.S. Anti-Terrorism Cooperation|publisher=Federation of American Scientists |date=25 January 2002 |work=CRS Report for Congress|url=http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RL31265.pdf|format=PDF}}</ref> In Indonesia, the ] was a Libyan backed militant group. ]'s ruling party also enjoyed Libyan support.<ref name="A Rogue Returns"/> In Australia he attempted to radicalize ]s, left-wing unions,<ref name="The Australian 24 February 2011"/> Arab Australians,<ref name="The Australian 24 February 2011">{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/dictators-useful-idiots-happy-to-take-his-money/story-e6frg6zo-1226010964238|title=Dictator's useful idiots happy to take his money |work=The Australian |date=24 February 2011 }}</ref> against the "imperialist" government of Australia.<ref name="autogenerated758"/><ref name="autogenerated758"/> In New Zealand he financed the ]<ref name="The Australian 24 February 2011"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/qaddafi-vanessa-redgrave-and-their-adventures_553814.html |title=Qaddafi, Vanessa Redgrave, and Their Adventures |publisher=The Weekly Standard |date=8 March 2011 }}</ref> and attempted to radicalize ].<ref name="A Rogue Returns"/>


Gaddafi summarized Third International Theory in three short volumes published between 1975 and 1979, collectively known as '']''. Volume one was devoted to the issue of democracy, outlining the flaws of representative systems in favour of direct, participatory GPCs. The second dealt with Gaddafi's beliefs regarding socialism, while the third explored social issues regarding the family and the tribe. While the first two volumes advocated radical reform, the third adopted a ] stance, proclaiming that while men and women were equal, they were biologically designed for different roles in life.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=96–100|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=19|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=24|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=161–165}} During the years that followed, Gaddafists adopted quotes from ''The Green Book'', such as "Representation is Fraud", as slogans.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=162}} Meanwhile, in September 1975, Gaddafi implemented further measures to increase popular mobilization, introducing objectives to improve the relationship between the Councils and the ASU.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=165}}
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."<ref></ref>


{{Anchor|1975 Libyan coup attempt}}In 1975, Gaddafi's government declared a ] on foreign trade.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|pp=145–146}} Its increasingly radical reforms, coupled with the large amount of oil revenue being spent on foreign causes, generated discontent in Libya,{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=18|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=23}} particularly among the country's merchant class.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=146}} In 1974, Libya saw its first civilian attack on Gaddafi's government when a Benghazi army building was bombed.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=114}} Much of the opposition centred around RCC member ]. With fellow RCC members ] and Awad Ali Hamza, he began plotting a coup against Gaddafi.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Refugees |first=United Nations High Commissioner for |title=Refworld {{!}} Libya: The role of Omar al-Meheshi in Colonel Qaddafi's revolution; his activities in the 1975 coup attempt and in developing opposition movements in Morocco and Egypt (1969 - present) |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aaad48.html |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=Refworld |language=en |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202035935/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aaad48.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1975, their plot was exposed and Muhayshi fled to Tunisia, eventually receiving asylum from Sadat's Egypt.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=146|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=118|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=18|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=23|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=165}} Hawaadi, Hamza, and ] were arrested. Most of the other conspirators were executed in March 1976.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Jack |date=13 November 1985 |title=Fighter Against Qaddafi Betrayed |newspaper=] |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00965R000100120018-2.pdf |access-date=2 February 2023 |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201173332/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00965R000100120018-2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Another RCC member, foreign minister ], also fled to Egypt.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Libya - Exiled Opposition |url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-8220.html |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=www.country-data.com |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210025158/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-8220.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–9, Part 1, Documents on North Africa, 1973–1976 - Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve09p1/d53 |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=history.state.gov |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201173332/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve09p1/d53 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the aftermath, only five RCC members remained: Gaddafi, Jalloud, ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ash |first=Nigel |date=2015-07-17 |title=Cancer kills top Qaddafi aide ten days before trial verdict |url=https://www.libyaherald.com/2015/07/cancer-kills-top-qaddafi-aide-ten-days-before-trial-verdict/ |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=LibyaHerald |language=en-US |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202035222/https://www.libyaherald.com/2015/07/cancer-kills-top-qaddafi-aide-ten-days-before-trial-verdict/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=اكتشف 10 معلومات عن اللواء مصطفى الخروبي |url=https://www.afrigatenews.net/article/%D8%A5%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%81-10-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%8A/ |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=www.afrigatenews.net |language=ar |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210082436/https://www.afrigatenews.net/article/%D8%A5%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%81-10-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%8A/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ufheil-Somers |first=Amanda |date=1986-11-04 |title=Libya's Revolution Revisited |url=https://merip.org/1986/11/libyas-revolution-revisited/ |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=MERIP |language=en-US |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034711/https://merip.org/1986/11/libyas-revolution-revisited/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Thus, power was further concentrated in Gaddafi's hands.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=147}} This ultimately led to the RCC's official abolition in March 1977.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=165}}
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 ], the ], and the ] (I.R.A.) as long as European countries supported anti-Gaddafi Libyans.<ref name="leedavis182"/> In 1976, after a series of attacks by the ], 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".<ref name="leedavis182" /> In April 1984 some Libyan refugees in ] protested the execution of two dissidents. Libyan diplomats shot at 11 people and killed ], a British policewoman. The incident led to the cessation of ] between the United Kingdom and Libya for over a decade.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/7967820/Yvonne-Fletcher-killer-may-be-brought-to-justice.html | location=London| work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Gordon | last=Rayner | title=Yvonne Fletcher killer may be brought to justice | date=28 August 2010}}</ref> 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 ] and, in August that year, a Libyan plot in Mecca was thwarted by Saudi Arabian police.<ref name="autogenerated183"/>


In September 1975, Gaddafi purged the army, arresting around 200 senior officers, and in October he founded the clandestine Office for the Security of the Revolution.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|pp=118–119}} In April 1976, he called upon his supporters in universities to establish "revolutionary student councils" and drive out "reactionary elements".{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=148}} During that year, anti-Gaddafist student demonstrations broke out at the universities of Tripoli and Benghazi, resulting in clashes with both Gaddafist students and police. The RCC responded with mass arrests and introduced compulsory ] for young people.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=148|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=119–120|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=18|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=23}} In January 1977, two dissenting students and a number of army officers were publicly hanged; ] condemned it as the first time in Gaddafist Libya that dissenters had been executed for purely political crimes.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|pp=121–122}} Dissent also arose from conservative clerics and the Muslim Brotherhood, who accused Gaddafi of moving towards Marxism and criticized his abolition of private property as being against the Islamic '']''; these forces were then persecuted as anti-revolutionary,{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=162|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=122–123|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=29–30}} while all privately owned Islamic colleges and universities were shut down.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=148}}
On 5 April 1986 Libyan agents ], killing three and injuring 229. Gaddafi's plan was intercepted by Western intelligence and more detailed information was retrieved some years later from ] archives. Libyan agents who had carried out the operation, from the Libyan embassy in ], were prosecuted by the reunited Germany in the 1990s.<ref>. BBC on 13 November 2001.</ref>


====Foreign relations====
Following the 1986 bombing of Libya, Gaddafi intensified his support for anti-American government organizations. He financed the ], which emerged as one of the leading organizations receiving assistance from Libya; and ], in their emergence as an indigenous anti-American armed revolutionary movement.<ref name="Bodansky"/> Members of Al-Rukn were arrested in 1986 for preparing to conduct strikes on behalf of Libya, including blowing up U.S. government buildings and bringing down an airplane; the Al-Rukn defendants were convicted in 1987 of "offering to commit bombings and assassinations on U.S. soil for Libyan payment."<ref name="Bodansky">{{cite book |title=Target America & the West: Terrorism Today|author=Bodansky, Yossef |authorlink=Yossef Bodansky |pages=301–303|year=1993 |location=New York|publisher= S.P.I. Books|isbn=978-1561712694}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/libya-will-not-arm-ira-again-gaddafi-aide-says-1414984.html |title=Libya will not arm IRA again, Gaddafi aide says - UK, News |publisher=The Independent |date=20 July 1994 |accessdate=2011-09-01 |location=London |first1=Tim |last1=Kelsey |first2=Peter |last2=Koenig}}</ref>


Following Anwar Sadat's ascension to the Egyptian presidency, Libya's relations with Egypt deteriorated.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=88|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=74, 93–94|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=66}} Over the coming years, the two slipped into a state of ].{{sfn|Bearman|1986|pp=166–167}} Sadat was perturbed by Gaddafi's unpredictability and insistence that Egypt required a cultural revolution akin to that being carried out in Libya.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=88|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=74, 93–94|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=66}} In February 1973, Israeli forces shot down ], which had strayed from Egyptian airspace into Israeli-held territory during a sandstorm. Gaddafi's foreign minister ] was on board and allegedly targeted by Israel in retaliation for the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=في كتابه الجديد.. محمد عبد الهادى علام يكشف بالوثائق تفاصيل جديدة ومثيرة حول اغتيال بويصير والكيخيا (1-2) |url=https://gate.ahram.org.eg/News/272873.aspx |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=بوابة الأهرام |language=ar |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202015923/https://gate.ahram.org.eg/News/272873.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Gaddafi was infuriated that Egypt had not done more to prevent the incident, and in retaliation planned to destroy the '']'', a British ship chartered by American Jews to sail to ] for Israel's 25th anniversary. Gaddafi ordered an Egyptian submarine to target the ship, but Sadat cancelled the order, fearing a military escalation.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=114–115|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=87|3a1=Blundy|3a2=Lycett|3y=1987|3pp=82–83|4a1=St. John|4y=1987|4p=55|5a1=Kawczynski|5y=2011|5pp=66–67}}
Gaddafi also sought close relations with the ] and purchased arms from the ].


]
===Seeking international acceptance===
] in 2008]]
]
] at the third EU-Africa Summit in Tripoli in November 2010.]]
{{main|Lockerbie bombing}}
{{See also|Nelson Mandela#Lockerbie trial}}


Gaddafi was later infuriated when Egypt and Syria planned the ] against Israel without consulting him and was angered when Egypt conceded to peace talks rather than continuing the war.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=99–100|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=87|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=67|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=182–183}} Gaddafi became openly hostile to Egypt's leader, calling for Sadat's overthrow.{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|p=67}} When Sudanese President ] took Sadat's side, Gaddafi also spoke out against him, encouraging the ]'s attempt to overthrow Nimeiry.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=167|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=185|3a1=St. John|3y=1987|3p=62|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4pp=79–80|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=191}} In 1974, Gaddafi released ], a commander under ], from prison and appointed him Libyan ambassador to ]. Shennib had attended the ] with ] and was tasked by Gaddafi with Hussein's assassination. Shennib instead informed Hussein of the plot and defected to Jordan.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=2011-10-19 |title=For Amal, life (re)begins at 75 |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/395340 |access-date=2023-02-09 |website=Arab News |language=en |archive-date=9 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209163127/https://www.arabnews.com/node/395340 |url-status=live }}</ref> Relations with Syria also soured over the events in the ]. Initially, both Libya and Syria had contributed troops to the Arab League's peacekeeping force, although after the Syrian army attacked the ], Gaddafi openly accused Syrian President ] of "national treason"; he was the only Arab leader to criticize Syria's actions.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|pp=165–166}} In late 1972 and early 1973, Libya invaded Chad to annex the uranium-rich ].{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=181|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=187}}
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.<ref></ref> In 1987, Gaddafi proposed an easing of relations between the United States and Libya. Speaking of the 1986 bombing of Libya, he said, "They trained people to assassinate me and they failed, they tried all the secret action against us and they failed. They have not succeeded in defeating us. They should look for other alternatives to have some kind of rapprochement."<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/12/world/qaddafi-taking-softer-tone-urges-us-meet-us-halfway.html?src=pm</ref>


Intent on propagating Islam, in 1973 Gaddafi founded the Islamic Call Society, which had opened 132 centres across Africa within a decade.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=106–107|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2pp=103–104|3a1=Blundy|3a2=Lycett|3y=1987|3pp=93, 122|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=186}} In 1973 he converted Gabonese President ], an action which he repeated three years later with ], president of the ].{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|pp=77–78}} Between 1973 and 1979, Libya provided $500&nbsp;million in aid to African countries, namely to Zaire and Uganda, and founded joint-venture companies throughout the countries to aid trade and development.{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=96}} Gaddafi was also keen on reducing Israeli influence within Africa, using financial incentives to successfully convince eight African states to break off diplomatic relations with Israel in 1973.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=107–109|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=88|3a1=St. John|3y=1987|3p=94|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=77|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=184}}
After the ], Libya appeared to reassess its position in world affairs and began a long process of improving its image in the West.<ref name="TelegraphProfile">{{Cite news|title=Profile: Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan Leader at time of Lockerbie Bombing |date=13 August 2009|work=] |location=UK |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6022449/Profile-Muammar-Gaddafi-Libyan-leader-at-time-of-Lockerbie-bombing.html |accessdate=14 April 2011 |first=David |last=Blair}}</ref>


A strong relationship was also established between Gaddafi's Libya and Prime Minister ]'s Pakistani government, with the two countries exchanging nuclear research and military assistance. In recognition of Gaddafi's support of ] and financial support for the "Islamic bomb," Lahore Stadium was renamed ].<ref>{{cite news |author=Murtaza Razvi |date=25 February 2011 |title=A stadium called Gaddafi |newspaper=Indian Express (newspaper) |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-stadium-called-gaddafi/754608/0 |url-status=live |access-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407022026/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-stadium-called-gaddafi/754608/0 |archive-date=7 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Faridi |first=Dr. Salman |date=4 October 2020 |title=The iconic Gaddafi Stadium {{!}} Sports {{!}} thenews.com.pk |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/724066-the-iconic-gaddafi-stadium |access-date=2022-10-02 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206153753/https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/724066-the-iconic-gaddafi-stadium |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2016-03-09 |title=Gaddafi's Mental Follies and Megalomania |url=https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/content/gaddafis-mental-follies-and-megalomania |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=Israel Defense |language=en |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206153751/https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/content/gaddafis-mental-follies-and-megalomania |url-status=live }}</ref> Gaddafi also provided support for Pakistan in the ]; he reportedly deployed ] to ] and penned a strongly worded letter to ] ] accusing her of aggression against Pakistan.<ref name="Pen and Sword, Bowman">{{cite book |last1=Bowman |first1=Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QleqCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 |title=Cold War Jet Combat: Air-to-Air Jet Fighter Operations 1950–1972 |publisher=Pen and Sword |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4738-7463-3 |page=112 |access-date=6 February 2023 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207214845/https://books.google.com/books?id=QleqCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="THe News International">{{cite news |last=Nazar Abbas |date=26 August 2011 |title=Gaddafi is gone, long live Libya |newspaper=The News International |url=https://www.thenews.com/Todays-News-2-64753-Gaddafi-is-gone-long-live-Libya |url-status=dead |access-date=9 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809005813/http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-64753-Gaddafi-is-gone-long-live-Libya |archive-date=9 August 2013}}</ref> Gaddafi's strong relationship with Pakistan ended after Bhutto was ] by ] in 1977 as Zia distrusted Gaddafi and rejected further Libyan financing for the ] in favor of Saudi financing.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=169}}<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Colonel Gaddafi pressurises General Zia-ul-Haq to supply Libya with nuclear weapon |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/international/story/19810815-colonel-gaddafi-pressurises-general-zia-ul-haq-to-supply-libya-with-nuclear-weapon-773135-2013-11-13 |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=India Today |date=13 November 2013 |language=en |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206153750/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/international/story/19810815-colonel-gaddafi-pressurises-general-zia-ul-haq-to-supply-libya-with-nuclear-weapon-773135-2013-11-13 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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 ] two Libyan intelligence agents indicted for planting a bomb on ]. South African president ], 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 ], where they faced trial in 1999. One was found not guilty and the other, ], was given a life sentence.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Analysis: Lockerbie's long road|date=31 January 2001|publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/1144147.stm |accessdate=21 September 2008 | location=London}}</ref> 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 ]. It was later claimed by Libyan Prime Minister ] and his son ] that they did not believe they were responsible and that they simply wrote the letter to remove UN sanctions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/7573244.stm |title=UK &#124; Scotland &#124; South of Scotland &#124; Lockerbie evidence not disclosed |publisher=BBC News |date=28 August 2008 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/ameicas/3167907.stm|title=Libya completes Lockerbie payout|accessdate=5 March 2005|publisher=BBC News| date=22 August 2003 | location=London|deadurl=yes}} {{Dead link|date=September 2011|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/misc/libya_20040224.shtml |title=Radio 4 - Today Programme Iraq Report |publisher=BBC |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>


Gaddafi sought to develop closer links in the ]; in January 1974 Libya and Tunisia announced a political union, the ]. Although advocated by Gaddafi and Tunisian President ], the move was deeply unpopular in Tunisia, and it was soon abandoned.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=100–101|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=76|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=71–72|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=183}} Retaliating, Gaddafi sponsored anti-government militants in Tunisia into the 1980s.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=72|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=183}} Turning his attention to ], in 1975 Libya signed, in ], a defensive alliance allegedly to counter alleged "Moroccan expansionism", also funding the ] of ] in its independence struggle against ].{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=170|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=71|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=183}} Seeking to diversify Libya's economy, Gaddafi's government began purchasing shares in major European corporations like ] as well as buying real estate in Malta and Italy, which would become a valuable source of income during the ].{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=114|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=199–201}}
Gaddafi's government faced growing opposition from Islamic extremists during the 1990s, particularly the ], 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 ] in 1998, after he was linked to the killing of German anti-terrorism agents in Libya.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/gaddafis-libya-reminds-us-it-issued-the-first-bin-laden-arrest-warrant/2011/05/04/AFLEJJqF_story.html |title=Gaddafi’s Libya reminds U.S. it issued the first bin Laden arrest warrant |publisher=The Washington Post |date= 5 May 2011|accessdate=2011-09-01 |first=Keith B. |last=Richburg}}</ref> Gaddafi also accused the United States of training and supporting bin Laden for war against the Soviet Union. He said the United States was bombing al-Qaeda camps and that they had supported and built for him in the past. Gaddafi also claimed that the bombing attempts by Bill Clinton were done to divert attention from his sex scandal.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/156802.stm</ref>
Intelligence links from Gaddafi's regime to the U.S. and the U.K. deepened during the George W. Bush administration; the CIA began bringing alleged terrorists to Libya for torture under the "extraordinary rendition" program. Some of those renditioned were Gaddafi's political enemies, including one current rebel leader in the 2011 NATO-backed war in Libya. The relationship was so close that the CIA provided "talking points for Gaddafi, logistical details for flights, and what seems to have been the bartering of Gaddafi’s opponents, some of whom had ties to Islamist groups, for his cooperation."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2011/09/eighty-nine-questions-what-did-libya-do-for-the-cia.html |title=Eighty-nine questions: What did Libya do for the CIA? |publisher=The New Yorker Online |date= 9 September 2011|accessdate=2011-09-27 |first=Amy |last=Davidson}}</ref>


==Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya==
He offered to dismantle his active ] program in 1999. Gaddafi denounced the al-Qaeda bombers for the ] and appeared on American television for an interview with ]{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}. In 2002, Saddam Hussein paid Gaddafi $3.5 billion to save him should he have an internal coup or war with America.<ref>{{cite news|last=Evans |first=Michael |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,70583,00.html |title=Saddam Pays Gaddafi $3 Billion for Safe Haven in Libya - U.S. & World |publisher=FOXNews.com |date=16 November 2002 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> In 2003, following the overthrow of ] 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2003-12-22/world/gadhafi.interview_1_biological-weapons-libyan-leader-moammar-gadhafi-hans-blix?_s=PM:WORLD |title=Gadhafi: Iraq war may have influenced WMD decision - CNN |publisher=Articles.cnn.com |date=22 December 2003 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> Gaddafi's commitment to the War against Terror attracted support from the United States and Britain. Prime minister ] publicly met with Gaddafi in 2004, commending him as a new ally in the ]. During his visit, Blair lobbied for the ] oil company, which secured a deal in Libya worth $500 million.<ref>{{cite news|last=Robertson|first=David|title=Shell drafted letter Tony Blair sent to Gaddafi while Prime Minister |url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7108957.ece |accessdate=2 September 2011|newspaper=]|date=27 April 2010 |location=London}}</ref><ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite news|last=Hope |first=Christophera|coauthors= Blake, Heidi; Swinford, Steven |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8435526/WikiLeaks-British-officials-toured-Libyan-chemical-weapons-lab-months-before-Tony-Blair-visit.html |title=WikiLeaks: British officials toured Libyan chemical weapons lab months before Tony Blair visit|publisher=]|date=8 April 2011|accessdate=2 September 2011 |location=London}}</ref> The United States restored its diplomatic relations with Libya during the ], removing Libya from its list of nations supporting terrorism.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4773617.stm |title=U.S. to renew full ties with Libya |publisher=BBC News |date=15 May 2006 |accessdate=14 February 2010 | location=London}}</ref> President ] and ] portrayed Gaddafi's announcement as a direct consequence of the Iraq War. ], then UN chief weapons inspector, speculated that Gaddafi feared being removed like Saddam Hussein: "I can only speculate, but I would imagine that Gaddafi 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."<ref>{{cite web|author=John Pike |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/libya-intro.htm |title=Overthrowing Qadhafi |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> Historians have speculated that Gaddafi was merely continuing his attempts at normalizing relations with the West to get oil sanctions removed.<ref name="brookings309"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/24/AR2011022407829.html |title=Some now question U.S. deal that brought Gaddafi back into diplomatic fold |publisher=Washingtonpost.com |date= 25 February 2011|accessdate=2011-09-01 |first=Joby |last=Warrick}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Eben Kaplan |url=http://www.cfr.org/libya/libya-got-off-list/p10855 |title=How Libya Got Off the List - Council on Foreign Relations |publisher=Cfr.org |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bush/libya.htm|first=Flynt |last=Leverett|title=Why Libya Gave Up on the Bomb |work=The New York Times |year=2004|accessdate=5 March 2006 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060101191245/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bush/libya.htm|archivedate=1 January 2006}}</ref> There is also evidence that his government was weakened by falling ] during the 1990s and 2000s,<ref>http://www.marxist.com/nature-of-gaddafi-regime.htm</ref> and his rule was facing significant challenges from its high unemployment rate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/misc/libya_20040224.shtml| title=The Libyan Prime Minister| publisher=Today Programme|first=Mike| last=Thomson| accessdate=19&nbsp;June 2006}}</ref> The offer was accepted and international inspectors in Libya were led to chemical weaponry as well as an active ]s program.<ref name="chemweapon"/><ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite journal |title=Libya Has Trouble Building the Most Deadly Weapons |url=http://www.wisconsinproject.org/countries/libya/trouble.html |journal=The Risk Report |volume=1 |date=December 1995 |issue=10}}</ref> In 2004, inspectors from the ] (CWC) verified that Libya had owned a stockpile of 23 ]s of ] 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,<ref name="arms2006"/><ref>{{cite news|author=Passed to the Telegraph by WikiLeaks 9:33PM GMT 31 Jan 2011 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/libya-wikileaks/8294693/LIBYANS-SEEK-RENEWED-COMMITMENT-FROM-U.S.-IN-RETURN-FOR-PROGRESS-ON-HEU-SHIPMENT.html |title=Libyans Seek Renewed Commitment From U.S. In Return For Progress On Heu Shipment |publisher=Telegraph |date=31 January 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01 |location=London}}</ref> 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.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/>


===Foundation: 1977===
In 2007, the ] 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 ], 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 ] ocean water for drinking.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6914857.stm |title=Sarkozy signs deals with Gaddafi |publisher=BBC News |date=25 July 2007 |accessdate=14 February 2010 | location=London}}</ref> Gaddafi and ] reportedly discussed establishing a Russian military base in Libya.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/00e2583c-a743-11dd-865e-000077b07658.html |title=Libya to discuss hosting Russian base |work=Financial Times }}</ref> In August 2008, Gaddafi and Italian Prime Minister ] signed a landmark ] in ].<ref name=treaty>{{cite web |url=http://www.senato.it/parlam/leggi/09007l.htm |title= Ratifica ed esecuzione del Trattato di amicizia, partenariato e cooperazione tra la Repubblica italiana e la Grande Giamahiria araba libica popolare socialista, fatto a Bengasi il 30 agosto 2008 |language=Italian |publisher=] |date=6 February 2009|accessdate=10 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=2335|title=Berlusconi in Benghazi, Unwelcome by Son of Omar Al-Mukhtar|publisher=The Tripoli Post|date=30 August 2008|accessdate=10 June 2009}}</ref>


On 2 March 1977, the General People's Congress adopted the "]" at Gaddafi's behest. Dissolving the Libyan Arab Republic, it was replaced by the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya ({{langx|ar|الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الاشتراكية}}, ''{{transliteration|ar|al-Jamāhīrīyah al-‘Arabīyah al-Lībīyah ash-Sha‘bīyah al-Ishtirākīyah}})'', a "state of the masses" conceptualized by Gaddafi.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=154–155|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=105|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=26–27|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=166–168}} A new, all-green banner was adopted as the country's flag.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=155}} Officially, the ''Jamahiriya'' was a ] in which the people ruled themselves through the 187 ]es (BPCs), where all adult Libyans participated and voted on national decisions. These then sent members to the annual General People's Congress, which was broadcast live on television. In principle, the People's Congresses were Libya's highest authority, with major decisions proposed by government officials or with Gaddafi himself requiring the consent of the People's Congresses.{{sfnm|1a1=El-Khawas|1y=1984|1p=27|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=29|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=166–168|4a1=Vandewalle|4y=2008b|4pp=19–20}} Gaddafi became General Secretary of the GPC, although he stepped down from this position in early 1979 and appointed himself "Leader of the Revolution".{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=13}}
Gaddafi met with then U.S. Secretary of State, ] in September 2008,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7599199.stm |title=Rice in talks with Libya's Gaddafi |publisher=BBC News |date=5 September 2008 |accessdate=28 February 2011}}</ref> 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 ], ], and to American victims of the 1989 ] bombing. In exchange, ] signed {{ExecutiveOrder|13477}} restoring the Libyan government's immunity from terrorism-related lawsuits and dismissing all of the pending compensation cases in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7703110.stm|title=Libya compensates terror victims|accessdate=1 November 2008|publisher=BBC News| date=31 October 2008 | location=London}}</ref>


] (1977–2011)]]
In June 2009, Gaddafi made his first visit to ], where he again met Berlusconi, ] ] and ] ]. ] ] cancelled the meeting because of Gaddafi's delay.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.euronews.net/2009/06/13/controversy-and-progress-on-gadaffi-s-historic-visit-to-italy/|publisher=]|title=Controversy and progess on Gaddafi's historic visit to Italy|date=13 June 2009|accessdate=2 September 2011}}</ref> The ] and ] opposed the visit<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.partitodemocratico.it/dettaglio/81290/gheddafi_a_roma_tra_le_polemiche|title=Gheddafi a Roma, tra le polemiche|publisher=]|date=10 June 2009|accessdate=10 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lastampa.it/redazione/cmsSezioni/politica/200906articoli/44496girata.asp|title=Gheddafi protetto dalle Amazzoni|work=La Stampa |location=Italy}}</ref> and many protests were staged throughout Italy by ] ]s and ].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.irispress.it/Iris/page.asp?VisImg=S&Art=41589&Cat=1&I=null&IdTipo=0&TitoloBlocco=Politica&Codi_Cate_Arti=27|title= Gheddafi a Roma: Radicali in piazza per protestare contro il dittatore|publisher=Iris Press|language=Italian |date=10 June 2009|accessdate=10 June 2009}}</ref> Gaddafi also took part in the ] in July as ].<ref name="tpost3357"/> During the summit a handshake between U.S. President ]<ref name="tpost3357">{{cite web|url=http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=3357 |title=Gaddafi Meets Obama at G8 Summit in Italy |publisher=Tripolipost.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> and Muammar Gaddafi marked the first time the Libyan leader had been greeted by a serving U.S. President.<ref name="tpost3357"/> Italian President ] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/113179/Gaddafi-comes-in-from-the-cold |title=Gaddafi comes in from the cold |publisher=Express.co.uk |date=11 July 2009 |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/gaddafi-meets-obama-in-aquila-2009071131416.html |title=Gaddafi meets Obama in Aquila |publisher=Afriquejet.com |date=1 July 2009 |accessdate=14 February 2010|archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100812032059/http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/gaddafi-meets-obama-in-aquila-2009071131416.html|archivedate=12 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euronews.net/2009/07/10/feeing-the-hungry-to-changing-the-climate-what-the-g8-did-for-us/ |title=Feeing the hungry to changing the climate – what the G8 did for us |publisher=Euronews.net |date=28 June 2009 |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://unionesarda.ilsole24ore.com/Articoli/Articolo/133647 |title=Storica stretta di mano fra Obama e Gheddafi |publisher=Unionesarda.ilsole24ore.com |date=10 July 2009|accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref>


Although all political control was officially vested in the People's Congresses, in reality Libya's existing political leadership continued to exercise varying degrees of power and influence.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=155}} Debate remained limited, and major decisions regarding the economy and defence were avoided or dealt with cursorily; the GPC largely remained "a rubber stamp" for Gaddafi's policies.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=29}} On rare occasions, the GPC opposed Gaddafi's suggestions, sometimes successfully; notably, when Gaddafi called on primary schools to be abolished, believing that ] was healthier for children, the GPC rejected the idea.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=29}} In other instances, Gaddafi pushed through laws without the GPC's support, such as when he desired to allow women into the armed forces.{{sfn|Harris|1986|pp=67–68}} At other times, he ordered snap elections when it appeared that the GPC would enact laws he opposed.{{sfn|St. John|1987|pp=133–134}} Gaddafi proclaimed that the People's Congresses provided for Libya's every political need, rendering other political organizations unnecessary; all non-authorized groups, including political parties, professional associations, independent trade unions, and women's groups, were banned.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=27|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=166–168}} Despite these restrictions, St. John noted that the ''Jamahiriya'' system still "introduced a level of representation and participation hitherto unknown in Libya".{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=134}}
He also met Senators ]<ref>{{cite web|last=Drake |first=Bruce |url=http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/08/17/john-mccain-praises-libyan-leader-gaddafi/ |title=John McCain Praises Libyan Leader Gaddafi |publisher=Politicsdaily.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> and ]{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} in 2009. In August 2009, convicted bomber ] 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8213352.stm |title= Anger at Lockerbie bomber welcome |publisher=BBC News |date=21 August 2009 |accessdate=14 February 2010 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/21/scotland.lockerbie.bomber/index.html |title=Obama condemns Lockerbie bomber's 'hero's welcome' |publisher=CNN |date=21 August 2009|accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1077927/Brown-finally-condemns-Megrahi-welcome |title=Brown finally condemns Megrahi welcome |publisher=Sbs.com.au |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref> On 23 September 2009, Muammar Gaddafi addressed the ] in ].<ref>{{cite news|author=Ed Pilkington in New York |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/23/gaddafi-un-speech |title=UN general assembly: 100 minutes in the life of Muammar Gaddafi &#124; World news |publisher=guardian.co.uk |date= 23 September 2009|accessdate=2011-09-01 |location=London}}</ref> In 2010, Gaddafi agreed to pay US$3.5 billion to the victims of IRA attacks he assisted during the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Libyas-Ghadaffi-to-pay-billions-for-IRA-atrocities--96280413.html |title=Libya's Gaddafi to pay billions for IRA atrocities &#124; Irish News |publisher=IrishCentral |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>


With preceding legal institutions abolished, Gaddafi envisioned the ''Jamahiriya'' as following the ] for legal guidance, adopting ''sharia'' law; he proclaimed "man-made" laws unnatural and dictatorial, only permitting ]'s law.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1pp=27–28|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=167}} Within a year he was backtracking, announcing that ''sharia'' was inappropriate for the ''Jamahiriya'' because it guaranteed the protection of private property, contravening ''The Green Book''{{'s}} socialism.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008b|p=28}} His emphasis on placing his own work on a par with the Qur'an led conservative clerics to accuse him of '']'', furthering their opposition to his regime.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=50}} In July 1977, a ] with Egypt, in which the Egyptians defeated Libya despite their technological inferiority. The conflict lasted one week before both sides agreed to sign a peace treaty that was brokered by several Arab states.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=170–171|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=105|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=35|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4pp=67–68|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=183}} Both Egypt and Sudan had aligned themselves with the US, and this pushed Libya into a strategic, although not political, alignment with the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=168}} In recognition of the growing commercial relationship between Libya and the Soviets, Gaddafi was invited to visit Moscow in December 1976; there, he entered talks with ].{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=169|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2p=76|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=180}} In August 1977, he visited ], where he met its leader ], with whom he had a much warmer relationship.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=169}} He also enjoyed a warm relationship with ]n leader ]. According to Romanian spy chief ], Gaddafi once exclaimed to Ceaușescu, "My brother! You are my brother for the rest of my life!"<ref>Muammar Gaddafi, as quoted in {{cite book |author-link=Ion Mihai Pacepa |first=Ion Mihai |last=Pacepa |year=1987 |title=Red Horizons: Chronicles of a Communist Spy Chief |publisher=Regnery Gateway |page=101 |isbn=9780895265708 }}</ref> After Pacepa defected to the US in July 1978, Gaddafi and ] contributed $1 million each to Ceaușescu's $4 million bounty on Pacepa.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Obituaries |first=Telegraph |date=2021-02-25 |title=Ion Mihai Pacepa, Romanian spy and star defector who revealed the sordid reality of the Ceausescus and their regime – obituary |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/02/25/ion-mihai-pacepa-romanian-spy-star-defector-revealed-sordid/ |access-date=2023-02-11 |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=11 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211132556/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/02/25/ion-mihai-pacepa-romanian-spy-star-defector-revealed-sordid/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==2011 Libyan civil war==
]
{{main|2011 Libyan civil war|United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970}}
{{See also|LSE Libya Links}}


===Revolutionary Committees and furthering socialism: 1978–1980===
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,<ref name = "resignations">{{cite news| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-middle-east-12550719
| title= Libya protests: Pressure mounts on isolated Gaddafi| accessdate=23 February 2011|work=BBC News|date=23 February 2011}} A BBC report regarding the death toll of the uprising, and listing disaffected officials.</ref> and the government lost control of most of Eastern Libya. Gaddafi fought back, accusing the rebels of being "drugged" and linked to al-Qaeda.<ref>{{cite web|last=Estimo |first=Rodolfo C. |url=http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article283687.ece |title=Qaddafi's charge against Bin Laden angers Saudis |publisher=Arab News |date=25 February 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> 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.<ref name="The Jamestown Foundation"/> He imported foreign mercenaries to defend his government,<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703498804576157460505874944.html
|coauthors=Margaret Coker, Charles Levinson and Tahani Karrar-Lewsley
|title=Gadhafi Battles to Hang On
|work=The Wall Street Journal |date=22 February 2011
|accessdate=22 February 2011}}</ref> reportedly paying Ghanaian mercenaries as much as US$2,500 per day for their services.<ref name="The Jamestown Foundation"/> Reports from Libya also confirmed involvement with Belarus,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/01/libya-received-belarus-military-shipment |title=Libya received military shipment from Belarus, claims EU arms watchdog |date=1 March 2011 |work=The Guardian |location=UK |first=Richard |last=Norton-Taylor|authorlink=Richard Norton-Taylor}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=02&dd=28&nav_id=72977 |title=Serbian TV broadcasts exclusive Gaddafi interview |publisher=B92.net |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> and the presence of ] and ]n mercenaries.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1102/25/pmt.01.html|title=Defying Gadhafi's Crackdown; Analysis With Dr. Drew Pinsky; Interview With Kevin Smith |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref name=TCTlibecon>{{cite web |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110223/jsp/frontpage/story_13623418.jsp |title=Text message from a house in Libya: We are being slaughtered here |publisher=The Telegraph India |date=23 February 2011 }}</ref><ref name=TCTlibecon/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/is-libyas-gaddafi-turning-to-foreign-mercenaries/ | title=Is Gaddafi turning to foreign mercenaries? |date=24 February 2011 |publisher=Trust}}</ref>


{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=If socialism is defined as a redistribution of wealth and resources, a socialist revolution clearly occurred in Libya after 1969 and most especially in the second half of the 1970s. The management of the economy was increasingly socialist in intent and effect with wealth in housing, capital and land significantly redistributed or in the process of redistribution. Private enterprise was virtually eliminated, largely replaced by a centrally controlled economy.|salign = right |source=—Libyan Studies scholar ]{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=173}}}}
Gaddafi's violent response to the protesters prompted defections from his government.<ref name = "resignations"/><ref group=nb>For a complete English translation, see: ''The fatwa of Shaykh Yûsuf al-Qaradâwî against Gaddafi''. Translation by Yahya M. Michot with the collaboration of Samy Metwally, on </ref><ref name = "abidi-speech">{{cite news
| year = 2011
| url = http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-22/world/libya.protests_1_libyan-state-libyan-leader-moammar-gadhafi-libyan-people?_s=PM:WORLD
| title= Interior minister resigns rather than carry out Gadhafi orders
| accessdate=23 February 2011
|publisher=CNN
| date=2 March 1999}} Report summary of status of protests as of 23 Feb..</ref> Gaddafi's "number two" man, Abdul Fatah Younis, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil and several key ambassadors and diplomats resigned from their posts in protest.<ref name="The Jamestown Foundation">{{cite web |url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=37551&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=f0b3ef8200af7c3a039bc6f593c6ffc6 |title=Special Commentary: Can African Mercenaries Save the Libyan Regime? | date=23 February 2011 |publisher=The Jamestown Foundation}}</ref> Other government officials refused to follow orders from Gaddafi, and were jailed for insubordination.


In December 1978, Gaddafi stepped down as Secretary-General of the GPC, announcing his new focus on revolutionary rather than government activities; this was part of his new emphasis on separating the apparatus of the revolution from government. Although no longer in a formal government post, he adopted the title of "Leader of the Revolution" and continued as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=26|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=3|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=169}} Historian Dirk Vandewalle stated that despite the Jamahariya's claims to being a direct democracy, Libya remained "an exclusionary political system whose decision-making process" was "restricted to a small cadre of advisers and confidantes" surrounding Gaddafi.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2006|p=6}}
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.<ref name=autogenerated3>], ]: . '']'', 9 March 2011, retrieved 10 March 2011</ref> Gaddafi's forces had retaken momentum and were in shooting range of Benghazi by March 2011 when the UN declared a ] to protect the civilian population of Libya.<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Winnett | first1 = Robert | last2 = Swaine | first2 = Jon | last3 = Spencer | first3 = Richard | date=17 Mar 2011 | title = Libya: UN approves no-fly zone as British troops prepare for action | work=The Telegraph | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8389565/Libya-UN-approves-no-fly-zone-as-British-troops-prepare-for-action.html | accessdate=18 May 2011 | location=London}}</ref> On 30 April the Libyan government claimed that a ] airstrike killed ] and three of his grandsons at his son's home in Tripoli. 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 the previous month. Gaddafi suggested there was room for negotiation, but he vowed to stay in Libya. Western officials remained divided over whether Gaddafi is a legitimate military target under the ] resolution that authorized the air campaign. US Defense Secretary ] 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=YOUSSEF|first=NANCY|title=Gadhafi's youngest son killed in NATO airstrike|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/30/2194747/gadhafis-youngest-son-killed-in.html|accessdate=1 May 2011|newspaper=McClatchy Newspapers|date=30, April 2011}}</ref>


Libya turned towards socialism. In March 1978, the government issued guidelines for housing redistribution, attempting to ensure every adult owned their own home. Most families were banned from owning more than one house, while former rental properties were expropriated by the state and sold to the tenants at a heavily subsidized price.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1983|1p=484|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=111|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=221|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=171–172}} In September, Gaddafi called for the People's Committees to eliminate the "bureaucracy of the public sector" and the "dictatorship of the private sector"; the People's Committees took control of several hundred companies, converting them into ]s run by elected representatives.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=191|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=110–111|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=168}}
===Crimes against humanity arrest warrant===
The UN referred the massacres of unarmed civilians to the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/27/un-security-council-refers-libya-icc |title=UN: Security Council Refers Libya to ICC |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=27 February 2011}}</ref> Among the crimes being investigated by the prosecution was whether Gaddafi purchased and authorized the use of ]-like drugs among soldiers for the purpose of ] women and instilling fear.<ref> ''Ynetnews''. 8 June 2011</ref> His government's heavy-handed approach to quelling the protests was characterized by the ] as a ]. The acts of "indiscriminate killings of civilians" was charged as ], as defined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fidh.org/Libya-Strategy-of-scorched-earth-desire-for |title=Libya: Strategy of scorched earth, desire for widespread and systematic elimination |publisher=International Federation for Human Rights |date=24 February 2011 }}</ref>


In March 1979, the GPC announced the separation of government and revolution, the latter being represented by new Revolutionary Committees, who operated with the People's Committees in schools, universities, unions, the police force, and the military.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=116–117, 127|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2pp=25–26|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=31|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=169–171}} Dominated by revolutionary zealots, mostly youths, the Revolutionary Committees were based in Tripoli and met with Gaddafi annually.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=187–189|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=116–117, 127|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3pp=25–26|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=31|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5pp=169–171}} Membership was drawn from within the BPCs.{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=134}} The revolutionary committee system became "a key—if not the main—mechanism through which exercises political control in Libya".{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=189}} Publishing a weekly magazine, ''The Green March'', starting October 1980 they took control of the press.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=116–117, 127|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2pp=25–26|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=31|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=169–171}} Responsible for perpetuating the revolution, they performed ideological surveillance, adopting a significant security role, making arrests and putting people on trial according to the "law of the revolution".{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=189|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=116–117, 127|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3pp=25–26|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=31|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5pp=169–171}} With no legal or safeguards, the administration of revolutionary justice was largely arbitrary and resulted in widespread abuse and the suppression of ]: the "Green Terror".{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=117|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=28|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=174}}
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on 27 June 2011 for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and his brother-in-law ], head of state security for charges, concerning crimes against humanity.<ref name="iccwarrant"/><ref name=FTarrwarr>{{cite web|title=ICC issues arrest warrant for Gaddafi|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/97974bb4-a0b7-11e0-b14e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1SJXQ0e7A|publisher=Financial Times (FT.com)|accessdate=16 July 2011|author=Matt Steinglass|date=28|month=June|year=2011}}</ref><ref name=TGarrwarr>{{cite news|title=War crimes court issues Gaddafi arrest warrant|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/27/muammar-gaddafi-arrest-warrant-hague|publisher=The Guardian|accessdate=16 July 2011|coauthors=Ian Black and David Smith|date=27|month=June|year=2011|location=London}}</ref> 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."


In 1979, the committees began the redistribution of land in the ] plain, continuing through 1981.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=275|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=172}} In May 1980, measures to redistribute and equalize wealth were implemented; anyone with over 1000 ] in their bank account saw that extra money expropriated.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1983|1p=484|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=128|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=221|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=172}} The following year, the GPC announced that the government would take control of all import, export and distribution functions, with state supermarkets replacing privately owned businesses; this led to a decline in the availability of consumer goods and the development of a thriving ].{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=195|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=28|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=21|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=220|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=172}} Gaddafi was frustrated by the slow pace of social reform on women's issues, and in 1979 launched a Revolutionary Women's Formation, to replace the more gradualist Libyan General Women's Federation.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=199}} In 1978 he had established a Women's Military Academy in Tripoli, encouraging all women to enlist for training.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=241}} The measure was hugely controversial and voted down by the GPC in February 1983. Gaddafi remained adamant, and when it was again voted down by the GPC in March 1984, he refused to abide by the decision, declaring that "he who opposes the training and emancipation of women is an agent of imperialism, whether he likes it or not."{{sfn|Bearman|1986|pp=241–243}}
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".<ref name=AP_ICC>{{cite news | title = Judges order arrest of Gadhafi, son for slayings | url = http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jv8hrNy6qTnDTzZAv4UaFe8tpG4Q?docId=ccbccea382864d3484d1c444b7e6e9ea }}</ref> A Libyan government representative, justice minister Mohammed al-Qamoodi, responded by saying, "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&nbsp;..."<ref name=FTarrwarr/> This makes Gaddafi the second still-serving state-leader to have warrants issued against them, the first being Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.<ref name=TGarrwarr/>


The Jamahiriya's radical direction earned the government many enemies. Most internal opposition came from ], inspired by the events of the 1979 ].{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=246}} In February 1978, Gaddafi discovered that his head of military intelligence was plotting to kill him and increasingly entrusted security to his Qadhadfa tribe.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=127–128|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=19}} Many who had seen their wealth confiscated turned against the administration, and Western-funded opposition groups were founded by exiles. Most prominent was the ] (NFSL), which orchestrated militant attacks against Libya's government.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=247–248|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=79|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=32|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=173–174}} Another, al-Borkan, began killing Libyan diplomats abroad.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=248–249|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=79|3a1=Blundy|3a2=Lycett|3y=1987|3p=156}} Following Gaddafi's command to kill these "stray dogs", the Revolutionary Committees set up overseas branches to suppress counter-revolutionary activity, assassinating dissidents.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=246|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=133–137|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=27|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=171}} Although Syria and Israel also employed hit squads, Gaddafi was unusual in publicly bragging about his use of them;{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=138}} in April 1980, he ordered all dissidents to return home by June 10 or be "liquidated wherever you are".{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=246|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=138}}<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=What ever happened to the Libyan hit squad? - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/10/20/What-ever-happened-to-the-Libyan-hit-squad/9598403934400/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=UPI |language=en |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812000445/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/10/20/What-ever-happened-to-the-Libyan-hit-squad/9598403934400/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Within a three months period in 1980, at least ten Libyan dissidents were murdered in Europe, including ex-diplomats, ex-army officers, businessmen, journalists, and student activists in disparate locations such as ], ] and ]. At least eleven more were assassinated in 1981.<ref>{{Cite web |title="No One Is Safe": Hunting the Libyan Hit Squads of the 1980s |url=https://www.insidehook.com/article/military/no-one-safe-hunting-libyan-hit-squads-1980s |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=InsideHook |language=en-US |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207181244/https://www.insidehook.com/article/military/no-one-safe-hunting-libyan-hit-squads-1980s |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1984, Gaddafi was tricked by Egyptian President ] into announcing the assassination of former Libyan Prime Minister ] in Cairo; Bakkhoush not only turned up alive but held a press conference with Egypt's Interior Minister.<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=1984-11-18 |title=CAIRO FAKES PICTURES AND FOILS LIBYAN DEATH PLOT |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/18/world/cairo-fakes-pictures-and-foils-libyan-death-plot.html |access-date=2023-02-07 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=15 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615195626/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/18/world/cairo-fakes-pictures-and-foils-libyan-death-plot.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Murphy |first=Jamie |date=1984-12-03 |title=Libya: The Doublecross and the Hit Hoax |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,923758,00.html |access-date=2023-02-07 |issn=0040-781X |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207100957/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,923758,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1979, Gaddafi created the ], through which several thousand Africans were military trained.{{sfn|St. John|2008|p=95}}
Russia and other countries, including China and Germany, abstained from voting in the UN<ref name=UNresolvotes>{{cite web|title=Security Council Approves 'No-Fly Zone' over Libya, Authorizing 'All Necessary Measures' to Protect Civilians, by Vote of 10 in Favour with 5 Abstentions|url=http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm|work=Security Council 6498th Meeting (Night)|publisher=United Nations Security Council|accessdate=17 July 2011|date=17|month=March|year=2011}}</ref> 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 {{sic|Col| Gaddafi}} had no political future and that his family would have to relinquish its vice-like grip on the Libyan economy."<ref name=TTgadsuic>{{cite news|title=Libya: Col Gaddafi has 'suicide plan' to blow up Tripoli|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8636883/Libya-Col-Gaddafi-has-suicide-plan-to-blow-up-Tripoli.html|publisher=The Telegraph|accessdate=17 July 2011|author=Andrew Osborn|date=14|month=July|year=2011|location=London}}</ref> He also said that "It is quite possible to solve the situation without the colonel."<ref name=TTgadsuic/>


Libya had sought to improve US relations under President ], for instance by courting his brother, businessman ], and paying for the services of former CIA officers,{{sfn|Bearman|1986|pp=227–228}}<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Tyler |first1=Patrick E. |last2=Kamen |first2=Al |date=1981-09-10 |title=Relationship With CIA Aide Gave Credibility to Arms Seller |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/09/10/relationship-with-cia-aide-gave-credibility-to-arms-seller/904d8987-e2ea-4027-85cc-410f5583a478/ |access-date=2023-02-02 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=22 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222231410/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/09/10/relationship-with-cia-aide-gave-credibility-to-arms-seller/904d8987-e2ea-4027-85cc-410f5583a478/ |url-status=live }}</ref> but in 1979 the US placed Libya on its list of "]".{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=179}} Relations were further damaged when a ] in solidarity with the perpetrators of the ].{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=228|3a1=Blundy|3a2=Lycett|3y=1987|3pp=197–198|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=115|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=179}} Libyan fighters began intercepting US fighter jets flying over the Mediterranean, signalling the collapse of relations between the countries.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=179}} Italian media have alleged that the ] was shot down during a ] involving ], ], ] and ] fighters in an assassination attempt by ] members on a Libyan politician, perhaps even Gaddafi, flying in the same airspace.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Italy's Darkest Night |author=Thomas Van Hare |journal=Historic Wings |date=27 June 2012 |url=http://fly.historicwings.com/2012/06/italys-darkest-night/ |access-date=15 January 2020 |archive-date=25 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150425142000/http://fly.historicwings.com/2012/06/italys-darkest-night/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307180311/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/21/worlddispatch.italy |date=7 March 2023 }}, '']'', 21 July 2006</ref>
===Loss of international recognition===
In connection with the Libyan uprising, Gaddafi'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 countries pushed for the ] 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.<ref name="INDtncofficialgov">{{cite news | url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/west-prepares-to-hand-rebels-gaddafis-billions-2314576.html | title=West prepares to hand rebels Gaddafi's billions | publisher=The Independent | date=16 | accessdate=16 July 2011 | author=Justin Vela | year=2011 | month=July | quote=More than 30 countries yesterday recognised Libya's rebel movement as the legitimate government as they tried to end the war and unseat a defiant Gaddafi. The statement by nations meeting in Istanbul for the fourth time since Nato attacks against Gaddafi's government began in March could allow the U.S. to free up more than $30bn of Gaddafi's assets held by American banks for the opposition fighters. | location=London}}</ref><ref name="TWPrebleggov">{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/western-arab-leaders-meet-in-turkey-on-libyas-future/2011/07/15/gIQAZLbjFI_story.html?hpid=z3 | title=United States recognizes Libyan rebels as legitimate government | publisher=The Washington Post | date=15 | accessdate=16 July 2011 | coauthors=William Wan and William Booth | year=2011 | month=July | quote=The United States granted Libyan rebel leaders full diplomatic recognition as the governing authority of Libya on Friday, a move that could give the cash-strapped rebels access to more than $30 billion in frozen assets that once belonged to Moammar Gaddafi. The rebels’ Transitional National Council “has offered important assurances today, including the promise to pursue a process of democratic reform that is inclusive both geographically and politically,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in an explanation of the decision to other foreign ministers. | first=Keith B. | last=Richburg}}</ref>


Libyan relations with Lebanon and ] communities deteriorated due to the 1978 disappearance of Imam ] when visiting Libya; the Lebanese accused Gaddafi of having him killed or imprisoned, a charge he denied.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=157–158|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2p=41|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=70–71|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=239}} Relations with Pakistan broke down in this period. Despite Gaddafi's repeated appeals to ] to spare ]'s life, Bhutto was executed in 1979.<ref name="Congress Publications">{{cite journal |last=Tirmizie |first=Brigadier General I.A. |title=The Profile of Intelligence: Libyans |journal=Brigadier General I.A. Tirmiz, Former Officer of Joint Technical Bureau |publisher=Congress Publications}}</ref> In retaliation and for Zia's refusal to share Pakistan's nuclear technology, Gaddafi began training ], an anti-Zia insurgency led by Bhutto's sons ] and ], expelled all 150,000 Pakistanis living in Libya, and provided asylum for the ].<ref name="THe News International2">{{cite news |last=Nazar Abbas |date=August 26, 2011 |title=Gaddafi is gone, long live Libya |newspaper=THe News International |url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-64753-Gaddafi-is-gone-long-live-Libya |url-status=dead |access-date=9 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809005813/http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-64753-Gaddafi-is-gone-long-live-Libya |archive-date=9 August 2013}}</ref><ref name="Peoples' Relation">{{cite web |author=Shahid Amin |date=26 July 2011 |title=Pakistan - Libya Relations |url=http://www.p2prelations.com/files/reports/PKLibya.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109025718/http://www.p2prelations.com/files/reports/PKLibya.pdf |archive-date=9 November 2013 |access-date=9 August 2013 |publisher=Peoples' Relation}}</ref><ref name="Congress Publications" /> Relations with Syria improved, as Gaddafi and Syrian President ] shared an enmity with Israel and Egypt's Sadat. In 1980, they proposed a political union, with Libya promising to pay off Syria's £1-billion debt to the Soviet Union; although pressures led Assad to pull out, they remained allies.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1987|1pp=61–62|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=68–69}} Another key ally was Uganda, and in 1979, during the ], Gaddafi sent 2,500 troops to ] President ] from Tanzanian invaders. The mission failed; 400 Libyans were killed, and Libya was forced to retreat.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=112|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=185–186|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=78–79|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=189}} Gaddafi came to regret his alliance with Amin, openly criticizing him as a "]" and a "show-off".{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=112–13|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=105}}
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "The United States views the Gaddafi regime as no longer having any legitimate authority in Libya&nbsp;... 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."<ref name=INDtncofficialgov/> 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&nbsp;... They are worthless".<ref name=INDtncofficialgov/>


===Conflict with the US and its allies: 1981–1986===
On 25 August 2011, with most of Tripoli having fallen out of Gaddafi's control, the ] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/08/26/2003511688 |title=Arab League gives its full backing to Libya’s rebel council |publisher=Taipei Times |date=26 August 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>


The early 80s saw economic trouble in Libya; from 1982 to 1986, annual oil revenues dropped from $21 to $5.4 billion.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=31|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=23|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=104|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=192}} Focusing on irrigation projects, 1983 saw construction start on Libya's largest and most expensive infrastructure project, the ]; although designed to be finished by the end of the decade, it remained incomplete at the start of the 21st century.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=274|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=119|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=224|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=249}} Military spending increased, while other administrative budgets were cut.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=116|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=35}} Foreign debt rose,{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=121}} and austerity measures were introduced to promote self-reliance; in 1985 there was a mass deportation of foreign workers, mostly Egyptian and Tunisian.{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=122}} Domestic threats continued to plague Gaddafi; in May 1984, his ] home was unsuccessfully attacked by a militia—linked to the NFSL or Muslim Brotherhood—and in the aftermath 5,000 dissidents were arrested.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=250|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=70|3a1=Blundy|3a2=Lycett|3y=1987|3p=178}} In spring 1985, members of the military tried to assassinate Gaddafi twice. The first was a plot by conservative officers to assassinate him at a villa on the outskirts of Tripoli; the second was an assault on his convoy.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Judith |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1986-01-14 |title=LIBYAN MILITARY TERMED RESTIVE UNDER QADDAFI |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/14/world/libyan-military-termed-restive-under-qaddafi.html |access-date=2023-02-07 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207073945/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/14/world/libyan-military-termed-restive-under-qaddafi.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In November 1985, Colonel Hassan Ishkal, the third most powerful man in Libya, head of the military region of Sirte, died in a suspicious car accident. Ishkal's death was attributed to ], Khalifa Hunaysh or Gaddafi.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dickey |first=Christopher |date=1986-04-27 |title=Libya Seen Weighing Government Changes |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/04/27/libya-seen-weighing-government-changes/ea0e1531-ff48-4bd0-a43b-05754c56290c/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cousins |first=Michel |date=2012-03-19 |title=Qaddafi aide Khalifa Hunaysh dies from cancer in hospital in Munich. |url=https://www.libyaherald.com/2012/03/qaddafi-aide-khalifa-hunaysh-dies-from-cancer-in-hospital-in-munich/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=LibyaHerald |language=en-US |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207073950/https://www.libyaherald.com/2012/03/qaddafi-aide-khalifa-hunaysh-dies-from-cancer-in-hospital-in-munich/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wallace |first=Charles P. |date=1986-01-17 |title=Food Scarce, Shops Shuttered : Libya Today Far Cry From Kadafi's Utopian Vision |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-17-mn-811-story.html |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207073951/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-17-mn-811-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Battle of Tripoli===
During the ], Gaddafi lost effective political and military control of Tripoli after his compound had been captured by Rebel forces. Rebel forces entered ] in the city center, tearing down posters of Gaddafi and flying flags of the rebellion. {{As of|2011|08|27}} his location was unknown, but it is has been alleged that he fled to ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2030782/Libya-Gaddafi-seen-Zimbabwe-Mugabes-private-jet-rebels-march-Sirte.html |title=Libya: Horror of 150 bodies found on a farm thought to have been massacred by pro-Gaddafi forces &#124; Mail Online |publisher=Dailymail.co.uk |date= 28 August 2011|accessdate=2011-09-01 |location=London |first1=Damien |last1=Gayle |first2=Barbara |last2=Jones}}</ref> He continued to give addresses through radio, calling upon his supporters to crush the rebels.


]
The capture of Tripoli led to several discoveries about Gaddafi. On 24 August 2011, after the capture of his stronghold of Bab al-Aziziya by loyalist forces, a photo album filled with pages of pictures of ] 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."<ref>{{cite web|author=David R Arnott writes |url=http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/25/7470058-in-the-ruins-of-gadhafis-lair-rebels-find-album-filled-with-photos-of-his-darling-condoleezza-rice#.TlZSBO0b7Sk.twitter |title=PhotoBlog - In the ruins of Gadhafi's lair, rebels find album filled with photos of his 'darling' Condoleezza Rice |publisher=Photoblog.msnbc.msn.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=David Pallister and agencies |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/05/libya.usa |title=Condoleezza Rice meets Gadafy in Libya &#124; World news |publisher=guardian.co.uk |date= 5 September 2008|accessdate=2011-09-01 |location=London}}</ref> 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 a total value of $212,225 (2008 value).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3737501,00.html |title=Report: Gaddafi showered Condoleezza Rice with gifts - Israel News, Ynetnews |publisher=Ynetnews.com |date=20 June 1995 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Pleming |first=Sue |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/09/06/us-libya-usa-idUSN0438196320080906 |title=Rice meets Gaddafi on Libya visit |publisher=Reuters |date= 6 September 2008|accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\06\27\story_27-6-2009_pg4_7 |title=Leading News Resource of Pakistan |publisher=Daily Times |date=27 June 2009 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Ukman |first=Jason |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/when-gaddafis-compound-was-a-quieter-place/2011/08/23/gIQAtVcfZJ_blog.html |title=When Gaddafi’s compound was a quieter place - Checkpoint Washington |publisher=The Washington Post |date=24 August 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Thursday, 25 August 2011, 9:46am EDT |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/odd/news/a337085/colonel-gaddafi-kept-photos-of-darling-condoleezza-rice.html |title=Colonel Gaddafi 'kept photos of darling Condoleezza Rice' - Weird News |publisher=Digital Spy |date=25 August 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62051.html |title=Muammar Qadhafi obsessed with Condoleezza Rice? - Tim Mak |publisher=Politico.Com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=David Taintor | 25 August 2011, 9:08AM |url=http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/found_in_qaddafis_compound_a_condoleeza_rice_photo.php?ref=fpblg |title=Qaddafi Hearts Condi? Condoleezza Rice Photo Album Found In Libyan Leader's Compound &#124; TPMMuckraker |publisher=Tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com |date=25 August 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2011/08/25/gaddafi-kept-condi-photo-book.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Fcheat-sheet+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Cheat+Sheet%29 |title=Gaddafi Kept Condi Photo Book |publisher=The Daily Beast |date=25 August 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.malawivoice.com/latest-news/colonel-gaddafi-kept-photos-of-darling-condoleezza-rice/ |title=Colonel Gaddafi ‘kept photos of darling Condoleezza Rice’ |publisher=Malawi Voice |date=25 August 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> During the visit, Gaddafi also showed the photo album to Rice, who described it then as "not standard diplomatic practice."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dailycaller.com/2011/08/29/gaddafi-privately-showed-creepy-photo-album-to-condeleezza-rice-in-2008/ |title=Condeleeza Rice &#124; Muammar Gaddafi &#124; Photo Album |publisher=The Daily Caller |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>


Libya had long supported the ] militia in neighbouring Chad, but FROLINAT became divided over its ties to Libya in 1976. In January 1978, the anti-Libya faction within FROLINAT, led by ], switched sides and allied with Chadian President ].<ref>A. Gérard, ''Nimeiry face aux crises tchadiennes'', p. 119</ref><ref name="BuijtenhuijsA19">R. Buijtenhuijs, "Le FROLINAT à l'épreuve du pouvoir", p. 19</ref> Meanwhile, the pro-Libya faction within FROLINAT, led by ], renamed itself ] (FAP). In December 1980, Gaddafi reinvaded Chad at the request of the FAP-controlled ] to aid in the civil war; in January 1981, Gaddafi suggested a political merger. The ] (OAU) rejected this and called for a Libyan withdrawal, which came in November 1981. The civil war resumed, and Libya sent troops back in.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=211–222|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=187–190|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=35|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=189–190}}
In September, an underground chamber was discovered beneath Tripoli's largest university, containing (among other things) a bedroom, a Jacuzzi, and a fully equipped gynecological operating chamber. Only Gaddafi and his top associates had been allowed access to it in the past.<ref></ref><ref>http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/08/muammar-gaddafi-s-shocking-university-love-den.html?2</ref>


In 1982, the GUNT government was overthrown by Habré's forces and Oueddei fled to Libya, where Gaddafi provided him with arms to continue to guerrilla war against Habré.<ref name="Habre">James Brooke, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413021354/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2D71F3FF93BA2575BC0A961948260 |date=13 April 2020 }}, '']'', 18 August 1987.</ref> In November 1984, Gaddafi met with French President ]; both agreed to withdraw from Chad.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Mitterrand meets Qaddafi even as some say Libya still in Chad |work=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/1116/111631.html |access-date=2023-02-03 |issn=0882-7729 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203075529/https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/1116/111631.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Oueddei broke with Gaddafi in 1985 due to the former's intentions to negotiate a truce with Habré. Consequently, he was placed under house arrest by Gaddafi and allegedly arrested by Libyan police and shot in the stomach.<ref name="Habre" /><ref>James Brooke, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307180254/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/01/world/chad-said-to-win-vast-libyan-booty.html |date=7 March 2023 }}, ''The New York Times'', 1 April 1987.</ref> Oueddei survived the shooting and fled to Algeria, but continued to claim he and Gaddafi enjoyed a good relationship. When Gaddafi ordered the remnant of GUNT to attack Habré in February 1986 in violation of his agreement with Mitterrand, France launched ], which escalated into the ]. Libya suffered a humiliating defeat as it was completely expelled from Chad and its commander ] captured, along with 600-700 Libyan soldiers. Gaddafi disavowed Haftar and the other prisoners; one possible contributing factor to this repudiation may have been that Gaddafi had signed an agreement to withdraw Libyan forces, and Haftar's operations had been in violation of this.<ref>M. Brecher & J. Wilkenfeld, ''A Study of Crisis'', p. 92</ref><ref name="bi-201404222">{{cite news |author=Russ Baker |date=22 April 2014 |title=Is General Khalifa Hifter The CIA's Man in Libya? |work=] |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/the-cias-man-in-libya-2011-4 |url-status=live |access-date=26 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827222052/http://www.businessinsider.com/the-cias-man-in-libya-2011-4 |archive-date=27 August 2014}}</ref> An embittered Haftar then joined the anti-Gaddafi ], became a CIA asset, and was given refuge in the US.<ref name="Anderson">{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Jon Lee |date=23 February 2015 |title=The Unravelling: Libya's New Strongman |magazine=] |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/23/unravelling |url-status=live |access-date=14 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315053552/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/23/unravelling |archive-date=15 March 2015}}</ref>
===Capture and death===
{{current|section}}


Many African nations were tired of Libya's interference in their affairs; by 1980, nine African states had severed diplomatic relations,{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1987|1p=101|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=189}} while in 1982 the OAU cancelled its scheduled conference in Tripoli to prevent Gaddafi gaining chairmanship.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=103|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2p=102|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=81|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=190–191}} Some African states, such as ]'s Ghana and ]'s Burkina Faso, had warm relations with Libya during the 1980s.{{sfn|Haynes|1990|p=62}}
On 20 October 2011, the media reported that a ] (NTC) official had told ] that Gaddafi had been captured that morning by Libyan forcesn ear his hometown of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15385955 |title=BBC News - Libyan forces 'capture Gaddafi' |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2011-09-18 |accessdate=2011-10-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Weaver |first=Matthew |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/oct/20/syria-libya-middle-east-unrest-live |title=Libya: fall of Sirte - live updates &#124; World news &#124; guardian.co.uk |publisher=Guardian |date= |accessdate=2011-10-20}}</ref> According to Abdel Majid, Gaddafi's legs were both wounded.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/10/20111020111520869621.html |title=NTC claims capture of Gaddafi - Africa |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=2011-10-04 |accessdate=2011-10-20}}</ref> An NTC spokesman told ] that Gaddafi's body was being flown to ].<ref name="guardianlive"/>


Proposing political unity with Morocco, in August 1984, Gaddafi and Moroccan monarch ] signed the ], forming the Arab–African Union; such a union was considered surprising due to the political differences and longstanding enmity that existed between the two. In a sign of warming relations, Gaddafi promised to stop funding the ] and Hassan II extradited former RCC member ] to Libya, where he was immediately killed.<ref name=":0" /> But relations deteriorated, particularly due to Morocco's friendship with the US and Israel; in August 1986, Hassan abolished the union.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=261–262|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=214|3a1=St. John|3y=1987|3pp=66–67|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4pp=72–75|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=216}} Angered by the snub, Gaddafi plotted with ] to assassinate Hassan in 1987, but the plot was aborted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Morocco-Libya: Gaddafi Plotted to Assassinate Hassan II, CIA Reveals – The North Africa Post |url=https://northafricapost.com/16081-morocco-libya-gaddafi-plotted-assassinate-hassan-ii-cia-reveals.html |access-date=2023-02-02 |language=en-US |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202021511/https://northafricapost.com/16081-morocco-libya-gaddafi-plotted-assassinate-hassan-ii-cia-reveals.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Yabiladi.com |title=1987, when Muammar Gaddafi was planning to assassinate King Hassan II |url=https://en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/58568/1987-when-muammar-gaddafi-planning.html |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=en.yabiladi.com |language=en |archive-date=9 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309230712/https://en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/58568/1987-when-muammar-gaddafi-planning.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
According to two NTC figures—information minister Mahmoud Shammam and military chief Abdelhakim Bel Haj—Gaddafi died of wounds suffered during his capture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/uk-libya-gaddafi-death-idUKTRE79J2S320111020 |title=Gaddafi dies of wounds - NTC official &#124; Reuters |publisher=Uk.reuters.com |date= |accessdate=2011-10-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/10/20111020111520869621.html |title=Muammar Gaddafi 'killed' in gun battle - Africa |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=2011-10-04 |accessdate=2011-10-20}}</ref> ] showed on its website a graphic photograph obtained by ] and taken by a cell phone reportedly showing a bloody Gaddafi after capture.<ref name="guardianlive">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/oct/20/syria-libya-middle-east-unrest-live</ref>


In 1981, the new US president, ], pursued a hardline approach to Libya, viewing it as a ] of the Soviet Union.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=228–229|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2p=81|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=115–116, 120|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=179–180}} Gaddafi played up his commercial relationship with the Soviets, revisiting Moscow in 1981 and 1985,{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1pp=98–99|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2pp=71, 78|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=115|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=210–211}} and threatening to join the ].{{sfn|St. John|2008|p=96}} The Soviets were nevertheless cautious of Gaddafi, seeing him as an unpredictable extremist.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=97|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=183|3a1=St. John|3y=1987|3pp=77–78}} In August 1981, the US staged military exercises in the Gulf of Sirte – an area which Libya claimed. The US ] two Libyan ] planes which were on an intercept course.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=230–231|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2p=84|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=36|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4pp=118–119}} Closing down Libya's embassy in Washington, Reagan advised US companies operating in Libya to reduce Americans stationed there.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=37|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=117–118|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=180}} In December 1981, the ] claimed Gaddafi had dispatched a hit squad to assassinate Reagan, allegedly led by ], who had been living in Libya under Gaddafi's protection after the 1975 ]. Secretary of State ], Defense Secretary ], Counselor to the President ], chief of staff ], and deputy chief of staff ] were considered potential targets and given special security. US ambassador to Italy ], who was Jewish, was urgently recalled due to threats against his life. Gaddafi denied the allegations.<ref name=":5" /> Gaddafi was accused of having ties to the ], which had murdered US ] ] and Israeli diplomat ] in Paris.<ref name=":5" /> In March 1982, the US implemented an embargo of Libyan oil,{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=231|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=207–208|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=37|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4pp=117-18|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=181}} and in January 1986 ordered all US companies to cease operating in the country, although several hundred workers remained when the Libyan government doubled their pay.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=294|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=27, 208|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=117–118|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=176}} In spring 1986, ]; the Libyan military retaliated, but failed as the US sank Libyan ships.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=294–295|2a1=Boyd-Judson|2y=2005|2p=79|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=121–122}} Diplomatic relations also broke down with the UK, after Libyan diplomats were accused in the killing of ], a British policewoman stationed outside their London embassy, in April 1984.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=250|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=175–178|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=37|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=209}}
==Ideology==
{{main|Political ideology of Muammar Gaddafi}}
]'', ] and ] editions]]


In 1980, Gaddafi hired former CIA agent ], living in Libya as a fugitive from US justice, to plot the murder of an anti-Gaddafi Libyan graduate student at ] named Faisal Zagallai. Zagallai was shot in the head in October 1980, in ] by a former ] and associate of Wilson named Eugene Tafoya.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Marmaduke |first=Jacy |title=Uncover the mystery of a notorious Fort Collins shooting |url=https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2016/12/08/uncover-mystery-notorious-fort-collins-shooting/95041498/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=Fort Collins Coloradoan |language=en-US |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307180316/https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2016/12/08/uncover-mystery-notorious-fort-collins-shooting/95041498/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Zagallai survived the attack and Tafoya was convicted of third-degree assault and conspiracy to commit assault.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Upi |date=1981-11-26 |title=DEFENDANT DESCRIBES SHOOTING OF LIBYAN |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/26/us/defendant-describes-shooting-of-libyan.html |access-date=2023-02-07 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207181243/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/26/us/defendant-describes-shooting-of-libyan.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":6" /> Wilson was lured back to the US and sentenced to 32 years due to his ties to Gaddafi.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Philip |date=1983-03-14 |title=It's 2 Convictions, 32 Years, And More Trials for Wilson |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/03/14/its-2-convictions-32-years-and-more-trials-for-wilson/7d9a63c5-27f7-440d-be04-abddd5b855af/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=28 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828080537/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/03/14/its-2-convictions-32-years-and-more-trials-for-wilson/7d9a63c5-27f7-440d-be04-abddd5b855af/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1984, Gaddafi publicly ], an aeronautical engineer studying in the US.
On the Muslim prophet ]'s birthday in 1973, Gaddafi delivered his famous "Five-Point Address" which officially implemented ].<ref name="Mohamed Eljhami"/> Gaddafi's ideology was largely based on ], blending ],<ref name=autogenerated2 /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb3.htm#NATION |title=The Green Book, Third Volume "The Social Basis of the Third World Theory", The Nation |publisher=Mathaba.net |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref> aspects of the ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb2.htm#NEED |title=The Green Book, Second Volume "The Solution of the Economic Problem", Need |publisher=Mathaba.net |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb2.htm#HOUSE |title=The Green Book, Second Volume "The Solution of the Economic Problem", Housing |publisher=Mathaba.net |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb2.htm#INCOME |title=The Green Book, Second Volume "The Solution of the Economic Problem", Income |publisher=Mathaba.net |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref> and what Gaddafi termed "popular democracy",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb1.htm#popular |title=The Green Book, First Volume "The Solution of the Problem of Democracy", Popular Conferences and People's Committees. "Popular Conferences are the only means to achieve popular democracy" |publisher=Mathaba.net |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref> or more commonly "direct, ]". He called this system "]", as he disfavored the ] quality of ]. While he permitted private control over small companies, the government controlled the larger ones. ], "liberation" (or "emancipation" depending on the translation),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb2.htm#DOMESTIC |title=The Green Book, Second Volume "The Solution of the Economic Problem", Domestic Servants |publisher=Mathaba.net |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref> and education<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb3.htm#EDUCATE |title=The Green Book, Third Volume "The Social Basis of the Third World Theory", Education |publisher=Mathaba.net |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref> was emphasized. He also imposed a system of Islamic morals<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/gci/theory/gb1.htm#law |title=The Green Book, First Volume "The Solution of the Problem of Democracy", The Law of Society |publisher=Mathaba.net |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref><ref>Constitutional Declaration of Libya, Article 2. «The Holy Qur'an is the social code in the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, since authority belongs solely to the people, by whom it is exercised through people's congresses, people's committees, trade unions, federations and professional associations (the General People's Congress, the working procedures of which are established by law).»</ref> and outlawed alcohol and gambling. School vacations were canceled to allow the teaching of Gaddafi's ideology in the summer of 1973.<ref name="Mohamed Eljhami"/>


After the US accused Libya of orchestrating the ], in which two US soldiers died, Reagan decided to retaliate.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=287|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=4–5|3a1=Boyd-Judson|3y=2005|3p=79|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=122}} The CIA was critical of the move, believing Syria was a greater threat and that an attack would strengthen Gaddafi's reputation; however, Libya was recognized as a "soft target".{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|pp=5–6}} Reagan was supported by the UK, but opposed by other European allies, who argued it contravened international law.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=102|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=123–125}} In ], orchestrated on 15 April 1986, US military planes launched air-strikes, bombing military installations, killing around 100 Libyans, including civilians. One target had been Gaddafi's home. Himself unharmed, two of Gaddafi's sons were injured, and he claimed his adopted daughter ] was killed, although her existence has since been questioned.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=287|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=2–3, 7–12|3a1=Boyd-Judson|3y=2005|3pp=79–80|4a1=Vandewalle|4y=2008b|4p=37|5a1=Kawczynski|5y=2011|5pp=127–129}} Gaddafi retreated to the desert to meditate.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=13, 210|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=130}} There were sporadic clashes between Gaddafists and army officers who wanted to overthrow the government.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=12}} Although the US was condemned internationally, Reagan received a popularity boost at home.{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd-Judson|1y=2005|1p=80|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=130}} Publicly lambasting US imperialism, Gaddafi's reputation as an anti-imperialist was strengthened domestically and across the Arab world,{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=15|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=196}} and, in June 1986, he ordered the names of the month to be changed in Libya.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=30}}
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.<ref>see e.g. a of ''Escape to Hell'': "Of course, what most people really want to know about the Libyan leader is whether he’s a complete loon… and reading Escape to Hell does tend to confirm the widespread suspicion that Gaddafi isn’t playing with a full deck. His writing has a rambling, stream-of-consciousness flavor reminiscent of Chairman Mao’s less coherent essays, suggesting that dictators are often edited with a very light hand. Combine this with his excursions into surrealism and frequent recourse to the high-ironic stance, and it’s often difficult to make head or tail of his work. It’s tempting to conclude that the man is hopelessly cracked-but often enough there’s method in his seeming madness."</ref> He once said that HIV was "a peace virus, not an aggressive virus" and assured attendees at the African Union that "if you are ] you have nothing to fear from AIDS".<ref name="rulebreaking">{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb1402/is_2_25/ai_n29060112/ |title=The rule-breaking conduct of Qaddafi's Libya |date=November 2003 |publisher=Strategic Review for Southern Africa |work=Strategic Review for Southern Africa |first=Deon |last=Geldenhuys}}</ref> He also said that the ] 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".<ref name="rulebreaking"/>


==="Revolution within a Revolution": 1987–1998===
Gaddafi has been an unabashed supporter of Islam, often with blatant disregard for religious tolerance{{Clarify|date=August 2011}}. 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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Thome |first=Wolfgang H. |url=http://www.eturbonews.com/1880/gaddafi-causes-a-stir-opens-new-national-mosq |title=Libya Gaddafi causes a stir, opens new national mosque in Uganda |publisher=eTurboNews.com |date=25 March 2008 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> In 2006, he predicted Europe would become a ] within a few decades as a result of its growing Arab population.<ref>{{cite web|title=Al-Qaddafi: Islam taking over Europe – Victory within a Few Decades |publisher=Al-Jazeera TV |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7ympF_grrA |accessdate=1 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Will Britain one day be Muslim? |work=Daily Mail |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-452815/Will-Britain-day-Muslim.html |accessdate=1 December 2009 | location=London | date=5 May 2007}}</ref> He endorsed the concept of a peaceful Muslim ]. 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 fought 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 ] that Israeli agents had assassinated ] and that Barack Obama's foreign policy was influenced by fears of being assassinated by Israel.<ref>{{Cite news| title=Gaddafi attacks Obama on Israel |publisher=BBC News | date=12 June 2008| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7450000.stm | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7450000.stm |title=Middle East &#124; Gaddafi attacks Obama on Israel |publisher=BBC News |date=12 June 2008 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> Since 2007, he has suggested a ] to the ], at first saying "This is the fundamental solution, or else the Jews will be annihilated in the future, because the Palestinians have 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."<ref>, The New York Times 22 January 2009</ref>
The late 1980s saw a series of liberalizing economic reforms within Libya designed to cope with the decline in oil revenues. In May 1987, Gaddafi announced the start of the "Revolution within a Revolution", which began with reforms to industry and agriculture and saw the re-opening of small business.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=225|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=194}} Restrictions were placed on the activities of the Revolutionary Committees; in March 1988, their role was narrowed by the newly created Ministry for Mass Mobilization and Revolutionary Leadership to restrict their violence and judicial role, while in August 1988 Gaddafi publicly criticized them.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=29|2a1=St. John|2y=2008|2p=97|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=194–195, 199–200}}
In March, hundreds of political prisoners were freed, with Gaddafi falsely claiming that there were no further political prisoners in Libya.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=45|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=222}} In June, Libya's government issued the Great Green Charter on Human Rights in the Era of the Masses, in which 27 articles laid out goals, rights, and guarantees to improve the situation of human rights in Libya, restricting the use of the death penalty and calling for its eventual abolition. Many of the measures suggested in the charter would be implemented the following year, although others remained inactive.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1pp=45–46|2a1=St. John|2y=2008|2pp=97–98|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=197–198}} Also in 1989, the government founded the ], to be awarded to figures from the Third World who had struggled against colonialism and imperialism; the first year's winner was South African anti-apartheid activist ].{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=199}} From 1994 through to 1997, the government initiated cleansing committees to root out corruption, particularly in the economic sector.{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=197–198}}


In the aftermath of the 1986 US attack, the army was purged of perceived disloyal elements,{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|p=130}} and in 1988, Gaddafi announced the creation of a popular militia to replace the army and police.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=38|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=200}} In 1987, ] of ] at a facility in Rabta, although publicly denied it was stockpiling chemical weapons,{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=201–204}} and unsuccessfully attempted to develop nuclear weapons.{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|pp=180–181}} The period also saw a growth in domestic Islamist opposition, formulated into groups like the ] and the ]. Several assassination attempts against Gaddafi were foiled, and in turn, 1989 saw the security forces raid mosques believed to be centres of counter-revolutionary preaching.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1pp=166–167, 236|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=221–222}} In December 1993, former Libyan foreign minister ], a leader of an anti-Gaddafi coalition in exile, was abducted in Cairo.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Caryle |date=1993-12-14 |title=LIBYAN DISSIDENT MISSING IN CAIRO, FEARED ABDUCTED |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/12/14/libyan-dissident-missing-in-cairo-feared-abducted/26f15e62-a27b-4c7e-bba8-f1f664818454/ |access-date=2023-02-12 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> His body was not found until 2012 in a morgue that belonged to Gaddafi's intelligence chief ].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-12-02 |title=Prominent Gaddafi opponent buried after 19 years |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-02/prominent-gaddafi-opponent-gets-burial-after-19-years/4403740 |access-date=2023-03-05 |archive-date=5 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305003730/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-02/prominent-gaddafi-opponent-gets-burial-after-19-years/4403740 |url-status=live }}</ref>
During Gaddafi's speech to the ] on 23 September 2009,<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.btinternet.com/~davidbeaumont/msf/gadafi.htm |title=Gadafi's speech to the UN General Assembly(2009) |accessdate=29 September 2009 }}</ref> he blamed the United Nations for failing to prevent 65 wars<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/ga/64/generaldebate/LY.shtml |title=General Debate of the 64th Session (2009) – Statement Summary and UN Webcast |accessdate=24 September 2009 }}</ref> and claimed that the Security Council had too much power and should be abolished.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6846440.ece |title=Colonel Gaddafi chastises 'terror council' in rambling, 94-minute speech | date=24 September 2009 |work=The Times |location=UK |author=James Bone & Francis Elliott |accessdate=24 September 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_6451.shtml |title=Gadhafi: UN Security Council is undemocratic|publisher=Finalcall.com |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/world/24nations.html?_r=1 |title=Libyan Leader Delivers a Scolding in UN Debut |date=23 September 2009 |work=The New York Times| author=Neil MacFarqhuar |accessdate=19 January 2011 }}</ref> He demanded that Europe pay its former colonies $7.77 trillion dollars to pay for past imperialism or face "mass immigration".<ref>{{cite web|author=now to post a comment! |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9n5JnH9wYU&feature=related |title=Dictator Gaddafi demands 7 trillion dollars from Europe "or face massimmigration". At UN 09-23-09 |publisher=YouTube |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> He opposed the ], saying the ]'s religious state was peaceful and not linked to bin Laden. He also defended the ] for protecting their waters from foreigners.


In October 1993, elements of the increasingly marginalized army, led by officers from the powerful ] tribe, initiated a failed ] in ] and ] allegedly with help from the ], ], and the ],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blanchard |first1=Christopher M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlFdMjJwC30C&dq=1993+libya+coup&pg=PA12 |title=Libya: Background and U. S. Relations |date=2010 |page=12 |publisher=DIANE |isbn=9781437922035 |access-date=3 February 2023 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307180305/https://books.google.com/books?id=RlFdMjJwC30C&dq=1993+libya+coup&pg=PA12 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Helms |first1=Jesse |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SI2AAAAIAAJ&dq=1993+libya+coup&pg=PA1141 |title=Country Reports on Human Rights |date=1995 |edition=994 |access-date=3 February 2023 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307180255/https://books.google.com/books?id=3SI2AAAAIAAJ&dq=1993+libya+coup&pg=PA1141 |url-status=live }}</ref> while in September 1995, Islamists launched an insurgency in Benghazi, and in July 1996 an anti-Gaddafist football riot broke out in Tripoli.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=166|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=223}} In March 1996, Haftar again briefly returned to Libya to instigate an uprising against Gaddafi in the mountains of ].<ref name="bi-201404222" /> The Revolutionary Committees experienced a resurgence to combat these Islamists.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008b|p=29}}
Despite his ongoing hostility to Jews, rumors arose that he had Jewish heritage. Two Israeli women came forth on Israel's ] 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.<ref>Ryan Jones, "Libya's Gaddafi could find refuge in Israel" "Israel Today Magazine" 21 February 2011 http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/22668/Default.aspx</ref> The older woman also spoke with INN TV (which identified her as Gita Boaron), and repeated the same claim.<ref>Elad Benari and Yoni Kempinski "'Qaddafi is Jewish and I'm His Cousin': INN TV meets with Gita Boaron, who claims that she is the cousin of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi." Arutz Sheva, Israel Nation News 3 January 2011 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/142593</ref> Even if true, however, Gaddafi would not be able to obtain refuge in Israel, as the Israeli ] does not apply to those who have committed serious crimes, and/or are wanted fugitives.


In 1989, Gaddafi was overjoyed by the foundation of the ], uniting Libya in an economic pact with Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, viewing it as beginnings of a new pan-Arab union.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=188|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=216–218}} Gaddafi was able to recover some influence in Chad after ] was overthrown by ] in a ] in 1990.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Noble |first1=Kenneth B. |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1990-12-06 |title=In Chad, Talk of a Libyan Resurgence |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/06/world/in-chad-talk-of-a-libyan-resurgence.html |access-date=2023-02-08 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=17 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617031150/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/06/world/in-chad-talk-of-a-libyan-resurgence.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |last=Chutel |first=Lynsey |title=Why the World Won't Criticize Chad |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/14/chad-election-idriss-deby-terror-sahel/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416064001/https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/14/chad-election-idriss-deby-terror-sahel/ |archive-date=16 April 2021 |access-date=2021-04-20 |website=Foreign Policy |date=14 April 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Riding |first1=Alan |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1990-12-03 |title=REBELS IN CONTROL OF CHAD'S CAPITAL |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/03/world/rebels-in-control-of-chad-s-capital.html |url-status=live |access-date=2021-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119062528/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/03/world/rebels-in-control-of-chad-s-capital.html |archive-date=19 November 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Déby also gave Gaddafi detailed information about ] operations in Chad.<ref name="Dictionary of African Biography20122">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39JMAgAAQBAJ&q=bidayat+clan+zaghawa+africa&pg=RA1-PA172 |title=Dictionary of African Biography |date=2 February 2012 |publisher=OUP USA |isbn=9780195382075 |pages=172–173 |access-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420213744/https://books.google.com/books?id=39JMAgAAQBAJ&q=bidayat+clan+zaghawa+africa&pg=RA1-PA172 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, Libya stepped up its support for anti-Western militants such as the ],{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=197}} and in 1988, ] was blown up over ] in Scotland, killing 243 passengers and 16 crew members, plus 11 people on the ground. British police investigations identified two Libyans&nbsp;– ] and ]&nbsp;– as the chief suspects, and in November 1991 issued a declaration demanding that Libya hand them over. When Gaddafi refused, citing the ], the United Nations (UN) imposed Resolution 748 in March 1992, initiating economic sanctions against Libya which had deep repercussions for the country's economy.{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd-Judson|1y=2005|1pp=80–81|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=39|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=133–140|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=205–207}} The country suffered an estimated US$900&nbsp;million financial loss as a result.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008b|p=42}} On 5 November 1995, US President Bill Clinton declared the US would continue to induce pressure on Libya, also recognizing that Libyan terrorists were responsible for the Lockerbie bombing.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 5, 1995 |title=Despair As Visit Banned By Gaddafi |work=Sunday Sun}}</ref> Further problems arose with the West when in January 1989, ] and in September 1989, ] was blown up over the Ténéré desert in Niger, killing all 170 people on board (156 passengers and 14 crew members).{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=202}}
==Assassination attempts==
* In 1969, the British ] (S.A.S.) was contacted by the Libyan ] 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 ] because the United States government decided that Gaddafi was anti-] and therefore acceptable.<ref>{{cite book|last=Geraghty|first=Tony|title=Who Dares Wins: The Story of the Special Air Service, 1950-1982 |year=1983 |publisher=Fontana |location=London|isbn=978-0006366782|pages=1–7, 124–125|edition=2nd|authorlink=Tony Geraghty}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Seale |first1=Patrick |authorlink1=Patrick Seale|title=The Hilton Assignment|year=1973|publisher=Temple Smith|location=London|isbn=978-0851170473|coauthors=McConville, Maureen}}</ref>


In 1996, Gaddafi wrote a letter to the newly elected Prime Minister of Bangladesh, ]'s daughter ], pleading with her to spare the lives of her father's assassins ] and ]. Rahman and Rashid both had business ties to Libya.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=SAAG |date=2011-09-20 |title=Gaddafi And The Killers Of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – Analysis |url=https://www.eurasiareview.com/20092011-gaddafi-and-the-killers-of-sheikh-mujibur-rahman-analysis/ |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=Eurasia Review |language=en-US |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206153750/https://www.eurasiareview.com/20092011-gaddafi-and-the-killers-of-sheikh-mujibur-rahman-analysis/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Ahsan |first=Syed Badrul |date=2011-09-21 |title=Gaddafi and the assassins |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-203263 |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=The Daily Star |language=en |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206153753/https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-203263 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In 1976, Tunisia's state television reported that Gaddafi had been fired at by a lone assailant. None of the shots hit him.<ref>{{cite news|title=Shots fired at Gaddafi|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kvhjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WeYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6088,6116155&dq=gaddafi+assassination&hl=en |accessdate=31 August 2011|newspaper=]|date=20 April 1976}}</ref>


Many Arab and African states opposed the UN sanctions, with Mandela criticizing them on a visit to Gaddafi in October 1997, when he praised Libya for its work in fighting apartheid and awarded Gaddafi the ].{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd-Judson|1y=2005|1pp=73, 83|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=147|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=205–206}} They would only be suspended in 1998 when Libya agreed to allow the extradition of the suspects to the ], in a process overseen by Mandela.{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd-Judson|1y=2005|1pp=83–88|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=146–148|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=206}} As a result of the trial, Fhimah was acquitted and al-Megrahi convicted.{{sfn|Boyd-Judson|2005|p=89}} Privately, Gaddafi maintained that he knew nothing about who perpetrated the bombing and that Libya had nothing to do with it.{{sfn|Boyd-Judson|2005|p=82}}
* In 1981, French president ] 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.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{harvnb|Davis|1990|p=41}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Paris 'had plan to kill Libyan leader'|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vzMRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wZQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4674,340768&dq=gaddafi+assassination&hl=en|accessdate=29 August 2011|newspaper=The Age|date=17 November 1981}}</ref>


===Pan-Africanism, reconciliation and privatization: 1999–2011===
* In 1986, the ], including Gaddafi's family compound in the vast ] Barracks in southern ]. The ] consistently said that the bombings were "surgical strikes" and were not intended to kill Gaddafi. However, ] did devise a plot at the time to lure Gaddafi into his compound using ]. The plot violated US law, which prohibited assassinations, and was never put into action.<ref>{{cite news|title=North wanted to use Waite as lure, claim reporters|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5zNAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=T1kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1869,3440245&dq=gaddafi+and+assassination&hl=en |accessdate=31 August 2011|newspaper=]|date=13 June 1988}}</ref> On 15 April, Gaddafi and his family had fled his compound in the ] Barracks moments before it was bombed. He received a phone call the night of 15 April, warning him about an attack. The origin of the phone call remains under speculation, but Maltese Prime Minister ] and Italian politician ] have been primary suspects.


====Links with Africa and conflicts in the Arab League====
* In 1993, over 2,000 Libyan soldiers plotted to assassinate Gaddafi.<ref>{{cite news|last=Briggs|first=Joe Bob|title=Is Libya's leader turning sane?|url=http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2003/12/21/Is-Libyas-leader-turning-sane/UPI-53621072033780/|accessdate=29 August 2011|agency=UPI|date=21 December 2003}}</ref> The soldiers were members of the ] tribe, which rebelled because it was not well-represented in the upper ranks of the Libyan Army. The coup attempt was crushed by the ], which was entirely made of members of the ] tribe, which Gaddafi belongs to. The tribal tensions that resulted with the Warfalla and the ] caused Gaddafi to place his second-in-command, ], a Magariha, under house arrest, and led to oppression of the Warfalla.<ref>{{cite news|title=Libya - Tribal Rivalries|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6511/is_4_44/ai_n28948866/|accessdate=29 August 2011|publisher=]|date=14 October 2002}}</ref> The rebellion was largest in the city of ]. Libyan media did not cover any reports on the rebellion, but European diplomats saw large numbers of wounded and casualties in the hospitals.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hedges|first=Chris|title=Qaddafi Reported to Quash Army Revolt|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/23/world/qaddafi-reported-to-quash-army-revolt.html?src=pm|accessdate=29 August 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=23 October 1993}}</ref>
]


During the final years of the 20th century, Gaddafi—frustrated by the failure of his pan-Arab ideals and the refusal of the Arab world to challenge the international air embargo imposed on Libya—increasingly rejected Arab nationalism in favour of ], emphasizing Libya's African identity.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=142|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=227}}<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Schneider |first=Howard |date=1998-10-04 |title=LIBYA'S GADHAFI SAYS HIS FUTURE IS AFRICAN |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/10/04/libyas-gadhafi-says-his-future-is-african/be1b8b48-3639-442b-8c64-e1aabd36cfe4/ |access-date=2023-02-13 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=28 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828041925/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/10/04/libyas-gadhafi-says-his-future-is-african/be1b8b48-3639-442b-8c64-e1aabd36cfe4/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In a 1998 interview, Gaddafi claimed that "the Arab world is finished" and expressed his wish for Libya to become a "black country."<ref name=":8" /> From 1997 to 2000, Libya initiated cooperative agreements or bilateral aid arrangements with 10 African states,{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=229}} and in 1999 joined the ].{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=2008|1p=99|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=189}} In June 1999, Gaddafi visited Mandela in South Africa,{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=226}} and the following month attended the OAU summit in ], calling for greater political and economic integration across the continent and advocating the foundation of a ].{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=227–228}} He became one of the founders of the ] (AU), initiated in July 2002 to replace the OAU. At the opening ceremonies, he called for African states to reject conditional aid from the developed world, a direct contrast to the message of South African President ].{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=190|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=229}} There was speculation that Gaddafi wanted to become the AU's first chair, raising concerns within Africa that this would damage the Union's international standing, particularly with the West.{{sfn|Ramutsindela|2009|p=3}}
* In February 1996, Islamic extremists attacked Gaddafi's motorcade near the city of ].<ref>{{cite news|last=Bright|first=Martin|title=MI6 'halted bid to arrest bin Laden' |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2002/nov/10/uk.davidshayler |accessdate=29 August 2011|newspaper=The Guardian|date=10 November 2002|location=London}}</ref> Allegedly, Britain's ] was involved, which was denied by future foreign secretary ]. The ] later stated: "We have never denied that we knew of plots against Gaddafi."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/01/uk-libya-relations-yvonne-fletcher |title=Britain's past relations with Libya: Yvonne Fletcher and plot to kill Gaddafi |work=The Guardian |accessdate=2 September 2009 | date=1 September 2009 | first=Richard | last=Norton-Taylor|authorlink=Richard Norton-Taylor | location=London}}</ref> In August 1998, former British ] officer ] renewed his attacks on the secret services, claiming that ] had invested {{GBP|100,000}} in a plot to assassinate Gaddafi.<ref>{{cite news|title='Shaylergate' explained|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/885588.stm|accessdate=29 August 2011|publisher=BBC News|date=20 August 2000}}</ref>


At the third AU summit, held in Tripoli, Libya, in July 2005, Gaddafi called for greater integration, advocating a single AU passport, a common defence system, and a single currency, using the slogan: "The United States of Africa is the hope."{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1pp=190–191|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=230}} His proposal for a Union of African States, a project originally conceived by Ghana's ] in the 1960s, was rejected at the 2001 Assembly of Heads of States and Government (AHSG) summit in Lusaka by African leaders who thought it "unrealistic" and "utopian".{{sfn|Martin|2002|p=280}} In June 2005, Libya joined the ] (COMESA).{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=231}} In March 2008 in Uganda, Gaddafi gave a speech once again urging Africa to reject foreign aid.<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL17472166|title = Gaddafi says Africans must reject conditional aid|newspaper = Reuters|date = 17 March 2008|last1 = Kwera|first1 = Francis|access-date = 13 March 2021|archive-date = 14 July 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220714113120/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL17472166|url-status = live}}</ref> In August 2008, Gaddafi was proclaimed "]" by a committee of traditional African ];{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=188|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=270–271}} they ] him in February 2009, in a ceremony held in ], Ethiopia.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=190|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=272}} That same month, Gaddafi was elected as the chairperson of the African Union, a position he retained for one year.{{sfnm|1a1=Ramutsindela|1y=2009|1p=1|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=190|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=272}} In October 2010, Gaddafi apologized to African leaders for the historical enslavement of Africans by the ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chiwanza|first=Takudzwa Hillary|title=Muammar Gaddafi Apologized for the Cruel Treatment of Africans During the Arab Slave Trade {{!}} The African Exponent.|url=https://www.africanexponent.com/post/6905-gaddadi-apologized-for-the-arab-slave-trade|access-date=21 December 2020|website=The African Exponent|archive-date=14 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714113121/https://www.africanexponent.com/post/6905-gaddadi-apologized-for-the-arab-slave-trade|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In June 1998, Islamic militants opened fire on Gaddafi's motorcade near the town of Dirnah. One of his ]s sacrificed herself to save his life. He was injured in the elbow according to witnesses.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gaddafi's motorcade ambushed |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/smgpubs/access/60203023.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+12%2C+1998&author=&pub=The+Herald&desc=Gaddafi%5C%27s+motorcade+ambushed&pqatl=top_retrieves|accessdate=29 August 2011|newspaper=The Herald (Glasgow)|date=12 June 1998}}</ref>


Meanwhile, Gaddafi continued to have testy relationships with most of his fellow Arab leaders. In the 2003 Arab League summit, Gaddafi was involved in a public verbal altercation with ], then the Crown Prince. Gaddafi accused Saudi Arabia of having made an "alliance with the devil" when it invited the US to intervene in the 1991 ]. Abdullah responded that Gaddafi was a "liar" and an "agent of colonizers" and threatened Gaddafi that "your grave awaits you."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ghabra |first=Shafeeq |date=2003-03-09 |title=An Arab House, Openly Divided |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2003/03/09/an-arab-house-openly-divided/a5cac861-a977-486b-bdee-4d657ec4a223/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Two weeks after the summit, Gaddafi allegedly plotted with the Emir ] of ] to assassinate Abdullah.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Libya 'plotted to kill' Saudi Crown Prince |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/libya-plotted-to-kill-saudi-crown-prince-1.986510 |access-date=2023-02-04 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075412/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/libya-plotted-to-kill-saudi-crown-prince-1.986510 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-17 |title=Qatar plotted to assassinate King Abdullah: Saudi Media Advisor |url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/7931/Qatar-plotted-to-assassinate-King-Abdullah-Saudi-Media-Advisor |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=EgyptToday |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075408/https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/7931/Qatar-plotted-to-assassinate-King-Abdullah-Saudi-Media-Advisor |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |title='UAE ruler's friend' ran Libyan plot to kill Saudi crown prince |language=fr |work=Middle East Eye édition française |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/news/saudi-king-assassination-plot-planned-uae-citizen-1134806678 |access-date=2023-02-04 |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075413/https://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/news/saudi-king-assassination-plot-planned-uae-citizen-1134806678 |url-status=live }}</ref> The plot was overseen by Libyan intelligence chief ], Mohammed Ismail (a colonel in Gaddafi's military intelligence), and ] (an American citizen and founder of ]). The assassination conspiracy was foiled by Saudi intelligence with the help of the ] and ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tyler |first=Patrick E. |date=2004-06-10 |title=Two Said to Tell Of Libyan Plot Against Saudi |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/world/two-said-to-tell-of-libyan-plot-against-saudi.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075407/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/world/two-said-to-tell-of-libyan-plot-against-saudi.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Amoudi was sentenced to 23 years in prison in the US and stripped of his American citizenship. Ismail was arrested by Saudi Arabia, pardoned by Abdullah in 2005, and later acquired ] citizenship due to his close ties with its ruler ].<ref name=":1" /> After the failure of the assassination plot, Gaddafi continued to discuss instigating a ] in Saudi Arabia with multiple ]s in the ], including Qatar's Foreign Minister ], ]'s foreign minister ], and Kuwaiti extremist preacher Hakem al-Mutairi.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-08 |title=Former Qatari Emir conspired with Qaddafi against Saudi Arabia |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2017/06/08/Former-Qatari-Emir-conspired-with-Gaddafi-against-Saudi-Arabia |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Al Arabiya English |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075415/https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2017/06/08/Former-Qatari-Emir-conspired-with-Gaddafi-against-Saudi-Arabia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-27 |title=Libya's Gaddafi sought to replace Saudi Arabia's ruling family |url=https://www.theafricareport.com/28858/leaked-phone-call-libyas-gaddafi-sought-to-replace-saudi-arabias-ruling-family/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=The Africa Report.com |language=en-US |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075414/https://www.theafricareport.com/28858/leaked-phone-call-libyas-gaddafi-sought-to-replace-saudi-arabias-ruling-family/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-25 |title=Gaddafi, extremist preacher discuss overthrowing Saudi, Kuwaiti governments: Audio |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2020/07/25/Gaddafi-extremist-preacher-discuss-overthrowing-Saudi-Kuwaiti-governments-Audio- |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Al Arabiya English |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075414/https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2020/07/25/Gaddafi-extremist-preacher-discuss-overthrowing-Saudi-Kuwaiti-governments-Audio- |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Marriages and children==
] ''(pictured)'' and ], were prominent in government politics. There was speculation about a succession struggle between the two.]]
Gaddafi's second wife is ], née el-Brasai, a former nurse from Obeidat tribe born in ].<ref name=cbcnews>{{Cite news|first=Ryab|last=Charkow|title= Moammar Gadhafi and his family
|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/02/22/f-gadhafi-family.html|work=] |date=22 February 2011 |accessdate=22 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/9906/06/safrica.elex/index.html |title=CNN – Mandela hails South Africa election results – June&nbsp;6, 1999 |publisher=CNN |date=6 June 1999 |accessdate=28 February 2011}}</ref> He met her in 1969, following the revolt, when he was hospitalized with appendicitis. Gaddafi had eight biological children, seven of them sons.


The Gaddafi–Abdullah feud came into public view again in the ] when Gaddafi accused Abdullah, who had become ] in 2005, of being created by Britain and protected by the US.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Muammar Gaddafi accuses Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah of lying at Arab summit |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/qatar/5079290/Muammar-Gaddafi-accuses-Saudi-Arabias-King-Abdullah-of-lying-at-Arab-summit.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=www.telegraph.co.uk |date=30 March 2009 |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075407/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/qatar/5079290/Muammar-Gaddafi-accuses-Saudi-Arabias-King-Abdullah-of-lying-at-Arab-summit.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Alluding to their 2003 altercation, Gaddafi taunted Abdullah for ostensibly avoiding a confrontation with him for six years and quoted Abdullah's 2003 "grave awaits you" threat back at him before storming out of the meeting to visit a museum.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-03-30 |title=Libya's Gaddafi hurls insults at Saudi king |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/libyas-gaddafi-hurls-insults-at-saudi-king-20141031-9h9r.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075407/https://www.smh.com.au/world/libyas-gaddafi-hurls-insults-at-saudi-king-20141031-9h9r.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Abdullah also left the meeting hall in anger.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Libyan, Saudi leaders walk out of Arab Summit after a spat |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/qatar/libyan-saudi-leaders-walk-out-of-arab-summit-after-a-spat-1.60102 |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=gulfnews.com |date=30 March 2009 |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075407/https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/qatar/libyan-saudi-leaders-walk-out-of-arab-summit-after-a-spat-1.60102 |url-status=live }}</ref> A Saudi official later claimed that Gaddafi and Abdullah had held a 30 minutes meeting at the sideline of the summit and that the "personal problem" between them was "over."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-03-31 |title=Libyan, Saudi leaders 'make up' at Doha meeting |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20090331-libyan-saudi-leaders-make-doha-meeting- |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=France 24 |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075413/https://www.france24.com/en/20090331-libyan-saudi-leaders-make-doha-meeting- |url-status=live }}</ref> However, Gaddafi had given weapons and money to the ] to attack Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yobserver.com/front-page/10021347.html|title=Mana'a and al-Ahmar received money from Gaddafi to shake security of KSA, Yemen|date=4 September 2011|access-date=2 March 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130210080152/http://www.yobserver.com/front-page/10021347.html|archive-date=10 February 2013|url-status=usurped|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* ] (born 1970), his eldest son, was the only child born to Gaddafi's first wife, and ran the Libyan Olympic Committee.<ref name=cbcnews/> On 21 August 2011, during what appears to be ] of the ], rebel forces of ] claimed to have accepted Muhammad's surrender as they overtook into ].<ref>{{cite news | coauthors = Kareem Fahim, David D. Kirkpatrick | title = Little Resistance as Rebels Enter Tripoli | work = ] | date = 21 August 2011 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/world/africa/22libya.html?_r=1&hp
| accessdate = 21 August 2011}}</ref> This was later confirmed when he gave a phone interview to ], saying that he surrendered to the rebels and has been treated well.<ref>{{cite web | title = Gaddafi Son in Libyan Rebel Custody | work = ] | date = 21 August 2011 | url = http://english.aljazeera.net/video/africa/2011/08/201182222513615767.html
| accessdate = 21 August 2011}}</ref> However, Muhammed escaped with the aid of remaining loyalist forces the next day.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}


====Rebuilding links with the West====
* ] (born 25 June 1972), 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 ] had been tortured.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mon, 13 Aug 2007 09:04 CET 869 Views |url=http://sofiaecho.com/2007/08/13/655186_libyas-gaddaffi-angry-with-his-son-for-admitting-torture-of-bulgarian-nurses |title=Libya'S Gaddaffi Angry With His Son For Admitting Torture Of Bulgarian Nurses - Bulgaria Abroad |publisher=The Sofia Echo |date=13 August 2007 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>
]
In 1999, Libya began secret talks with the British government to normalize relations.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008a|p=215}} In 2001, Gaddafi publicly condemned the ] on the US by ], expressing sympathy with the victims and calling for Libyan involvement in the US-led ] against militant Islamism.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008a|1p=220|2a1=St. John|2y=2008|2p=101|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=176|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=243}} His government continued suppressing domestic Islamism, at the same time as Gaddafi called for the wider application of ''sharia'' law.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=254}} Libya also cemented connections with China and North Korea, being visited by Chinese President ] in April 2002.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=235}} However, relations with China became strained in May 2006 due to a visit to Tripoli by Taiwanese President ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-05-11 |title=China blasts Libya over Taiwan president's visit |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2006-05-11-china-blasts-libya-over-taiwan-presidents-visit/ |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203104754/https://mg.co.za/article/2006-05-11-china-blasts-libya-over-taiwan-presidents-visit/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Koike |first=Yuriko |title=China's African mischief |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2011/10/3/chinas-african-mischief |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203104754/https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2011/10/3/chinas-african-mischief |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2006-05-11 |title=Taiwan's Chen stops over in Libya |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4760471.stm |access-date=2023-02-03 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203104754/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4760471.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Influenced by the events of the ], in December 2003, Libya renounced its possession of ], ].{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2006|1p=8|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008a|2p=217|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=162, 184|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=244|5a1=Kamel|5y=2016|5p=694}} Relations with the US improved as a result.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1pp=178–179|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=245}} British Prime Minister ] visited Gaddafi in March 2004;{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1pp=240–241|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=240–241}} the pair developed close personal ties.{{sfn|Zoubir|2009|p=412}} In 2003, Libya paid US$2.7 billion to the families of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing as it was the condition the US and UK had made for terminating the remaining UN sanctions. Libya continued to deny any role in the bombing.{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd-Judson|1y=2005|1p=91|2a1=St. John|2y=2008|2p=101}}<ref>{{cite book|title=The Europa World Year: Kazakhstan – Zimbabwe, Volume 2|page=2655|publisher=Routledge|quote=Secretary of the GPC, Shukri Muhammad Ghanem.... claimed that compensation was being paid to the families of the Lockerbie victims in order to 'buy peace' and avoid sanctions and that the country did not accept responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing}}</ref> In 2009, Gaddafi attempted to strong-arm global energy companies operating in Libya to cover Libya's settlement with the families of the victims of Lockerbie.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last1=Lichtblau |first1=Eric |last2=Rohde |first2=David |last3=Risen |first3=James |date=2011-03-24 |title=Shady Dealings Helped Qaddafi Build Fortune and Regime |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/world/africa/24qaddafi.html |access-date=2023-03-05 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=28 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328111448/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/world/africa/24qaddafi.html |url-status=live }}</ref>


] and Muammar Gaddafi, in 2008]]
* ] (born 25 May 1973), is a professional ]. On 22 August 2011, he was allegedly arrested by the ].<ref>{{cite news|last=Waxman |first=Sharon |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/21/idUS63199146720110821 |title=Saadi Gadhafi, Hollywood Investor and Dictator's Son, Arrested |publisher=Reuters |date= 21 August 2011|accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> This turned out to be incorrect. In the late evening of 22 August 2011 he spoke with members of the international press.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/23/us-libya-saif-idUSTRE77M01S20110823 |title=Gaddafi son Saif at Tripoli hotel after arrest report |publisher=Reuters |date= 23 August 2011|accessdate=2011-09-01 |first=Missy |last=Ryan}}</ref> On 30 August, a senior ] official claimed that Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi had made contact to discuss the terms of his surrender, indicating also that he would wish to remain in Libya.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/08/2011830213148793401.html |title=Gaddafi's son 'ready to surrender' - Africa |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>


In 2004, Gaddafi traveled to the headquarters of the ] (EU) in ]—signifying improved relations between Libya and the EU—and the EU dropped its sanctions on Libya.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=175|2a1=St. John|2y=2008|2p=101|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=237}} As a strategic player in Europe's attempts to stem illegal migration from Africa,{{sfn|Zoubir|2009|p=408}} in October 2010, the EU paid Libya over €50&nbsp;million to stop African migrants passing into Europe; Gaddafi encouraged the move, saying that it was necessary to prevent the loss of European cultural identity to a new "Black Europe".{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=2012|1p=274|2a1=Kamel|2y=2016|2p=684}} Gaddafi also completed agreements with the Italian government that they would invest in various infrastructure projects as reparations for past Italian colonial policies in Libya.{{sfn|Zoubir|2009|p=410}} Italian Prime Minister ] gave Libya an official apology in 2006, after which Gaddafi called him the "iron man" for his courage in doing so.{{sfn|Zoubir|2009|pp=410–411}} In August 2008, Gaddafi and Berlusconi signed a historic cooperation ] in ];<ref name="treaty">{{cite web |url=http://www.senato.it/parlam/leggi/09007l.htm |title=Ratifica ed esecuzione del Trattato di amicizia, partenariato e cooperazione tra la Repubblica italiana e la Grande Giamahiria araba libica popolare socialista, fatto a Bengasi il 30 August 2008 |language=it |publisher=] press release |date=6 February 2009 |access-date=10 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618082911/http://www.senato.it/parlam/leggi/09007l.htm |archive-date=18 June 2009}}</ref><ref name="ansa">{{cite news |url=http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2009-06-09_109379246.html |publisher=] |title=Gaddafi to Rome for Historic Visit |date=10 June 2009 |access-date=10 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616155752/http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2009-06-09_109379246.html |archive-date=16 June 2009 }}</ref> under its terms, Italy would pay $5&nbsp;billion to Libya as compensation for its former ]. In exchange, Libya would take measures to combat ] coming from its shores and boost investment in Italian companies.<ref name=ansa /><ref name="rep">{{cite news |newspaper=] |url=http://www.repubblica.it/2008/05/sezioni/esteri/libia-italia/accordo-firmato/accordo-firmato.html |title=Italia-Libia, firmato l'accordo |language=it |date=30 August 2008 |access-date=10 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203000538/http://www.repubblica.it/2008/05/sezioni/esteri/libia-italia/accordo-firmato/accordo-firmato.html |archive-date=3 December 2013}}</ref>
* ] (born 20 September 1975),<ref>{{cite web|title=INTERPOL issues global alert following threat identified in UN sanctions resolution targeting Libya's Colonel Al-Qadhafi and others |url=http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2011/PR015ON.pdf |publisher=]|accessdate=1 September 2011|date=4 March 2011|page=3}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article510293.ece | work=The Times | location=London | title=Hannibal gives Gaddafi a bad name | first=Charles | last=Bremner | date=4 February 2005 | accessdate=13 May 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref>'']'', ; The Australian, .</ref>


After the US removed Libya from its list of state sponsors of terrorism in 2006,{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|p=176}} Gaddafi nevertheless continued his anti-Western rhetoric. At the ], held in Syria, he warned fellow Arab leaders that they could be overthrown and executed by the US like ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Friedman |first=Uri |date=2011-08-24 |title=Qaddafi Warns Chuckling Arab Leaders in 2008 That Their End Is Near |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/08/watch-qaddafi-warn-laughing-arab-leaders-their-end-near/338775/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=The Atlantic |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075415/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/08/watch-qaddafi-warn-laughing-arab-leaders-their-end-near/338775/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gaddafi condemns Arab leaders |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2008/3/29/gaddafi-condemns-arab-leaders |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |archive-date=22 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722161642/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2008/03/200861501453203859.html |url-status=live }}</ref> At the ], held in Venezuela in September 2009, he called for a military alliance across Africa and Latin America to rival NATO.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gaddafi Proposed the Creation of a South Atlantic Military Alliance |website=MercoPress |date=28 September 2009 |url=http://en.mercopress.com/2009/09/28/gaddafi-proposed-the-creation-of-a-south-atlantic-military-alliance |access-date=13 July 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218192040/http://en.mercopress.com/2009/09/28/gaddafi-proposed-the-creation-of-a-south-atlantic-military-alliance |archive-date=18 February 2010 }}</ref> That same month he traveled to New York City and addressed the ] for the first time on 23 September 2009, using it to condemn "Western aggression," and spoke for just over 90 minutes instead of the allotted 15.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=276}}<ref>{{cite news |first=Neil |last=MacFarquhar |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/world/24nations.html |title=Libyan Leader Delivers a Scolding in U.N. Debut |date=23 September 2009 |access-date=28 June 2012 |website=The New York Times |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606071635/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/world/24nations.html |archive-date=6 June 2017 }}</ref> In the Spring of 2010, Gaddafi proclaimed ''jihad'' against Switzerland after Swiss police accused two of his family members of criminal activity in the country, resulting in the breakdown of bilateral relations.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=274}}
* ] (born 1976), Gaddafi's only natural daughter, is a lawyer who joined the defense teams of executed former Iraqi leader ] and Iraqi journalist ].<ref name=cbcnews/> She is married to a cousin of her father's.


Gaddafi allegedly financed ] in the ].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-03-20 |title=French police hold ex-president Sarkozy over 'Gaddafi funding' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43469316 |access-date=2023-02-04 |archive-date=20 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320180502/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43469316 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Matamoros |first=Cristina Abellan |date=2018-03-20 |title=Sarkozy funding scandal: what does it all mean? |url=https://www.euronews.com/2018/03/20/sarkozy-in-libya-case-what-does-it-all-mean- |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=euronews |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204080913/https://www.euronews.com/2018/03/20/sarkozy-in-libya-case-what-does-it-all-mean- |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-20 |title=Gaddafi relations haunt Sarkozy in 2007 campaign financing case |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20180320-france-libya-sarkozy-gaddafi-relations-haunt-2007-campaign-financing-case-custody |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=France 24 |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204080912/https://www.france24.com/en/20180320-france-libya-sarkozy-gaddafi-relations-haunt-2007-campaign-financing-case-custody |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-01-28 |title=Gaddafi funded 'mentally deficient' Sarkozy, interview claims |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20140128-france-sarkozy-gaddafi-campaign-funds-libya-television |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=France 24 |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204080913/https://www.france24.com/en/20140128-france-sarkozy-gaddafi-campaign-funds-libya-television |url-status=live }}</ref> He also financed Austrian far-right politician ] starting in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Martin A. |date=2000-08-13 |title=Ties That Bind Kadafi and Neo-Fascists |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-aug-13-op-3534-story.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204080913/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-aug-13-op-3534-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Austria investigates Haider links |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2010/8/3/austria-investigates-haider-links |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204080913/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2010/8/3/austria-investigates-haider-links |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gaddafi backs 'friend' Haider |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/1343369/Gaddafi-backs-friend-Haider.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=www.telegraph.co.uk |date=16 June 2000 |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204080913/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/1343369/Gaddafi-backs-friend-Haider.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ] (born 1977), Gaddafi's fifth son, is a Lieutenant Colonel in the ]. He later served as Libya's National Security Advisor. He was seen as a possible successor to his father, after Saif Al-Islam.


====Economic reform====
* ] (1982 – 30 April 2011 <small>(])</small>) was appointed a military commander in the ] during the ]. 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.<ref>"Qaddafi Is Said to Survive NATO Airstrike That Kills Son" ''The New York Times'' 30 Apr 2011 </ref>
Libya's economy witnessed increasing ]; although rejecting the socialist policies of nationalized industry advocated in ''The Green Book'', government figures asserted that they were forging "people's socialism" rather than capitalism.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=250}} Gaddafi welcomed these reforms, calling for wide-scale privatization in a March 2003 speech;{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008a|p=224}} he promised that Libya would join the ].{{sfn|St. John|2008|pp=101–102}} These reforms encouraged private investment in Libya's economy.{{sfn|Kamel|2016|p=697}} By 2004, there was US$40&nbsp;billion of direct foreign investment in Libya, a six-fold rise over 2003.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=180|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=248}} Sectors of Libya's population reacted against these reforms with public demonstrations,{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=248}} and in March 2006, revolutionary hard-liners took control of the GPC cabinet; although scaling back the pace of the changes, they did not halt them.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008a|1p=228|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=249–250}} In 2010, plans were announced that would have seen half the Libyan economy privatized over the following decade,{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=263–264}} these plans appear to have been soon abandoned however, as the companies that the government stated they were going to float on the stock market, among them the National Commercial Bank and the ] were never floated and remained 100% state-owned. Many socialist policies remained however, with subsidiaries of logistics company HB Group being nationalized in 2007.{{sfnm|1a1=Cooley|1y=1983|1pp=467–489|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=156|3a1=Sacerdoti|3a2=Acconci|3y=2011|3pp=312–313}} Agriculture remained largely untouched by the reforms, with farms remaining cooperatives, the ] remaining wholly state-owned and state interventionist policies and price controls remaining.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Oliveira|first=Ingrid|title=Libya|url=https://www.g-fras.org/es/world-wide-extension-study/africa/northern-africa/libya.html|access-date=13 January 2021|website=GFRAS|language=es|archive-date=14 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714181011/https://www.g-fras.org/es/world-wide-extension-study/africa/northern-africa/libya.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The oil industry remained largely state-owned, with the wholly state-owned ] retaining a 70% share in Libya's oil industry, the government also imposed a 93% tax on all oil that foreign companies produced in Libya.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hargreaves|first=Steve|title=Libya oil eyed by Western companies|url=https://money.cnn.com/2011/10/25/news/international/libya_oil/index.htm|access-date=13 January 2021|website=CNNMoney|archive-date=27 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027213334/https://money.cnn.com/2011/10/25/news/international/libya_oil/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Price controls and subsidies over oil and food remained in place, and state-provided benefits such as free education, universal healthcare, free housing, free water and free electricity remained in place.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gwaambuka|first=Tatenda|title=Ten Reasons Libya Under Gaddafi Was a Great Place to Live {{!}} The African Exponent.|url=https://www.africanexponent.com/post/ten-reasons-libya-under-gaddafi-was-a-great-place-to-live-2746|access-date=13 January 2021|website=The African Exponent|archive-date=14 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714174056/https://www.africanexponent.com/post/ten-reasons-libya-under-gaddafi-was-a-great-place-to-live-2746|url-status=live}}</ref> Libya also changed its stance on the WTO after the removal of technocrat ], with Gaddafi condemning the WTO as a neocolonial terrorist organisation, and urging African and Third World countries not to join it.<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-africa-summit-idUKLDE6AS18N20101129|title = Gaddafi issues warning to EU over African trade|newspaper = Reuters|date = 29 November 2010|access-date = 24 May 2021|archive-date = 14 July 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220714174056/https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-africa-summit-idUKLDE6AS18N20101129|url-status = live}}</ref>


While there was no accompanying political liberalization, with Gaddafi retaining predominant control,{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008a|p=231}} in March 2010, the government devolved further powers to the municipal councils.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=257}} Rising numbers of reformist technocrats attained positions in the country's governance; best known was Gaddafi's son and heir apparent ], who was openly critical of Libya's human rights record. He led a group who proposed the drafting of a new constitution, although it was never adopted.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008a|1p=225|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=249–269}} Involved in encouraging tourism, Saif founded several privately run media channels in 2008, but after criticizing the government, they were nationalized in 2009.{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|pp=216, 227–228}}
* ] (27 May 1983 – 29 August 2011 <small>(])</small>), his seventh son, who was serving as the commander of the Libyan Army's elite ]. On 30 August 2011, a spokesman for the ] said it was "almost certain" Khamis Gaddafi had been killed in ] two days earlier, during clashes with units of the ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/30/us-libya-khamis-idUSTRE77S18M20110830 |title=Gaddafi son Khamis, spy chief believed dead: rebels |publisher=Reuters |date= 30 August 2011|accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>


==Libyan Civil War and death==
He is also said to have adopted two children, Hanna and Milad.<ref>{{cite web |title=Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi v. ''The Daily Telegraph''|date=21 August 2002 |url=http://www.libya-watanona.com/news/n21aug2a.htm |accessdate=9 August 2008}}</ref><ref>, BBC News, 21 February 2011</ref>
{{main|Libyan Civil War (2011)}}
{{Further|2011 military intervention in Libya}}


===Origins and development: February–August 2011===
* Hana Moammar Gadafi<ref>name spelling per English language class certificate shown in reference</ref> (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 ] in 1986.<ref></ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/09/hana-gaddafi-libyan-leader-daughter-alive-_n_922043.html |title=Hana Gaddafi, Libyan Leader's Presumed Dead Daughter, May Be Still Alive: Reports |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://feb17.info/news/dental-records-for-hana-gaddafi-reopen-mystery-of-libyan-leaders-daughter/ |title=Dental records for Hana Gaddafi reopen mystery of Libyan leader's daughter &#124; |publisher=Feb17.info |date=12 August 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> Following the taking by rebels of the family residence in the ] compound in Tripoli, ''The New York Times'' both 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.<ref>{{cite newspaper |date=27 August 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Enigmatic in Power, Qaddafi Is Elusive at Large |author=Anthony Shadid}}</ref> However, a Libyan official told the '']'' that Gaddafi adopted a second daughter and named her Hana in honor of the first one who was killed.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8698804/Dental-records-for-Hana-Gaddafi-reopen-mystery-of-Muammar-Gaddafis-daughter.html|title=Dental Records for Hana Gaddafi reopen mystery of Muammar Gaddafi's daughter|publisher=Daily Telegraph|date=12 August 2011|accessdate=30 August 2011|location=London}}</ref>
]


Following the start of the ] in 2011, Gaddafi spoke out in favour of Tunisian President ], then threatened by the ]. He suggested that Tunisia's people would be satisfied if Ben Ali introduced a ''Jamahiriyah'' system there.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=278}} Fearing domestic protest, Libya's government implemented preventive measures by reducing ], purging the army leadership of potential defectors, and releasing several Islamist prisoners.{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=282–283}} This proved ineffective, and on 17 February 2011, major protests broke out against Gaddafi's government. Unlike Tunisia or Egypt, Libya was largely religiously homogeneous and had no strong Islamist movement, but there was widespread dissatisfaction with the corruption and entrenched systems of patronage, while unemployment had reached around 30 percent.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=231|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=279–281}}
Gaddafi's brother-in-law, ], is believed to head military intelligence.<ref name=guard>{{cite news|author=Ian Black Middle East editor |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/22/gaddafi-abdullah-senussi-brutal-right-hand-man |title=Gaddafi's confidant is Abdullah Senussi, a brutal right-hand man |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=22 February 2011 |accessdate=22 February 2011}}</ref>


Accusing the rebels of being "drugged" and linked to al-Qaeda, Gaddafi proclaimed that he would die a ] rather than leave Libya.{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|p=242}} As he announced that the rebels would be "hunted down street by street, house by house and wardrobe by wardrobe",{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|pp=242–243}} the army opened fire on protesters in Benghazi, killing hundreds.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=283}} Shocked at the government's response, a number of senior politicians resigned or defected to the protesters' side.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=2012|1p=284|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008a|2p=236}} The uprising spread quickly through Libya's less economically developed eastern half.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008a|p=236}} By February's end, eastern cities such as Benghazi, Misrata, al-Bayda, and Tobruk were controlled by rebels,{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=284}} and the Benghazi-based ] (NTC) formed to represent them.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=2012|1p=286|2a1=Human Rights Watch|2y=2012|2p=16}}
=== Flight to Algeria ===
As the ] reached a climax in mid-August 2011, the family were forced to abandon their fortified compound. With the ] in almost complete control of the country, on 27 August it was reported by the ]ian news agency ] that Libyan rebel fighters had seen six armoured ] sedans, possibly carrying top Gaddafi regime figures, cross the border at the south-western Libyan town of ] towards ],<ref name=Guard20110829/> which at the time was denied by the Algerian authorities. On 29 August, the ] officially announced that Safia together with daughter Ayesha and sons Muhammad and Hannibal, had crossed into Algeria early on Monday 29 August.<ref name=Guard20110829>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/29/gaddafi-family-escape-libya-algeria|title=Gaddafi's family escape Libya net to cross into Algeria|publisher=The Guardian|date=29 August 2011|accessdate=29 August 2011|location=London|first1=Luke|last1=Harding|first2=Martin|last2=Chulov|first3=Chris|last3=Stephen}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14709896|title=Libya conflict: Gaddafi family 'flee to Algeria'|publisher=BBC News|date=29 August 2011|accessdate=29 August 2011}}</ref> An Algerian Foreign Ministry official said all the people in the convoy were now in ], and that none of them had been named in warrants issued by the ] for possible war crimes charges. ], the Algerian permanent representative to the ], later confirmed the details of the statement. The family had arrived at a ] entry point, in a Mercedes and a bus at 8:45 a.m. local time. The exact number of people in the party was unconfirmed, but there were “many children” and they did not include Colonel Gaddafi. Resultantly the group was allowed in on humanitarian grounds, and the Algerian government had since informed the head of the Libyan National Transitional Council, who had made no official request for their return.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/world/africa/30libya.html|title=Qaddafi’s Wife and 3 of His Children Flee to Algeria|publisher=Washington Post|date=29 August 2011|accessdate=29 August 2011|first1=Kareem|last1=Fahim|first2=Neil|last2=MacFarquhar}}</ref>


]
==Honorary qualifications==


In the conflict's early months it appeared that Gaddafi's government—with its greater fire-power—would be victorious.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008a|p=236}} Both sides disregarded the ], committing human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, ], ], and revenge attacks.{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|pp=17–18}} On 26 February, the ] passed ], suspending Libya from the ], implementing sanctions and calling for an ] (ICC) investigation into the killing of unarmed civilians.{{sfnm|1a1=Sacerdoti|1a2=Acconci|1y=2011|1pp=61–62|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=284|3a1=Human Rights Watch|3y=2012|3p=16}} In March, the Security Council declared a ] to protect the civilian population from aerial bombardment, calling on foreign nations to enforce it; it also specifically prohibited foreign occupation.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008a|1p=236|2a1=Human Rights Watch|2y=2012|2p=16}} Ignoring this, Qatar sent hundreds of troops to support the dissidents and, along with France and the ], provided weaponry and military training to the NTC.{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|p=16}} NATO announced that it would enforce the no-fly zone.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008a|1p=236|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=284}} On 30 April a NATO airstrike killed ] and three of his grandsons in Tripoli.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Simon|last1=Denyer|first2=Leila|last2=Fadel|title=Gaddafi's Youngest Son Killed in NATO Airstrike; Russia Condemns Attack|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gaddafi-calls-for-cease-fire-as-nato-strikes-tripoli/2011/04/30/AF1jZsNF_story.html|access-date=21 January 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=30 April 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713201116/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gaddafi-calls-for-cease-fire-as-nato-strikes-tripoli/2011/04/30/AF1jZsNF_story.html |archive-date=13 July 2017}}</ref> This Western military intervention was criticized by various leftist governments, including those that had criticized Gaddafi's response to the protests, because they regarded it as an imperialist attempt to secure control of Libya's resources.{{sfn|Castro|2011|pp=308–309}}
Gaddafi holds an ] from ] in ], conferred on him by former Yugoslavian president ].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2007-03-03&article=3589| publisher=Standart News {{Bg icon}}| title=Impostor Defends Bulgarian Nurses before Gaddafi| date=3 March 2007 |accessdate=6 April 2007}}</ref>


In June, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and his brother-in-law ], head of state security, for charges concerning crimes against humanity.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=257|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=286}} That month, ] published their report, finding that Gaddafi's forces were responsible for numerous war crimes but added that a number of allegations of human rights abuses lacked credible evidence. The report added that "much Western media coverage has from the outset presented a very one-sided view of the logic of events, portraying the protest movement as entirely peaceful and repeatedly suggesting that the regime's security forces were unaccountably massacring unarmed demonstrators".<ref name="AmnestyRape">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/amnesty-questions-claim-that-gaddafi-ordered-rape-as-weapon-of-war-2302037.html|title=Amnesty Questions Claim That Gaddafi Ordered Rape as Weapon of War|date=24 June 2011|work=The Independent|location=London|access-date=26 June 2011|first=Patrick|last=Cockburn|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218024655/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/amnesty-questions-claim-that-gaddafi-ordered-rape-as-weapon-of-war-2302037.html|archive-date=18 February 2017}}</ref> In July, over 30 governments recognized the NTC as the legitimate government of Libya; Gaddafi called on his supporters to "Trample on those recognitions, trample on them under your feet&nbsp;... They are worthless".<ref name="INDtncofficialgov">{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/west-prepares-to-hand-rebels-gaddafis-billions-2314576.html | title=West Prepares to Hand Rebels Gaddafi's Billions | work=The Independent | location=London | date=16 July 2011 | access-date=16 July 2011 | first=Justin | last=Vela | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512101059/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/west-prepares-to-hand-rebels-gaddafis-billions-2314576.html | archive-date=12 May 2012 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}</ref> In August, the ] recognized the NTC as "the legitimate representative of the Libyan state".<ref name="taipeitimmes20110826">{{cite web |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/08/26/2003511688 |title=Arab League Gives Its Full Backing to Libya's Rebel Council |work=The Taipei Times |date=26 August 2011 |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221153/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/08/26/2003511688 |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}</ref>
==Personal wealth==
Italian companies had a strong foothold in Libya. Italy buys a quarter of Libya's oil and 15% of its natural gas. The LIA owned significant shares in Italy's ] oil corporation, ], ] bank, and ].<ref name=DT/> In January 2002 Gaddafi purchased a 7.5% share of Italian football club ] for US$21&nbsp;million, through the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/personal-finance/investing/471331-1.html |title=Lafico |publisher=Allbusiness.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> This followed a long-standing association with Italian industrialist ] and car manufacturer Fiat.<ref>{{cite web|title=Muammar Gaddafi: the wise investor|publisher=Business Today|date=7 November 2001|url=http://www.businesstoday.com.mt/2001/1107/focus.html |accessdate=9 August 2008}}</ref>


Aided by NATO air cover, the rebel militia pushed westward, defeating loyalist armies and securing control of the centre of the country.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=285}} Gaining the support of ] (]) communities of the ], who had long been persecuted as non-Arabic speakers under Gaddafi, the NTC armies surrounded Gaddafi loyalists in several key areas of western Libya.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=285}} In August, the rebels seized ] and ], ending the last vestiges of Gaddafist power.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=286}} It is probable that without the NATO air strikes supporting the rebels, they would not have been able to advance west and Gaddafi's forces would have ultimately retaken control of eastern Libya.{{sfn|Pargeter|2012|p=8}}
On 25 February 2011 Britain's ] set up a specialised unit to trace Gaddafi's assets in Britain.<ref name=DT> by ], '']'', 26 February 2011.</ref> Gaddafi allegedly worked for years with Swiss banks to launder international banking transactions.<ref name=risen />


=== Capture and killing ===
Gaddafi had an ] ], which he bought from ] of ] for $120 million in 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6802746.ece|title=Lockerbie bomber’s private jet to freedom courtesy of Gaddafi|publisher=The Times|date=20 August 2009|accessdate=29 August 2011|location=London|first1=David|last1=Brown|first2=Charlene|last2=Sweeney|first3=Richard|last3=Kerbaj}}</ref> Operated by Tripoli based ], and decorated externally in their colours, it was used in 2009 to repatriate ] ], on his licensed release from prison in Scotland. The plane was captured at Tripoli airport in August 2011 as a result of the Libyan civil war, and found by ] reporter ] to contain various luxuries including a ].<ref>{{cite web|author=now to post a comment! |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BoT4eBWOuU |title=Inside Gaddafi's Plane, Aug.&nbsp;27, 2011 |publisher=YouTube |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8728361/Libya-Gaddafis-private-jet-becomes-leather-lined-lounge-for-rebels.html|title=Libya: Gaddafi's private jet becomes leather-lined lounge for rebels|author=Gordon Rayner|publisher=The Telegraph|date=29 August 2011|accessdate=29 August 2011|location=London}}</ref>
{{main|Killing of Muammar Gaddafi|International reactions to the death of Muammar Gaddafi}}
After the ], only a few towns in western Libya such as ], ], and ] remained Gaddafist strongholds.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=286}} Gaddafi was reportedly planning to catch up with his Sebha commander ]'s ] forces and seek asylum in ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Negotiations over Bani Walid |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/9/6/large-libyan-armoured-convoy-arrives-in-niger |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |archive-date=26 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226221447/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/9/6/large-libyan-armoured-convoy-arrives-in-niger |url-status=live }}</ref> Instead, Gaddafi retreated to his hometown of Sirte,{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|p=20}} where he convened a meeting with his son ] and intelligence chief ] and learned that his youngest son ] had been killed by a NATO airstrike on 29 August.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |title=Hunted: A first-hand account of Gaddafi's desperate last days |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/10/17/hunted-a-first-hand-account-of-gaddafis-desperate-last-days/ |access-date=2023-02-21 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223233023/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/10/17/hunted-a-first-hand-account-of-gaddafis-desperate-last-days/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the weeks that followed, Gaddafi continued to broadcast defiant audio messages through Syria-based ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-09-20 |title=Gaddafi taunts NATO in new broadcast |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20110920-libya-gaddafi-defies-nato-new-broadcast-syria-tv |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=France 24 |language=en |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221012807/https://www.france24.com/en/20110920-libya-gaddafi-defies-nato-new-broadcast-syria-tv |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-09-16 |title=Gaddafi broadcasts are "sacred right" - TV chief |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-libya-syria-television-idUKTRE78F1IW20110916 |access-date=2023-02-21 |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221012758/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-libya-syria-television-idUKTRE78F1IW20110916 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=286}} On 10 September, General Massoud Abdel Hafiz announced the formation of the Republic of ] in Sebha, where Gaddafi would be president for life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Al-awsat |first=Asharq |title=Middle-east Arab News Opinion |url=https://eng-archive.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/gaddafi-threatened-to-wipe-my-hometown-off-the-map-jailed-libyan-official |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=eng-archive.aawsat.com |language=UK |archive-date=22 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222230759/https://eng-archive.aawsat.com/theaawsat/news-middle-east/gaddafi-threatened-to-wipe-my-hometown-off-the-map-jailed-libyan-official |url-status=live }}</ref> Sebha fell on 22 September.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-09-22 |title=Libya conflict: Anti-Gaddafi fighters take Sabha |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15029062 |access-date=2023-02-21 |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221012802/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15029062 |url-status=live }}</ref>


Surrounding himself with bodyguards and a small entourage,{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|p=20}} including Mutassim, security chief ], and defense minister ], Gaddafi continually changed residences to escape NATO and NTC shelling, devoting his days to prayer and reading the Qur'an.{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|pp=21–22}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fahim |first=Kareem |date=2011-10-22 |title=In His Last Days, Qaddafi Wearied of Fugitive's Life |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/world/africa/in-his-last-days-qaddafi-wearied-of-fugitives-life.html |access-date=2023-02-21 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002071630/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/world/africa/in-his-last-days-qaddafi-wearied-of-fugitives-life.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":9" /> On 20 October, Gaddafi recorded a farewell audio message for his family, later publicized by ], and then broke out of Sirte's District 2 in a joint civilian-military convoy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nova |first=Redazione Agenzia |date=2021-10-21 |title=Libya, Gaddafi's latest message: "Tonight I will die a martyr, be proud of me" |url=https://www.agenzianova.com/en/news/libya-Gaddafi%27s-last-message-tonight-I-will-die-as-a-martyr-be-proud-of-me/ |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=Agenzia Nova |language=en |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221012809/https://www.agenzianova.com/en/news/libya-Gaddafi%27s-last-message-tonight-I-will-die-as-a-martyr-be-proud-of-me/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|p=23}}<ref name="BBC20112">{{cite news |date=22 October 2011 |title=Muammar Gaddafi: How He Died |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15390980 |url-status=live |access-date=22 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202232503/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15390980 |archive-date=2 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ebatamehi |first=Sebastiane |title=Gaddafi's Emotional Farewell Message to His Family Before He was Killed {{!}} The African Exponent. |url=https://www.africanexponent.com/post/9311-last-audio-message-muammar-gaddafis-sent-to-his-family-surfaces |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=The African Exponent |language=en |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221012808/https://www.africanexponent.com/post/9311-last-audio-message-muammar-gaddafis-sent-to-his-family-surfaces |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Akhalbey |first=Francis |date=2018-10-22 |title=Listen to Gaddafi's last audio recording addressed to his family hours before he was killed |url=https://face2faceafrica.com/article/listen-to-gaddafis-last-audio-recording-addressed-to-his-family-hours-before-he-was-killed |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=Face2Face Africa |language=en |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221012759/https://face2faceafrica.com/article/listen-to-gaddafis-last-audio-recording-addressed-to-his-family-hours-before-he-was-killed |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Dhao, it was a "suicide mission" as Gaddafi wanted to die in the Jarref Valley, close to where he was born.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-10-30 |title=Gaddafi: 'He died an angry and disappointed man' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15516678 |access-date=2023-02-21 |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221012758/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15516678 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hayden |first=Erik |date=2011-10-31 |title=Qaddafi's Frantic Last Days Get Reexamined |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/10/qaddafis-frantic-last-days-get-reexamined/336120/ |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=The Atlantic |language=en |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221012758/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/10/qaddafis-frantic-last-days-get-reexamined/336120/ |url-status=live }}</ref> At around 08:30, NATO bombers attacked, destroying at least 14 vehicles and killing at least 53 people.<ref name="BBC20112" />{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|pp=24–25}} The convoy scattered, and Gaddafi and those closest to him fled to a nearby villa, which was shelled by rebel militia from Misrata. Fleeing to a construction site, Gaddafi and his inner cohort hid inside drainage pipes while his bodyguards battled the rebels; in the conflict, Gaddafi suffered head injuries from a grenade blast while Jabr was killed.<ref name="BBC20112" />{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|pp=26–27}}
==Political and cultural public image==
The Misrata militia took Gaddafi prisoner, causing serious injuries as they tried to apprehend him; the events were filmed on a mobile phone. A video appears to picture Gaddafi being poked or stabbed in the anus "with some kind of stick or knife"<ref>{{cite news |title=GlobalPost: Qaddafi Apparently Sodomized After Capture |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/globalpost-qaddafi-apparently-sodomized-after-capture/ |publisher=CBS |date=24 October 2011 |access-date=13 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209160624/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/globalpost-qaddafi-apparently-sodomized-after-capture/ |archive-date=9 February 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> or possibly a bayonet.<ref name="Irish Times">{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/gadafy-s-killers-will-be-tried-claims-ntc-1.632918|newspaper=]|first=Martin|last=Chulov|title=Gadafy's Killers Will Be Tried, Claims NTC|date=28 October 2011|access-date=13 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705045035/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/gadafy-s-killers-will-be-tried-claims-ntc-1.632918|archive-date=5 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://time.com/6280869/vladimir-putin-russia-assassination/|magazine=]|title=Why Putin Is Right to Fear for His Life|author=Sebag-Montefiore, Simon|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=May 18, 2023|access-date=May 20, 2023|archive-date=May 18, 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230518210356/https://time.com/6280869/vladimir-putin-russia-assassination/}}</ref> Pulled onto the front of a pick-up truck, he fell off as it drove away. His semi-naked body was then placed into an ambulance and taken to ]; upon arrival, ].{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|pp=28–29}} Official NTC accounts claimed that Gaddafi was caught in a crossfire and died from bullet wounds. Other eye-witness accounts claimed that rebels had fatally shot Gaddafi in the stomach.<ref name="BBC20112"/>
], Gaddafi travels with his ]s, an armed all-female military troupe]]
Gaddafi has frequently been portrayed as erratic, conceited, and mercurial in nature. During the Reagan administration, the United States regarded him as "public enemy number one"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/2011/03/04/134228864/for-reagan-gadhafi-was-a-frustrating-mad-dog |title=For Reagan, Gadhafi Was A Frustrating 'Mad Dog' |publisher=NPR |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> and Reagan dubbed him the "mad dog of the Middle East".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://middleeast.atspace.com/article_1786.html |title=The Makeover: Libya's Muammar Qaddafi |publisher=Middleeast.atspace.com |date=19 January 2003 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> Western media have since speculated that Gaddafi suffers from ], ], and ]. Among those who worked with Gaddafi, ] called him "unbalanced and immature" and "a vicious criminal." ] called him an "evil" person, however ], who aligned himself with Gaddafi for much of his career, said Gaddafi was the "knight of revolutionary phrases". On Gaddafi's resistance to the 2011 uprising, ]'s ] commented that, "If he resists and does not yield to their demands, he will enter history as one of the great figures of the Arab nations."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2011/04/29/f-kastro/ |title=Fidel Castro: If Gaddafi resists he will enter history as one of the great figures of the Arab nations |publisher=Panorama.am |date=29 April 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> During a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister ], he was said to be highly curious, asking a lot of questions and being especially interested in Malaysia's economic success.<ref></ref> The attacks on Gaddafi's image became less common as his relations with the West improved. He modeled many of his political ideals from the likes of ], ] and ].


That afternoon, NTC Prime Minister ] publicly revealed the news of Gaddafi's death.<ref name="BBC20112"/> His corpse was placed in the freezer of a local market alongside the corpses of Yunis Jabr and Mutassim; the bodies were publicly displayed for four days, with Libyans from all over the country coming to view them.<ref>{{cite news|title=Report: Libyan Militias Executed Dozens, Possibly Including Gadhafi|url=http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/17/report-libyan-militias-executed-dozens-possibly-including-gadhafi/|publisher=CNN|access-date=18 October 2012|date=17 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126085743/http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/17/report-libyan-militias-executed-dozens-possibly-including-gadhafi/|archive-date=26 January 2013}}</ref> Footage of Gaddafi's death was broadcast extensively across media networks internationally.{{sfn|Karniel|Lavie-Dinur|Azran|2015|pp=171, 176}} In response to international calls, on 24 October Jibril announced that a commission would investigate Gaddafi's death.{{sfn|Human Rights Watch|2012|p=44}} On 25 October, the NTC announced that Gaddafi had been buried at an unidentified location in the desert.<ref>{{cite news |title=Muammar Gaddafi 'Buried in Desert Grave at Dawn' |date=21 October 2011 |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15441867 |access-date=3 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101155135/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15441867 |archive-date=1 November 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
By his own estimation, Gaddafi considers himself an intellectual and philosopher.<ref name="personalprofile">{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12488278 |title=BBC News - Profile: Muammar Gaddafi |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=27 June 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> He is known for a flamboyant dress sense, with a strong taste for ]s and sunglasses. He changes his clothing several times each day, and according to his former nurses, "enjoys surrounding himself with beautiful things and people."{{citation needed|date=September 2011}} He hired several Ukrainian nurses to care for his and his family's health.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/09/03/ukraine.gadhafi.nurse/ |title=Gadhafi's Ukrainian nurse talks about life with 'Daddy' |publisher=CNN |date=4 September 2011 |date=8 September 2011}}</ref> Since the 1980s he has traveled with his ], which is all-female, and reportedly is sworn to a life of celibacy. (However Dr Seham Sergheva reported in 2011 that some of them were subjected to rape and sexual abuse by Gaddafi, his sons and senior officials.<ref>Suqires, Nick The Telegraph, 29 August 2011, Retrieved 31 August 2011</ref>) In 2009, it was revealed that he does not travel without his trusted Ukrainian nurse ], noted as a "voluptuous blonde".<ref>"". ''The Guardian''. 7 December 2010</ref> Kolotnytska's daughter denied the suggestion that the relationship is anything but professional.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.segodnya.ua/news/14200046.html |title=Segognya |date=30 November 2010 |publisher=Segodnya.ua |accessdate=28 February 2011}}</ref> Gaddafi frequently made sexual advances on female journalists, and successfully bedded a few in exchange for interviews.<ref>{{cite web|author=Cliff Kincaid&nbsp; &mdash; &nbsp; 16 April 2004 |url=http://www.aim.org/aim-column/sex-for-gadhafi-interviews/ |title=Sex For Gadhafi Interviews? |publisher=Aim.org |date=16 April 2004 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/opinion/03kristof.html | work=The New York Times | first=Nicholas D. | last=Kristof | title=Here's What We Can Do to Tackle Libya | date=2 March 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/25/gaddafi-plastic-surgery-_n_840480.html |title=Gaddafi's Plastic Surgery: Brazilian Surgeon Claims He Operated On Dictator |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>


==Political ideology==
A Revolutionary Command Council was formed to rule the country, with Gaddafi as chairman. He added the title of ] 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 lieutenant to ]<ref>Keith Haskell, a British diplomat, wrote in the ''Daily Telegraph'' on 26 August 2011 (page 29), that, before the 1969 revolution, Gaddafi was a lieutenant. After the revolution, Gaddafi took on the rank of colonel but he was never a captain. Haskell said the UK embassy office was 100 yards from Gaddafi's headquarters in September 1969 when the revolution started and Haskell met Gaddafi several times in that period. Gaddafi was a lieutenant and was due to be promoted to captain in August 1969 with the rest of his graduating class. However he and one other were passed over because they were politically suspect. On the day of the revolution, Gaddafi wore a lieutenant's insignia. Gaddafi and other officers in the coup then removed their badges of rank but, from the pinholes in their uniforms, one could make out their former rank.</ref> and remained at this rank. While at odds with Western military ranking, where a colonel would not rule a country or serve as ] 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.<ref name="SalakLibya" />
{{main|Third International Theory}}
{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=We call it the Third Theory to indicate that there is a new path for all those who reject both materialist capitalism and atheist communism. The path is for all the people of the world who abhor the dangerous confrontation between the Warsaw and North Atlantic military alliances. It is for all those who believe that all nations of the world are brothers under the aegis of the rule of God.|salign = right |source=—Muammar Gaddafi{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=87}}}}


Gaddafi's ideological worldview was molded by his environment, namely his Islamic faith, his Bedouin upbringing, and his disgust at the actions of Italian colonialists in Libya.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=43}} As a schoolboy, Gaddafi adopted the ideologies of ] and ], influenced in particular by ], the thought of the Egyptian President Nasser, whom Gaddafi regarded as his hero;{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=43|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=18}} Nasser privately described Gaddafi as "a nice boy, but terribly naïve".{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=18}} During the early 1970s, Gaddafi formulated his own particular approach to Arab nationalism and socialism, known as ], which '']'' described as a combination of "], Arab nationalism, and the Third World revolutionary theory that was in vogue at the time".<ref name="nytimes_green">{{cite news|last=Bazzi|first=Mohamad|title=What Did Qaddafi's Green Book Really Say?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/books/review/what-did-qaddafis-green-book-really-say.html|access-date=28 October 2011|newspaper=]|date=27 May 2011|archive-date=29 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200829013607/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/books/review/what-did-qaddafis-green-book-really-say.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to Nasser, Gaddafi also cited ], ], ] and ] as political inspirations.<ref>Qaddafi, M., Jouve, E., & Parfitt, A. (2005). My Vision. John Blake.</ref> He regarded this system as a practical alternative to the then-dominant international models of Western capitalism and ].{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=28}} He laid out the principles of this Theory in the three volumes of ''The Green Book'', in which he sought to "explain the structure of the ideal society".{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=57}}
Gaddafi made very particular requests when traveling to foreign nations. During his trips to Rome, Paris, Moscow, and New York,<ref> ''M&G''</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/Politics/gaddafis-tent-blocked-stop-work-order/story?id=8649084 |title=Moammar Gadhafi Won't Stay in Bedford Tent After All – ABC News |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=23 September 2009 |accessdate=28 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author=Ed Pilkington in New York|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/25/muammar-gaddafi-englewood-new-jersey |title=New Jersey town outraged over upcoming Gaddafi visit |work=Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=14 February 2010 | date=25 August 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Battle |first=Pat |url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Jersey-Mayor-55753792.html |title=Gadhafi Cast Out of Garden (State): Source |publisher=Nbcnewyork.com |date=28 August 2009 |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/nyregion/29libya.html?_r=1 |title=Qaddafi Cancels Plans to Stay in New Jersey|work=The New York Times |date=29 August 2009 |accessdate=28 February 2011 |first=Anahad |last=O'Connor}}</ref> he resided in a tent, following his Bedouin traditions.<ref>{{cite web|author=Page 2 of 3 |url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/Politics/gaddafis-tent-blocked-stop-work-order/story?id=8649084&page=2 |title=Page 2: Moammar Gadhafi Won't Stay in Bedford Tent After All - ABC News |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=23 September 2009 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/when-in-rome-gaddafi-will-do-as-the-bedouins-20090610-c3ln.html |title=When in Rome, Gaddafi will do as the Bedouins |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=11 June 2009 |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |title= Europe should convert to Islam: Gaddafi |url= http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Europe-should-convert-to-Islam-Gaddafi/articleshow/6464781.cms |work=]|date=31 August 2010 |accessdate=30 August 2010|archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20110109180255/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Europe-should-convert-to-Islam-Gaddafi/articleshow/6464781.cms|archivedate=9 January 2011}}</ref> According to a 2009 document release by WikiLeaks,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2009/09/09TRIPOLI771.html |title=WikiLeaks |publisher=Wikileaks.ch |date= |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> 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 studies specialist Ronald Bruce St. John regarded Arab nationalism as Gaddafi's "primordial value",{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1983|1p=473|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2p=21|3a1=St. John|3y=2008|3p=92}} stating that during the early years of his government, Gaddafi was "the Arab nationalist par excellence".{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=26}} Gaddafi called for the Arab world to regain its dignity and assert a major place on the world stage, blaming Arab backwardness on stagnation resulting from ] rule, European colonialism and imperialism, and corrupt and repressive monarchies.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1983|1p=474|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2pp=26–27}} Gaddafi's Arab nationalist views led him to the ] belief in the need for unity across the Arab world, combining the Arab nation under a single nation-state.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=59|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2pp=19, 49}} To this end, he had proposed a political union with five neighbouring Arab states by 1974, although without success.{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=58}} In keeping with his views regarding Arabs, his political stance was described as ].{{sfn|Hinnebusch|1984|p=63}} Gaddafi also had international ambitions, wanting to export his revolutionary ideas throughout the world.{{sfnm|1a1=Haynes|1y=1990|1p=59|2a1=Pargeter|2y=2012|2p=3}} Gaddafi saw his socialist ''Jamahiriyah'' as a model for the Arab, Islamic, and non-aligned worlds to follow,{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=54}} and in his speeches declared that his Third International Theory would eventually guide the entire planet.{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=34}} He nevertheless had minimal success in exporting the ideology outside of Libya.{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=29}}
The Libyan postal service, ] (GPTC), has issued numerous stamps, ], ], booklets, etc. relating to Gaddafi.<ref>] n.583 – ] (block 18)</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libyan-stamps.com |title=Libyan Stamps online |publisher=Libyan-stamps.com |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref>
==Transliteration of his Arabic name==
Because of the lack of standardization of ], Gaddafi's name has been ] in many different ways. Even though the Arabic spelling of a word does not change, the pronunciation may vary in different ], which may suggest a different romanization. In ] the name {{lang|ar|مُعَمَّر القَذَّافِي}} can be pronounced {{IPA|/muˈʕammaru lqaðˈðaːfiː/}}. ] consonants can be simplified. In ], {{IPAslink|q}} ({{lang|ar|]}}) is replaced with {{IPAblink|ɡ}}; and {{IPAslink|ð}} ({{lang|ar|]}}), as ], is replaced with {{IPAblink|d}}. Vowel {{IPAblink|u}} often alternates with {{IPAblink|o}} in pronunciation in other regions. Thus, {{IPA|/muˈʕammar alqaðˈðaːfiː/}} is normally pronounced in Libyan Arabic {{IPA|}}. The definite article ] ({{lang|ar|ال}}) is often omitted.


Along with Arab nationalism, anti-imperialism was also a defining feature of Gaddafi's regime during its early years. He believed in opposing Western imperialism and colonialism in the Arab world, including any Western expansionism through the form of Israel.{{sfn|Zoubir|2009|p=402}} He offered support to a broad range of political groups abroad that called themselves "anti-imperialist", especially those that set themselves in opposition to the United States.{{sfn|Haynes|1990|p=60}} For many years, ] was a fundamental component of Gaddafi's ideology. He believed that the state of Israel should not exist and that any Arab compromise with the Israeli government was a betrayal of the Arab people.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=54|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=18}} In large part due to their support of Israel, Gaddafi despised the United States, considering the country to be ] and lambasting it as "the embodiment of evil".{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|pp=19, 197}} He sought to distinguish "oriental" Jews who had lived in the Middle East for generations from the European Jews who had migrated to Palestine during the 20th century, calling the latter "vagabonds" and "mercenaries" who should return to Europe.{{sfn|St. John|1983|p=478}} He rallied against Jews in many of his speeches, with Blundy and Lycett claiming that his ] was "almost ]".{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=25}} As Pan-Africanism increasingly became his focus in the early 21st century, Gaddafi became less interested in the Israel-Palestine issue, calling for the two communities to form a new ] that he termed "]".{{sfn|St. John|2008|p=100}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/opinion/22qaddafi.html |title=The One-State Solution |author=Gaddafi, Muammar |work=The New York Times |date=22 January 2009 |access-date=28 April 2017 |archive-date=1 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801113301/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/opinion/22qaddafi.html |url-status=live }}.</ref> This would have led the Jewish population to become a minority within the new state.{{sfn|Karniel|Lavie-Dinur|Azran|2015|p=177}}
"Muammar Gaddafi" is the spelling used by '']'', '']'', ], ], the majority of the British press and by the English service of ].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2008/10/200810311533276303.html
|title=Gaddafi in Moscow for arms talks
|publisher=Al-Jazeera English
|year=2008
|accessdate=31 October 2008}}</ref> The ], ], ], ], ], and the majority of the Canadian press use "Moammar Gadhafi". The ] uses "Qaddafi, Muammar" as the primary name. ''The ]'' uses "Mu'ammar Qaddafi" and the ] uses "Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi", although the ] chooses to use "Muammar el-Qaddafi".<ref>{{cite web|author=Jesse Lee |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/02/25/president-obama-libya-these-sanctions-therefore-target-qaddafi-government-while-prot?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl |title=President Obama on Libya: "These Sanctions Therefore Target the Qaddafi Government, While Protecting the Assets that Belong to the People of Libya", The White House |publisher=Whitehouse.gov |accessdate=28 February 2011}}</ref> The ] uses "Muammar Khaddafi" in its English reports.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/04/content_10764270.htm |title=Xinhuanet.com |publisher=News.xinhuanet.com |date=4 February 2009 |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref> '']'' uses "Muammar el-Qaddafi". The '']'' and the '']'' of the ], and ] use "Moammar Kadafi".<ref>{{cite news|last=Zucchino |first=David |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-libya-revolt-20110228,0,6559359.story |title=Libya: Kadafi loses another city to Libya opposition |work=Los Angeles Times |date=20 February 2011 |accessdate=28 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Bennett |first=Brian |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sc-dc-0320-us-military-libya-20110319,0,2132792.story |title=U.S. warships launch airstrikes on Libya |work= Chicago Tribune |date=19 March 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref>


===Islamic modernism and Islamic socialism===
In 1986 Gaddafi reportedly responded to a ] school's letter in English using the spelling "Moammar El-Gadhafi".<ref>"Second-Graders Get Letter From Khadafy." ], 16 May 1986: Domestic News.</ref> Until that point, his name had been pronounced with an initial 'k' in English.


Gaddafi rejected the ] approach to Arab nationalism that had been pervasive in Syria,{{sfn|St. John|1987|p=30}} with his revolutionary movement placing a far stronger emphasis on Islam than previous Arab nationalist movements had done.{{sfn|St. John|1983|p=473}} He deemed Arabism and Islam to be inseparable, referring to them as "one and indivisible",{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=161}} and called on the Arab world's Christian minority to convert to Islam.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1983|1p=476|2a1=Bearman|2y=1986|2p=161|3a1=St. John|3y=1987|3p=30}} He insisted that Islamic law should be the basis for the law of the state, blurring any distinction between the religious and secular realms.{{sfn|First|1974|p=25}} He desired unity across the Islamic world,{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=19}} and encouraged the propagation of the faith elsewhere; on a 2010 visit to Italy, he paid a modelling agency to find 200 young Italian women for a lecture he gave urging them to convert.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Europe Should Convert to Islam: Gaddafi|url= http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Europe-should-convert-to-Islam-Gaddafi/articleshow/6464781.cms |website=The Times of India |url-status=live |date=31 August 2010 |access-date=30 August 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110109180255/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Europe-should-convert-to-Islam-Gaddafi/articleshow/6464781.cms |archive-date=9 January 2011}}</ref> According to the Gaddafi biographer Jonathan Bearman, in Islamic terms Gaddafi was a ] rather than a ], for he subordinated religion to the political system rather than seeking to Islamicise the state as Islamists sought to do.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=164}} He was driven by a sense of "divine mission", believing himself a conduit of God's will, and thought that he must achieve his goals "no matter what the cost".{{sfn|Harris|1986|pp=45, 50}} His interpretation of Islam was nevertheless idiosyncratic,{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=164}} and he clashed with conservative Libyan clerics. Many criticized his attempts to encourage women to enter traditionally male-only sectors of society, such as the armed forces. Gaddafi was keen to improve women's status, although saw the sexes as "separate but equal" and therefore felt women should usually remain in traditional roles.{{sfn|Harris|1986|pp=33, 53}}
The title of the homepage of ''algathafi.org'' reads "Welcome to the official site of Muammar Al Gathafi".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.algathafi.org/html-english/index.htm |title=Gaddafi's personal website |publisher=Algathafi.org |accessdate=14 February 2010}}</ref> A 2007 interview with Gaddafi's son ] confirms that he uses the spelling "Qadhafi",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/videos/2011/03/01/saif-gaddafi-on-how-to-spell-his-last-name.html |title=Saif Gaddafi on How to Spell His Last Name |publisher=The Daily Beast |date=1 March 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref> and ]'s official passport uses the spelling "Al-Gathafi".<ref>{{cite web|author=now to post a comment! |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4g_8zBdwzk |title=Mohamed Al-Gaddafi's Passport August&nbsp;24, 2011 |publisher=YouTube |date=24 August 2011 |accessdate=2011-09-01}}</ref>


{{Quote box|width=25em|align=left|quote=The purpose of the socialist society is the happiness of man, which can only be realized through material and spiritual freedom. Attainment of such freedom depends on the extent of man's ownership of his needs; ownership that is personal and sacredly guaranteed, i.e. your needs must neither be owned by somebody else, nor subject to plunder by any part of society.|salign = right |source=—Muammar Gaddafi{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=157}}}}
An article published in the London '']'' in 2004 lists a total of 37 spellings of his name, while a 1986 column by '']'' quotes a list of 32 spellings known from the ].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_264b.html
|title=How are you supposed to spell Muammar Gaddafi/Khadafy/Qadhafi?
|publisher=The Straight Dope
|year=1986
|accessdate=5 March 2006}}</ref> ] identified 112 possible spellings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2009/09/how-many-different-ways-can-you-spell-gaddafi.html |title=How many different ways can you spell 'Gaddafi' |publisher=ABC News |year=2009 |accessdate=22 February 2011}}</ref> This extensive confusion of naming was used as the subject of a segment of '']'''s ] on 12&nbsp;December&nbsp;1981.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://snltranscripts.jt.org/81/81hnews.phtml |title=SNL Transcripts: Bill Murray: 12/12/81: SNL Newsbreak with Brian Doyle-Murray |publisher=Snltranscripts.jt.org |accessdate=28 February 2011}}</ref>


Gaddafi described his approach to economics as "Islamic socialism".{{sfnm|1a1=First|1y=1974|1p=255|2a1=St. John|2y=1983|2p=482|3a1=Harris|3y=1986|3p=48}} For him, a socialist society could be defined as one in which men controlled their own needs, either through personal ownership or through a collective.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=157}} Although the early policies pursued by his government were state capitalist in orientation, by 1978 he believed that private ownership of the means of production was exploitative and thus he sought to move Libya away from capitalism and towards socialism.{{sfn|Hinnebusch|1984|p=69}} Private enterprise was largely eliminated in favour of a centrally controlled economy.{{sfn|St. John|1983|p=484}} The extent to which Libya became socialist under Gaddafi is disputed. Bearman suggested that while Libya did undergo "a profound social revolution", he did not think that "a socialist society" was established in Libya.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=xvii}} Conversely, St. John expressed the view that "if socialism is defined as a redistribution of wealth and resources, a socialist revolution clearly occurred in Libya" under Gaddafi's regime.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=173}}
{{Anchor|bracket_chart}}In short, the alternative spellings for each part of his name are shown in brackets:
<center><math>{\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}
a
r}
~~~~
{\color{MidnightBlue}\begin{cases}Al\\al\\El\\el\\\varnothing\end{cases}
\begin{cases}-\\\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}}</math></center><!-- In Swedish it is "al" or "el" with a small letter but in some other languages it is "Al" or "El" with a capital letter. Double "ff" is used in e.g. the Swedish encyclopædia Nationalencyklopedin, both in a redirection entry on page 587 of volume 10 (ISBN 91-7024-619-X, 91-7024-620-3 and 91-7024-621-1) and on the web site (http://www.ne.se/muammar-al-khadaffi). The printed edition and the web site currently use different name variants, though.-->
Not all are possible, as some alternatives are most probably combined with others, or even impossible with others (for example, simplification of geminated {{IPA|/mm/}} usually implies simplification of {{IPA|/aː/}}).


Gaddafi was staunchly ],{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=104}} and in 1973 declared that "it is the duty of every Muslim to combat" Marxism because it promotes atheism.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=105}} In his view, ideologies like Marxism and Zionism were alien to the Islamic world and were a threat to the ], or global Islamic community.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|pp=104–105}} Nevertheless, Blundy and Lycett noted that Gaddafi's socialism had a "curiously Marxist undertone",{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=98}} with political scientist Sami Hajjar arguing that Gaddafi's model of socialism offered a simplification of ] and ]'s theories.{{sfn|Hajjar|1982}} While acknowledging the Marxist influence on Gaddafi's thought, Bearman stated that the Libyan leader rejected Marxism's core tenet, that of ] as the main engine of social development.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=158}} Instead of embracing the Marxist idea that a socialist society emerged from class struggle between the ] and ], Gaddafi believed that socialism would be achieved through overturning "unnatural" capitalism and returning society to its "natural equilibrium".{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=158}} In this, he sought to replace a capitalist economy with one based on his own romanticized ideas of a traditional, pre-capitalist past.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=159}} This owed much to the Islamic belief in ]'s natural law providing order to the universe.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=160}}
The Arabic verb قَذَفَ ''qaðafa'' has various meanings centering on "he threw".

==Personal life==
{{Main|Personal life of Muammar Gaddafi}}
]

A very private individual,{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=43}} Gaddafi was given to rumination and solitude and could be reclusive.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=284}} Gaddafi described himself as a "simple revolutionary" and "pious Muslim" called upon by God to continue Nasser's work.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=48}} Gaddafi was an austere and devout Muslim,{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1987|1p=145|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2006|2p=6}} although according to Vandewalle, his interpretation of Islam was "deeply personal and idiosyncratic."{{sfn|Vandewalle|2006|p=6}} He was also a ] enthusiast{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=22}} and enjoyed both playing the sport and horse riding as a means of recreation.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=285}} He regarded himself as an intellectual;{{sfn|Pargeter|2012|p=2}} he was a fan of ] and said his favourite novels were '']'', '']'', and '']''.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=22}}

Gaddafi regarded personal appearance as important,{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=285}} with Blundy and Lycett referring to him as "extraordinarily vain."{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=24}} Gaddafi had a large wardrobe, and sometimes changed his outfit multiple times a day.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=24}} He favoured either a military uniform or traditional Libyan dress, tending to eschew Western-style suits.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=285}} He saw himself as a fashion icon, stating "Whatever I wear becomes a fad. I wear a certain shirt and suddenly everyone is wearing it."{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=24}} Following his ascension to power, Gaddafi moved into the ] barracks, a 6-square-kilometre (2.3 square miles) fortified compound located 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) from the centre of Tripoli.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=1}} In the 1980s, his lifestyle was considered modest in comparison to those of many other Arab leaders.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=32}}

He was preoccupied with his own security, regularly changing where he slept and sometimes grounding all other planes in Libya when he was flying.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=50}} He made particular requests when travelling to foreign countries. During his trips to Rome, Paris, Madrid, Moscow, and New York City,<ref name="abcnews">{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/Politics/gaddafis-tent-blocked-stop-work-order/story?id=8649084|title=Moammar Gadhafi Won't Stay in Bedford Tent After All|publisher=ABC|date=23 September 2009|access-date=28 February 2011|archive-date=9 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209233521/http://abcnews.go.com/International/Politics/gaddafis-tent-blocked-stop-work-order/story?id=8649084|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/nyregion/29libya.html|title=Qaddafi Cancels Plans to Stay in New Jersey|work=The New York Times|date=29 August 2009|access-date=28 February 2011|first=Anahad|last=O'Connor|archive-date=31 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110331024309/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/nyregion/29libya.html|url-status=live}}</ref> he resided in a bulletproof tent, following his Bedouin traditions.<ref name="abcnews"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/when-in-rome-gaddafi-will-do-as-the-bedouins-20090610-c3ln.html|title=When in Rome, Gaddafi Will Do as the Bedouins|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=11 June 2009|access-date=14 February 2010|archive-date=11 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011104002/http://www.smh.com.au/world/when-in-rome-gaddafi-will-do-as-the-bedouins-20090610-c3ln.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Gaddafi was notably confrontational in his approach to foreign powers{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=51}} and generally shunned Western ambassadors and diplomats, believing them to be spies.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=21}}

] in 2010]]

In the 1970s and 1980s, there were reports of his making sexual advances toward female reporters and members of his entourage.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1pp=53–54|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=22–23}} Starting in the 1980s, he travelled with his all-female ], who were allegedly sworn to a life of celibacy.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=112}} After Gaddafi's death, the Libyan psychologist ], part of a team investigating sexual offences during the civil war, stated that five of the guards told her they had been raped by Gaddafi and senior officials.<ref name="rape">{{cite news |last=Micallef |first=Mark |title=Gaddafi 'Raped' His Female Bodyguards |date=28 August 2011 |website=The Times|location=Malta |url=https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110828/local/Gaddafi-raped-his-female-bodyguards.382085 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213013136/https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110828/local/Gaddafi-raped-his-female-bodyguards.382085 |archive-date=13 February 2012}}; {{cite news |last=Squires |first=Nick |title=Gaddafi and His Sons 'Raped Female Bodyguards' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8729685/Gaddafi-and-his-sons-raped-female-bodyguards.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=29 August 2011 |access-date=15 June 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321082036/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8729685/Gaddafi-and-his-sons-raped-female-bodyguards.html |archive-date=21 March 2017}}</ref> After Gaddafi's death, the French journalist {{ill|Annick Cojean|fr||fa|آنیک کوژان|de||zh|安妮柯·柯琴}} published a book alleging that Gaddafi had had sexual relations with women, some in their early teenage years, who had been specially selected for him.{{sfn|Cojean|2013}} One of those Cojean interviewed, a woman named Soraya, claimed that Gaddafi kept her imprisoned in a basement for six years, where he repeatedly raped her, urinated on her, and forced her to watch pornography, drink alcohol, and snort cocaine.<ref name="harem">{{cite news |last=Sanai |first=Leyla |title=Book Review: Gaddafi's Harem, By Annick Cojean, Trans. Marjolijn de Jager |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/book-review-gaddafis-harem-by-annick-cojean-trans-marjolijn-de-jager-8901967.html |access-date=25 October 2013 |website=The Independent |location=London |date=25 October 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304210913/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/book-review-gaddafis-harem-by-annick-cojean-trans-marjolijn-de-jager-8901967.html |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> The alleged sexual abuse was said to have been facilitated by Gaddafi's Chief of Protocol ] and Mabrouka Sherif.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cojean |first=Annick |date=2013-09-22 |title=Muammar Gaddafi's sexual crimes |url=https://www.salon.com/2013/09/22/muammar_gaddafis_sexual_crimes/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Salon |language=en |ref=none |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207020226/https://www.salon.com/2013/09/22/muammar_gaddafis_sexual_crimes/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=IANS |date=2013-09-24 |title=Gaddafi formed special department to find prostitutes |work=Business Standard India |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/gaddafi-formed-special-department-to-find-prostitutes-113092400941_1.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206083256/https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/gaddafi-formed-special-department-to-find-prostitutes-113092400941_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Gaddafi also hired several Ukrainian nurses to care for him; one described him as kind and considerate and was surprised that allegations of abuse had been made against him.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/09/03/ukraine.gadhafi.nurse/ |title=Gadhafi's Ukrainian Nurse Talks About Life with 'Daddy' |publisher=CNN |date=4 September 2011 |access-date=8 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224055440/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/09/03/ukraine.gadhafi.nurse/ |archive-date=24 February 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{anchor|Family}}
Gaddafi married his first wife, Fatiha al-Nuri, in 1969. Although they had one son, ] (born 1970), their relationship was strained, and they divorced in 1970.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=53|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=22}} Gaddafi's second wife was ], née el-Brasai, a former nurse from the Obeidat tribe born in ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Libya's First Lady Owns 20 Tons of Gold: Reports |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/03/06/140415.html |url-status=dead |website=Al Arabiya News |date=6 March 2011 |access-date=13 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110309035315/http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/03/06/140415.html |archive-date=9 March 2011}}</ref> They met in 1969, following his ascension to power, when he was hospitalized with appendicitis; he claimed that it was love at first sight.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=53|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=22}} The couple remained married until his death. Together they had seven biological children:{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=285}} ] (born 1972), ] (born 1973), ] (1974–2011), ] (born 1975), ] (born 1976), ] (1982–2011), and ] (1983–2011). He also adopted two children, ] and Milad Gaddafi.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Gaddafi Family Tree |date=20 October 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12531442 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=13 July 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418153130/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12531442 |archive-date=18 April 2016}}</ref> Several of his sons gained a reputation for lavish and anti-social behaviour in Libya, which proved a source of resentment toward his administration.{{sfn|Pargeter|2012|p=6}} At least three of his cousins were prominent figures in Gaddafi's regime. ] is Libya's former Special Envoy to Egypt and a leading figure of the Gaddafi regime.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gaddafi cousin arrested in Egypt |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-21848712 |date=19 March 2013 |access-date=21 October 2019 |archive-date=29 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129052032/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-21848712 |url-status=live }}</ref> ] was his chief of security and led the ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Peralta |first=Eyder |title=Gadhafi's Final Weeks, As Told By A Top Security Official |work=] |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/10/25/141694091/gadhafis-final-weeks-as-told-by-a-top-security-official |access-date=4 February 2023 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124065624/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/10/25/141694091/gadhafis-final-weeks-as-told-by-a-top-security-official |url-status=live }}</ref> ] was a brigadier general and described as the second most powerful person in Libya in the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Woodward |first=Bob |date=1984-04-29 |title=Qaddafi's Authority Said to Be Weakening |language=en-US |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/04/29/qaddafis-authority-said-to-be-weakening/358186bd-b316-4ad0-b2c0-0b777121d78a/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Gaddafi's inner circle |language=en-US |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gaddafis-inner-circle/2011/05/17/AF3bQ55G_graphic.html |access-date=2023-06-25 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

==Public life==
]
According to Vandewalle, Gaddafi "dominated political life" during his period in power.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2006|p=5}} The sociologist Raymond A. Hinnebusch described the Libyan as "perhaps the most exemplary contemporary case of the politics of charismatic leadership", displaying all of the traits of ] outlined by the sociologist ].{{sfn|Hinnebusch|1984|p=59}} According to Hinnebusch, the foundations of Gaddafi's "personal charismatic authority" in Libya stemmed from the blessing he had received from Nasser coupled with "nationalist achievements" such as the expulsion of foreign military bases, the extraction of higher prices for Libyan oil, and his vocal support for the Palestinian and other anti-imperialist causes.{{sfn|Hinnebusch|1984|p=62}}

A ] devoted to Gaddafi existed in Libya through most of his rule.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=283|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=20}} His biographer Alison Pargeter noted that "he filled every space, moulding the entire country around himself."{{sfn|Pargeter|2012|p=2}} Depictions of his face could be found throughout the country, including on postage stamps, watches, and school satchels.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=20}} Quotations from ''The Green Book'' appeared on a wide variety of places, from street walls to airports and pens, and were put to pop music for public release.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=20}} In private, Gaddafi often complained that he disliked this personality cult surrounding him, but that he tolerated it because the people of Libya adored him.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=20}} The cult served a political purpose, with Gaddafi helping to provide a central identity for the Libyan state.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=284}}

Several biographers and observers characterized Gaddafi as a ].{{sfnm|1a1=Hinnebusch|1y=1984|1p=61|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=20}} He enjoyed attending lengthy public sessions where people were invited to question him; these were often televised.{{sfn|First|1974|pp=22–23}} Throughout Libya, crowds of supporters would arrive at public events where he appeared. Described as "spontaneous demonstrations" by the government, there are recorded instances of groups being coerced or paid to attend.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=16}} He was typically late to public events, and would sometimes fail to arrive.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=17}} Although Bianco thought he had a "gift for oratory",{{Sfn|Bianco|1975|p=7}} he was considered a poor orator by Blundy and Lycett.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=18}} The biographer ] noted that Gaddafi was famed for his "lengthy, wandering" speeches,{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|p=191}} which typically involved criticizing Israel and the US.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=17}} The journalist ] described his speeches as being "an inexhaustible flow; didactic, at times incoherent; peppered with snatches of half-formed opinions; admonitions; confidences; some sound common sense, and as much prejudice".{{sfn|First|1974|p=23}}

==Awards and honours==
{{Main|List of awards and honours bestowed upon Muammar Gaddafi}}

==Reception and legacy==
{{Main|Reception and legacy of Muammar Gaddafi}}

Supporters praised Gaddafi's administration for the creation of a more equal society through domestic reform.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=19|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=196–200}} They stressed the regime's achievements in combating homelessness, ensuring access to food and safe drinking water, and to dramatic improvements in education.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=19|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=196–200}} Supporters have also applauded achievements in medical care, praising the universal free healthcare provided under the Gaddafist administration, with diseases like ] and ] being contained and life expectancy raised.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=19|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=196–200}}

Gaddafi's government's treatment of non-Arab Libyans came in for criticism from human rights activists, with native Berbers, Italian colonists, Jews, refugees, and foreign workers all facing persecution in Gaddafist Libya.{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|pp=202–203, 209}} Human rights groups also criticized the treatment of migrants, including ], who passed through Gaddafi's Libya on their way to Europe.{{sfn|Zoubir|2009|p=409}} During the Civil War, various leftist groups endorsed the anti-Gaddafist rebels—but not the Western military intervention—by arguing that Gaddafi had become an ally of Western imperialism by cooperating with the War on Terror and efforts to block African migration to Europe.{{sfn|Castro|2011|p=309}} Gaddafi was widely perceived as a terrorist, especially in the US and UK.{{sfnm|1a1=Haynes|1y=1990|1p=58|2a1=Boyd-Judson|2y=2005|2p=91}}

===Posthumous assessment===
International reactions to Gaddafi's death were divided.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/10/obama-team-tracks-news-of-gadhafi/1 |title=Obama: Gadhafi Regime Is 'No More' |first=David |last=Jackson |website=USA Today |date=20 October 2011 |access-date=20 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223095732/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/10/obama-team-tracks-news-of-gadhafi/1 |url-status=live |archive-date=23 December 2011}}</ref> Gaddafi was mourned as a hero by many across sub-Saharan Africa but was widely condemned elsewhere.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kron|first=Josh|title=Many in Sub-Saharan Africa Mourn Qaddafi's Death|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/world/africa/many-in-sub-saharan-africa-mourn-qaddafis-death.html|access-date=29 June 2012|website=The New York Times|date=22 October 2011|url-status=live|archive-date=2 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102115400/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/world/africa/many-in-sub-saharan-africa-mourn-qaddafis-death.html?_r=1}}</ref>

Following his defeat in the civil war, Gaddafi's system of governance was dismantled and replaced by the interim government of the NTC, which legalized trade unions and freedom of the press.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.libyaherald.com/2012/10/20/on-the-first-anniversary-of-qaddafis-death-is-libya-better-off-a-year-on/ |title=On the First Anniversary of Qaddafi's death&nbsp;– Is Libya Better off a Year On? |first=Sami |last=Zaptia |date=20 October 2012 |newspaper=Libya Herald |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205013514/http://www.libyaherald.com/2012/10/20/on-the-first-anniversary-of-qaddafis-death-is-libya-better-off-a-year-on/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 December 2013}}</ref> In January 2013, the GNC officially renamed the ''Jamahiriyah'' as the "State of Libya".<ref name="Herald_StateofLibya">{{cite news |first=Sami |last=Zaptia |title=GNC Officially Renames Libya the 'State of Libya'&nbsp;– Until the New Constitution |url=https://www.libyaherald.com/2013/01/09/gnc-officially-renames-libya-the-state-of-libya-until-the-new-constitution/ |access-date=9 January 2013 |website=Libya Herald |date=9 January 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323183928/https://www.libyaherald.com/2013/01/09/gnc-officially-renames-libya-the-state-of-libya-until-the-new-constitution/ |archive-date=23 March 2013 }}</ref> ] then founded a new political party, the ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Walsh |first=Declan |title=Hijacking Ends Peacefully After Libyan Airliner Lands in Malta |date=23 December 2016 |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/world/europe/libya-malta-hijack-afriqiyah-airways.html|access-date=22 March 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223125732/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/world/europe/libya-malta-hijack-afriqiyah-airways.html?_r=0 |archive-date=23 December 2016 }}</ref> Led by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Popular Front was allowed to participate in the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2018/3/19/gaddafis-son-saif-to-run-for-libya-president|title=In Saif Hands: Gaddafi's Son to Run for Libya President|publisher=The New Arab|date=19 March 2018|access-date=6 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006154841/https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2018/3/19/gaddafis-son-saif-to-run-for-libya-president|archive-date=6 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>


==See also== ==See also==
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{{Portal box|Biography|Cold War|Libya|Socialism}}
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==Notes== ==Notes==
<references group=pron/>
{{Reflist|group=nb|liststyle=lower-alpha}}
{{Reflist|25em}} {{notelist}}


==References== ==References==

*{{cite book|author=]|title=Roots of Violence: A History of War in Chad|publisher=]|location=London|year=1998|isbn=90-5699-582-0 |ref=harv}}
===Citations===
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{{Reflist}}
*{{cite book|author=Clayton, Anthony|title=Frontiersmen: Warfare in Africa Since 1950|publisher=Routledge|location=London|year=1998|isbn=1-8572-8525-5 |ref=harv}}

*{{cite book|author=Collelo, Thomas|title=Chad|publisher=]|year=1990|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/tdtoc.html|isbn=0-1602-4770-5 |ref=harv}}
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{{Refbegin|30em}}
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* {{cite journal |first=Jeff |last=Haynes |year=1990 |title=Libyan Involvement in West Africa: Qadhaffi's 'Revolutionary' Foreign Policy |journal=Paradigms |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=58–73 |doi=10.1080/13600829008442987 }}
*{{cite journal|first=Raymond A.|last=Hinnebusch|year=1984|title=Charisma, Revolution, and State Formation: Qaddafi and Libya|journal=Third World Quarterly|volume=6|issue=1|pages=59–73|doi=10.1080/01436598408419755}}
*{{cite book|title=Death of a Dictator: Bloody Vengeance in Sirte|author=Human Rights Watch|author-link=Human Rights Watch|year=2012|publisher=Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/10/16/death-dictator-0|isbn=978-1-56432-952-3|access-date=4 December 2016|archive-date=3 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503103538/http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/10/16/death-dictator-0|url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal|last=Kamel|first=Amir M.|year=2016|title=Trade and Peace: The EU and Gaddafi's Final Decade|journal=International Affairs|volume=92|issue=3|pages=683–702|doi=10.1111/1468-2346.12602|s2cid=156529941|url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/files/52080164/AMK_Trade_and_Peace.pdf|access-date=27 August 2019|archive-date=27 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827043438/https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/files/52080164/AMK_Trade_and_Peace.pdf|url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Karniel |first1=Yuval |first2=Amit |last2=Lavie-Dinur |first3=Tal |last3=Azran |title=Broadcast Coverage of Gaddafi's Final Hours in Images and Headlines: A Brutal Lynch or the Desired Death of a Terrorist? |journal=The International Communication Gazette |year=2015 |volume=77 |issue=2 |pages=171–188 |doi=10.1177/1748048514562686 |s2cid=144642774 }}
*{{cite book|last=Kawczynski|first=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Kawczynski|title=Seeking Gaddafi: Libya, the West and the Arab Spring|title-link=Seeking Gaddafi|publisher=Biteback|location=London|year=2011|isbn=978-1-84954-148-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Guy|year=2002|title=Africa in World Politics: A Pan-African Perspective|location=Trenton, NJ|publisher=Africa World Press|isbn=978-0-865-43858-3}}
*{{cite book |last=Pargeter |first=Alice |title=Libya: The Rise and Fall of Qaddafi |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-300-13932-7 }}
*{{cite book|last=Ronen|first=Yehudit|chapter=Libya|editor1-last=Shaked|editor1-first=Haim|editor2-last=Dishon|editor2-first=Daniel|title=Middle East Contemporary Survey. Volume VIII: 1983–84|location=Tel Aviv|publisher=Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies|isbn=978-965-224-006-4|year=1986|pages=578–603}}
*{{cite journal |first=Maano |last=Ramutsindela |year=2009 |title=Gaddafi, Continentalism and Sovereignty in Africa |journal=South African Geographical Journal |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=1–3 |doi=10.1080/03736245.2009.9725324 |bibcode=2009SAfGJ..91....1R |s2cid=153609561 }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Sacerdoti |first1=Giorgio |first2=Pia |last2=Acconci |title=The Security Council's Asset Freeze against Gaddafi's Libya and its Implementation in Libya |journal=The Italian Yearbook of International Law Online |year=2011 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=61–84 |doi=10.1163/22116133-90000210 }}
*{{cite book|last=Simons|first=Geoff|author-link=Geoff Simons|title=Libya: The Struggle for Survival|publisher=Macmillan|edition=second|location=Houndmills and London|year=1996|isbn=978-0-23038-011-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Simons|first=Geoff|author-link=Geoff Simons|title=Libya and the West: From Independence to Lockerbie|publisher=Centre for Libyan Studies|location=Oxford|year=2003|isbn=978-1-86064-988-2|url=https://archive.org/details/libyawestfromind00simo|url-access=limited}}
*{{cite journal |last=St. John |first=Ronald Bruce |author-link=Ronald Bruce St. John |title=The Ideology of Muammar al-Qadhdhafi: Theory and Practice |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume=15 |number=4 |year=1983 |pages=471–490 |jstor=163557 |doi=10.1017/S0020743800051394 |s2cid=145692912 }}
*{{cite book|last=St. John|first=Ronald Bruce|title=Qaddafi's World Design: Libyan Foreign Policy, 1969–1987|location=London|publisher=Saqi Books|year=1987|isbn=978-0-86356-161-0}}
*{{cite journal |last=St. John |first=Ronald Bruce |title=Redefining the Libyan Revolution: The Changing Ideology of Muammar al-Qaddafi |journal=The Journal of North African Studies |year=2008 |volume=13 |number=1 |pages=91–106 |doi=10.1080/13629380701742819 |s2cid=219626768 }}
*{{cite book|last=St. John|first=Ronald Bruce |title=Libya: From Colony to Revolution|edition=rev.|publisher=Oneworld|location=Oxford|year=2012|isbn=978-1-85168-919-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Sykes |first=Alan |title=The Radical Right in Britain: Social Imperialism to the BNP |year=2005 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Basingstoke and New York |isbn=978-0333599242 }}
*{{cite journal|last=Tandon|first=Yash|year=2011|title=Whose Dictator Is Qaddafi? The Empire and Its Neo-Colonies|journal=]|volume=3|issue=1|pages=1–21|doi=10.1177/0975087814411129|s2cid=155823080}}
*{{cite book|last=Vandewalle|first=Dirk|title=A History of Modern Libya|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-521-61554-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernl0000vand}}
*{{cite book|last=Vandewalle|first=Dirk |chapter=Libya in the New Millennium |date=2008a |editor-last=Vandewalle|editor-first=Dirk|title=Libya Since 1969: Qadhafi's Revolution Revisited|location=Basingstoke, England|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|pages=215–237|doi=10.1007/978-0-230-61386-7_10|isbn=978-0-230-33750-3}}
*{{cite book|last=Vandewalle|first=Dirk |chapter=Libya's Revolution in Perspective 1969–2000 |date=2008b |editor-last=Vandewalle|editor-first=Dirk|title=Libya Since 1969: Qadhafi's Revolution Revisited|location=Basingstoke, England|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|pages=9–53|doi=10.1007/978-0-230-61386-7_2|isbn=978-0-230-33750-3}}
*{{cite journal|last=Zoubir|first=Yahia H.|year=2009|title=Libya and Europe: Economic Realism at the Rescue of the Qaddafi Authoritarian Regime|journal=Journal of Contemporary European Studies|volume=17|issue=3|pages=401–415|doi=10.1080/14782800903339354|s2cid=153625134}}
{{refend}}


==External links== ==External links==
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{{External links|date=July 2011}}
{{Sister project links|v=no|b=no|n=Muammar Gaddafi|s=Muammar Gaddafi|wikt=no|wikiquote=yes}}
*
*{{IMDb name|0300490}}
*
*{{Aljazeeratopic|person/muammar-gaddafi}}
*{{BBC Online|id=news/world-africa-12688033|title=The Muammar Gaddafi story}}
*{{CNNtopic|moammar_gadhafi}}
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*{{WSJtopic|person/G/moammar-gadhafi/5434}}
*{{Worldcat id|lccn-n81-68638}}


* – ABC News video
;Articles
* from the
*, Sholto Byrnes, '']'', 27 August 2009
* {{Aljazeeratopic|person/muammar-gaddafi}}
*, Rudolph Chimelli, ''Qantara.de'', 2 September 2009
* {{BBC Online|id=news/world-africa-12688033|title=The Muammar Gaddafi story}}
*, slideshow by '']''
* {{Guardian topic}}
*, slideshow by '']''
* {{NYTtopic|people/q/muammar_el_qaddafi}}
* ''The Guardian''
* {{YouTube|S6JaxKsK8Q0|2009 UN Security council speech from Al jazeera (English)}}
*, '']'' (video)


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Latest revision as of 16:09, 2 January 2025

Leader of Libya from 1969 to 2011 "Gaddafi" redirects here. For other people with the name, see Gaddafi (name).

Brotherly Leader
ColonelMuammar Gaddafi
معمر القذافي
Gaddafi in 1970
Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution
In office
2 March 1979 – 20 October 2011
Prime Minister See list
Preceded byHimself (as Chairman of the RCC)
Succeeded byMustafa Abdul Jalil (as Chairman of the NTC)
Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya
In office
1 September 1969 – 2 March 1977
Prime Minister See list
Preceded byIdris I (as King of Libya)
Succeeded byHimself (as Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution)
Secretary General of the General People's Congress
In office
2 March 1977 – 2 March 1979
Prime MinisterAbdul Ati al-Obeidi
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byAbdul Ati al-Obeidi
Head of Government of Libya
As Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council
In office
16 January 1970 – 16 July 1972
Preceded byMahmud Suleiman Maghribi
Succeeded byAbdessalam Jalloud
7th Chairperson of the African Union
In office
2 February 2009 – 31 January 2010
Preceded byJakaya Kikwete
Succeeded byBingu wa Mutharika
Personal details
BornMuammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi
c. 1942
Qasr Abu Hadi, Italian Libya
Died20 October 2011(2011-10-20) (aged 68–69)
Sirte, Libya
Manner of deathAssassination
Resting placeIn an unknown location in the Libyan Desert
Political party
Spouses
Children10 Sons (8) Daughters (2)
ResidenceBab al-Azizia
Alma mater
Signature
Military service
Allegiance
Branch/serviceLibyan Army
Years of service1961–2011
RankColonel
CommandsLibyan Armed Forces
Battles/wars
This article is part of
a series aboutMuammar Gaddafi

Personal
Affiliations
Libya under Muammar Gaddafi
  • Politics
  • [[Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolutionary

]]


Military (Armed Forces)
Leadership (History)
Elections and referendums

Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (c. 1942 – 20 October 2011) was a Libyan revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his assassination by rebel forces in 2011. He came to power through a military coup, first becoming Revolutionary Chairman of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the 'Brotherly Leader' of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011. Initially ideologically committed to Arab nationalism and Nasserism, Gaddafi later ruled according to his own Third International Theory.

Born near Sirte, Italian Libya, to a poor Bedouin Arab family, Gaddafi became an Arab nationalist while at school in Sabha, later enrolling in the Royal Military Academy, Benghazi. Within the military, he founded a revolutionary group known as the Free Officers movement which deposed the Western-backed Senussi monarchy of Idris in a 1969 coup. After taking power, Gaddafi converted Libya into a republic governed by his Revolutionary Command Council. Ruling by decree, he deported Libya's Italian population and ejected its Western military bases. He strengthened ties to Arab nationalist governments—particularly Gamal Abdel Nasser's Egypt—and unsuccessfully advocated pan-Arab political union. An Islamic modernist, he introduced sharia as the basis for the legal system and promoted Islamic socialism. He nationalized the oil industry and used the increasing state revenues to bolster the military, fund foreign revolutionaries, and implement social programs emphasizing housebuilding, healthcare and education projects. In 1973, he initiated a "Popular Revolution" with the formation of Basic People's Congresses, presented as a system of direct democracy, but retained personal control over major decisions. He outlined his Third International Theory that year in The Green Book.

In 1977 Gaddafi transformed Libya into a new socialist state called a Jamahiriya ("state of the masses"). He officially adopted a symbolic role in governance but remained head of both the military and the Revolutionary Committees responsible for policing and suppressing dissent. During the 1970s and 1980s, Libya's unsuccessful border conflicts with Egypt and Chad, support for foreign militants, and alleged responsibility for bombings of Pan Am Flight 103 and UTA Flight 772 left it increasingly isolated on the world stage. A particularly hostile relationship developed with Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom, resulting in the 1986 U.S. bombing of Libya and United Nations–imposed economic sanctions. From 1999, Gaddafi shunned pan-Arabism, and encouraged pan-Africanism and rapprochement with Western nations; he was Chairperson of the African Union from 2009 to 2010. Amid the 2011 Arab Spring, protests against widespread corruption and unemployment broke out in eastern Libya. The situation descended into civil war, in which NATO intervened militarily on the side of the anti-Gaddafist National Transitional Council (NTC). Gaddafi's government was overthrown; he retreated to Sirte only to be captured, tortured and killed by NTC militants.

A highly divisive figure, Gaddafi dominated Libya's politics for four decades and was the subject of a pervasive cult of personality. He was decorated with various awards and praised for his anti-imperialist stance, support for Arab—and then African—unity, as well as for significant development to the country following the discovery of oil reserves. Conversely, many Libyans strongly opposed Gaddafi's social and economic reforms; he was accused of various human rights violations. He was condemned by many as a dictator whose authoritarian administration systematically violated human rights and financed global terrorism in the region and abroad.

Early life and career

Childhood: 1940s to 1950

Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi was born near Qasr Abu Hadi, a rural area outside the town of Sirte in the deserts of Tripolitania, Italian western Libya. Gaddafi was the only son of his parents and the youngest of four siblings. His family came from a small, relatively uninfluential tribe called the Qadhadhfa, who were Arab in heritage. His mother was named Aisha bin Niran (died 1978), and his father, Mohammad Abdul Salam bin Hamed bin Mohammad, was known as Abu Meniar (died 1985); the latter earned a meager subsistence as a goat and camel herder.

Like other contemporary nomadic Bedouin tribes, the family were illiterate and did not keep any birth records. His birthday is not known with certainty and sources have set it in 1942 or the spring of 1943, although his biographers David Blundy and Andrew Lycett noted that it could have been pre-1940. His parents' only surviving son, he had three older sisters. Gaddafi's upbringing in Bedouin culture influenced his personal tastes for the rest of his life; he preferred the desert over the city and would retreat there to meditate.

From childhood, Gaddafi was aware of the involvement of European colonial powers in Libya; his nation was occupied by Italy, and during the North African Campaign of the Second World War it witnessed conflict between Italian and British forces. According to later claims, Gaddafi's paternal grandfather, Abdessalam Bouminyar, was killed by the Italian Army during the Italian invasion of 1911. At the end of the Second World War in 1945, Libya was occupied by British and French forces. Britain and France considered dividing the nation between their empires, but the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) decided that the country was to be granted political independence, and in 1951 created the United Kingdom of Libya, a federal state under the leadership of a pro-Western monarch, Idris, who banned political parties and centralized power in his own hands.

Education and political activism: 1950–1963

Gaddafi's earliest education was of a religious nature, imparted by a local Islamic teacher. Subsequently, moving to nearby Sirte to attend elementary school, he progressed through six grades in four years. Education in Libya was not free, but his father thought it would greatly benefit his son despite the financial strain. During the week Gaddafi slept in a mosque, and only at weekends and holidays walked 20 miles (32 km) to visit his parents. Even though Gaddafi's father was not educated, he made great sacrifices to send his son to school. As an impoverished Bedouin, he faced bullying and discrimination from his city-dwelling classmates. However, he had many Egyptian teachers who informed him of the dramatic events occurring in their homeland. From Sirte, he and his family moved to the market town of Sabha in Fezzan, south-central Libya, where his father worked as a caretaker for a tribal leader while Muammar attended secondary school, something neither parent had done. Gaddafi was popular at this school; some friends made there received significant jobs in his later administration, most notably his best friend, Abdul Salam Jalloud.

Egyptian President Nasser was Gaddafi's political hero.

Many teachers at Sabha were Egyptian, and for the first time, Gaddafi had access to pan-Arab newspapers and radio broadcasts, especially the Cairo-based Voice of the Arabs. Growing up, Gaddafi witnessed significant events severely disturb the Arab world, including the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the short-lived existence of the United Arab Republic (UAR) between 1958 and 1961. Gaddafi admired the political changes implemented in the Arab Republic of Egypt under his hero, President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser argued for Arab nationalism; the rejection of Western colonialism, neo-colonialism, and Zionism; and a transition from capitalism to socialism. Gaddafi was influenced by Nasser's book, Philosophy of the Revolution, which outlined how to initiate a coup. One of Gaddafi's Egyptian teachers, Mahmoud Efay, was reportedly sympathetic towards the youth's political ideas, and advised him that a successful revolution would need the support of the army.

Gaddafi organized demonstrations and distributed posters criticizing the monarchy. In October 1961, he led a demonstration protesting against Syria's secession from the UAR and raised funds to send cables of support to Nasser. Twenty students were arrested as a result of the disorder. Gaddafi and his companions also broke windows in a local hotel that was accused of serving alcohol. To punish Gaddafi, the authorities expelled him and his family from Sabha. Gaddafi moved to Misrata, there attending Misrata Secondary School. Maintaining his interest in Arab nationalist activism, he refused to join any of the banned political parties active in the city—including the Arab Nationalist Movement, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, and the Muslim Brotherhood—claiming that he rejected factionalism. He read voraciously on the subjects of Nasser and the French Revolution of 1789, as well as the works of the Syrian political theorist Michel Aflaq and biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Sun Yat-sen, and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Military training: 1963–1966

Gaddafi briefly studied history at the University of Libya in Benghazi before dropping out to join the military. Despite his police record, in 1963 he began training at the Royal Military Academy, Benghazi, alongside several like-minded friends from Misrata. The armed forces offered the only opportunity for upward social mobility for underprivileged Libyans, and Gaddafi recognized it as a potential instrument of political change. Under Idris, Libya's armed forces were trained by the British military; this angered Gaddafi, who viewed the British as imperialists, and accordingly, he refused to learn English and was rude to the British officers, ultimately failing his exams. British trainers reported him for insubordination and abusive behaviour, stating their suspicion that he was involved in the assassination of the military academy's commander in 1963. Such reports were ignored, and Gaddafi quickly progressed through the course.

With a group of loyal cadres, in 1964, Gaddafi established the Central Committee of the Free Officers Movement, a revolutionary group named after Nasser's Egyptian predecessor. Led by Gaddafi, they met secretively and were organized into a clandestine cell system, pooling their salaries into a single fund. Gaddafi travelled around Libya collecting intelligence and developing connections with sympathizers, but the government's intelligence services ignored him, considering him little threat. Graduating in August 1965, Gaddafi became a communications officer in the army's signal corps.

In April 1966, he was assigned to the United Kingdom for further training; over nine months he underwent an English-language course at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, an Army Air Corps signal instructors course in Bovington Camp, Dorset, and an infantry signal instructors course at Hythe, Kent. Despite later rumours to the contrary, he did not attend the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The Bovington signal course's director reported that Gaddafi successfully overcame problems learning English, displaying a firm command of voice procedure. Noting that Gaddafi's favourite hobbies were reading and playing football, he thought of him as an "amusing officer, always cheerful, hard-working, and conscientious". Gaddafi disliked England, claiming British Army officers had racially insulted him and finding it difficult adjusting to the country's culture; asserting his Arab identity in London, he walked around Piccadilly wearing traditional Libyan robes. He later related that while he travelled to England believing it more advanced than Libya, he returned home "more confident and proud of our values, ideals and social character".

Libyan Arab Republic

Further information: History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi

Coup d'état: 1969

Main article: 1969 Libyan coup d'état

People of Libya! In response to your own will, fulfilling your most heartfelt wishes, answering your most incessant demands for change and regeneration, and your longing to strive towards these ends: listening to your incitement to rebel, your armed forces have undertaken the overthrow of the corrupt regime, the stench of which has sickened and horrified us all. At a single blow our gallant army has toppled these idols and has destroyed their images. By a single stroke it has lightened the long dark night in which the Turkish domination was followed first by Italian rule, then by this reactionary and decadent regime which was no more than a hotbed of extortion, faction, treachery and treason.

—Gaddafi's radio speech after seizing power, 1969

Idris' government was increasingly unpopular by the latter 1960s; it had exacerbated Libya's traditional regional and tribal divisions by centralizing the country's federal system to take advantage of the country's oil wealth. Corruption and entrenched systems of patronage were widespread throughout the oil industry. Arab nationalism was increasingly popular, and protests flared up following Egypt's 1967 defeat in the Six-Day War with Israel; Idris' administration was seen as pro-Israeli due to its alliance with the Western powers. Anti-Western riots broke out in Tripoli and Benghazi, while Libyan workers shut down oil terminals in solidarity with Egypt. By 1969, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was expecting segments of Libya's armed forces to launch a coup. Although claims have been made that they knew of Gaddafi's Free Officers Movement, they have since claimed ignorance, stating that they were instead monitoring Abdul Aziz Shalhi's Black Boots revolutionary group. Shalhi, who effectively served as Idris' chief of staff, and his brother Omar were the sons of Idris' former chief advisor Ibrahim Shalhi, who had been murdered by Queen Fatima's nephew in the fall of 1954. After their father's assassination, they became the favorites of Idris.

In mid-1969, Idris travelled abroad to spend the summer in Turkey and Greece amid widespread rumors of an abdication or a British-backed coup by the Shalhi brothers on 5 September. Gaddafi's Free Officers, recognizing this as their last chance to preempt the Shelhis in overthrowing the monarchy, initiated "Operation Jerusalem". If Gaddafi's Free Officers had not preempted the Shelhis, they would have almost certainly been defeated by the combined forces of Abdul Aziz Shelhi, the deputy commander of Libya's army, and the prominent families in Cyrenaica that supported the Shelhi family. On 1 September, Gaddafi's Free Officers occupied airports, police depots, radio stations, and government offices in Tripoli and Benghazi. Gaddafi took control of the Berka barracks in Benghazi, while Umar Muhayshi occupied Tripoli barracks and Jalloud seized the city's anti-aircraft batteries. Khweldi Hameidi took over the Tripoli radio station and was sent to arrest crown prince Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi and force him to relinquish his claim to the throne. They met no serious resistance and wielded little violence against the monarchists.

Once Gaddafi removed the monarchical government, he announced the foundation of the Libyan Arab Republic. Addressing the populace by radio, he proclaimed an end to the "reactionary and corrupt" regime, "the stench of which has sickened and horrified us all". Due to the coup's bloodless nature, it was initially labelled the "White Revolution", although was later renamed the "One September Revolution" after the date on which it occurred. Gaddafi insisted that the Free Officers' coup represented a revolution, marking the start of widespread change in the socio-economic and political nature of Libya. He proclaimed that the revolution meant "freedom, socialism, and unity", and over the coming years implemented measures to achieve this.

Consolidating leadership: 1969–1973

The 12-member central committee of the Free Officers proclaimed themselves the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), the government of the new republic. Lieutenant Gaddafi became RCC chairman, and therefore the de facto head of state, also appointing himself to the rank of colonel and becoming commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Jalloud became Prime Minister, while a civilian Council of Ministers headed by Sulaiman Maghribi was founded to implement RCC policy. Libya's administrative capital was moved from al-Beida to Tripoli.

The flag of republican Libya used by Gaddafi's government from 1969 to 1972

Although theoretically a collegial body operating through consensus building, Gaddafi dominated the RCC. Some of the others attempted to constrain what they saw as his excesses. Gaddafi remained the government's public face, with the identities of the other RCC members only being publicly revealed on 10 January 1970. All young men from (typically rural) working and middle-class backgrounds, none had university degrees; in this way they were distinct from the wealthy, highly educated conservatives who previously governed the country.

The coup completed, the RCC proceeded with their intentions of consolidating the revolutionary government and modernizing the country. They purged monarchists and members of Idris' Senussi clan from Libya's political world and armed forces; Gaddafi believed this elite were opposed to the will of the Libyan people and had to be expunged. People's Courts were founded to try various monarchist politicians and journalists, many of whom were imprisoned, although none executed. Idris was sentenced to execution in absentia. Three months after Gaddafi came to power, the army minister and interior minister, both of whom were from the eastern Barqa region, tried to overthrow him in a failed coup. In 1970, Idris' great nephew Ahmed al-Senussi tried to instigate another coup against Gaddafi; the monarchist plot was foiled in August and Ahmed was sentenced to death (commuted in 1988 and pardoned by Gaddafi in 2001).

In May 1970, the Revolutionary Intellectuals Seminar was held to bring intellectuals in line with the revolution, while that year's Legislative Review and Amendment united secular and religious law codes, introducing sharia into the legal system. Ruling by decree, the RCC maintained the monarchy's ban on political parties, in May 1970 banned trade unions, and in 1972 outlawed workers' strikes and suspended newspapers. In September 1971, Gaddafi resigned, claiming to be dissatisfied with the pace of reform, but returned to his position within a month. In July 1972, amid widespread speculation that Gaddafi had been ousted or jailed by his political opponents, a new 18-man cabinet was formed with only two of them, Jalloud and Abdel Moneim al-Houni, being military men; the rest were civilian technocrats per Gaddafi's insistence. In February 1973, Gaddafi resigned again, once more returning the following month.

Economic and social reform

Gaddafi at an Arab summit in Libya in 1969, shortly after the September Revolution that toppled King Idris I. Gaddafi sits in military uniform in the middle, surrounded by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser (left) and Syrian President Nureddin al-Atassi (right).

The RCC's early economic policy has been characterized as being state capitalist in orientation. Many initiatives were established to aid entrepreneurs and develop a Libyan bourgeoisie. Seeking to expand the cultivatable acreage in Libya, in September 1969 the government launched a "Green Revolution" to increase agricultural productivity so that Libya could rely less on imported food. The hope was to make Libya self-sufficient in food production. All land that had either been expropriated from Italian settlers or which was not in use was repossessed and redistributed. Irrigation systems were established along the northern coastline and around various inland oases. Production costs often surpassed the value of the produce and thus Libyan agricultural production remained in deficit, relying heavily on state subsidies.

With crude oil as the country's primary export, Gaddafi sought to improve Libya's oil sector. In October 1969, he proclaimed the current trade terms unfair, benefiting foreign corporations more than the Libyan state, and threatened to decrease production. In December Jalloud successfully increased the price of Libyan oil. In 1970, other OPEC states followed suit, leading to a global increase in the price of crude oil. The RCC followed with the Tripoli Agreement of 20 March 1971, in which they secured income tax, back-payments and better pricing from the oil corporations; these measures brought Libya an estimated $1 billion in additional revenues in its first year.

Increasing state control over the oil sector, the RCC began a program of nationalization, starting with the expropriation of British Petroleum's share of the British Petroleum-N.B. Hunt Sahir Field in December 1971. In September 1973, it was announced that all foreign oil producers active in Libya were to see 51 per cent of their operation nationalized, including the stake of Nelson Bunker Hunt, son of H.L. Hunt, who had played a key role in the discovery of oil in Libya. Among the companies that were partially nationalized was Armand Hammer's Occidental Petroleum. For Gaddafi, this was an essential step towards socialism. It proved an economic success; while gross domestic product had been $3.8 billion in 1969, it had risen to $13.7 billion in 1974, and $24.5 billion in 1979. In turn, the Libyans' standard of life greatly improved over the first decade of Gaddafi's administration, and by 1979 the average per-capita income was at $8,170, up from $40 in 1951; this was above the average of many industrialized countries like Italy and the UK. In 1969, the government also declared that all foreign owned banks must either close down or convert to joint-stock operations.

In 1971, Egypt's Anwar Sadat, Libya's Gaddafi and Syria's Hafez al-Assad signed an agreement to form a federal Union of Arab Republics. The agreement never materialized into a federal union between the three Arab states.

The RCC implemented measures for social reform, adopting sharia as a basis. The consumption of alcohol was prohibited, night clubs and Christian churches were shut down, traditional Libyan dress was encouraged, and Arabic was decreed as the only language permitted in official communications and on road signs. The RCC doubled the minimum wage, introduced statutory price controls, and implemented compulsory rent reductions of between 30 and 40 per cent. Gaddafi also wanted to combat the strict social restrictions that had been imposed on women by the previous regime, establishing the Revolutionary Women's Formation to encourage reform. In 1970, a law was introduced affirming equality of the sexes and insisting on wage parity. In 1971, Gaddafi sponsored the creation of a Libyan General Women's Federation. In 1972, a law was passed criminalizing the marriage of any females under the age of sixteen and ensuring that a woman's consent was a necessary prerequisite for a marriage. Gaddafi's regime opened up a wide range of educational and employment opportunities for women, although these primarily benefited a minority in the urban middle-classes.

From 1969 to 1973, it used oil money to fund social welfare programs, which led to housebuilding projects and improved healthcare and education. House building became a major social priority, designed to eliminate homelessness and to replace the shanty towns created by Libya's growing urbanization. The health sector was also expanded; by 1978, Libya had 50 per cent more hospitals than it had in 1968, while the number of doctors had increased from 700 to over 3000 in that decade. Malaria was eradicated, and trachoma and tuberculosis greatly curtailed. Compulsory education was expanded from 6 to 9 years, while adult literacy programs and free university education were introduced. Beida University was founded, while Tripoli University and Benghazi University were expanded. In doing so, the government helped to integrate the poorer strata of Libyan society into the education system. Through these measures, the RCC greatly expanded the public sector, providing employment for thousands. These early social programs proved popular within Libya. This popularity was partly due to Gaddafi's personal charisma, youth and underdog status as a Bedouin, as well as his rhetoric emphasizing his role as the successor to the anti-Italian fighter Omar Mukhtar.

To combat the country's strong regional and tribal divisions, the RCC promoted the idea of a unified pan-Libyan identity. In doing so, they tried discrediting tribal leaders as agents of the old regime, and in August 1971 a Sabha military court tried many of them for counter-revolutionary activity. Long-standing administrative boundaries were re-drawn, crossing tribal boundaries, while pro-revolutionary modernizers replaced traditional leaders, yet the communities they served often rejected them. Realizing the failures of the modernizers, Gaddafi created the Arab Socialist Union (ASU) in June 1971, a mass mobilization vanguard party of which he was president. The ASU recognized the RCC as its "Supreme Leading Authority", and was designed to further revolutionary enthusiasm throughout the country. It remained heavily bureaucratic and failed to mobilize mass support in the way Gaddafi had envisioned.

Foreign relations

Further information: Foreign relations of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi
Gaddafi (left) with Egyptian President Nasser in 1969. Nasser privately described Gaddafi as "a nice boy, but terribly naïve".

The influence of Nasser's Arab nationalism over the RCC was immediately apparent. The administration was instantly recognized by the neighbouring Arab nationalist regimes in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Sudan, with Egypt sending experts to aid the inexperienced RCC. Gaddafi propounded pan-Arab ideas, proclaiming the need for a single Arab state stretching across North Africa and the Middle East. In December 1969, Libya signed the Tripoli Charter alongside Egypt and Sudan. This established the Arab Revolutionary Front, a pan-national union designed as a first step towards the eventual political unification of the three nations. In 1970 Syria declared its intention to join.

Nasser died unexpectedly in September 1970, with Gaddafi playing a prominent role at his funeral. Nasser was succeeded by Anwar Sadat, who suggested that rather than creating a unified state, the Arab states should create a political federation, implemented in April 1971; in doing so, Egypt, Syria, and Sudan received large grants of Libyan oil money. In July 1971, Gaddafi sided with Sadat against the Soviet Union in the 1971 Sudanese coup d'état and dispatched Libyan fighter jets to force down a British Airlines jetliner carrying the leading coup plotters, Farouk Osman Hamadallah and Babikir al-Nour. They were extradited back to Khartoum, where they were promptly executed by Sudanese leader Jaafar Nimeiry. In February 1972, Gaddafi and Sadat signed an unofficial charter of merger, but it was never implemented because relations broke down the following year. Sadat became increasingly wary of Libya's radical direction, and the September 1973 deadline for implementing the Federation passed by with no action taken.

After the 1969 coup, representatives of the Four Powers—France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union—were called to meet RCC representatives. The UK and the US quickly extended diplomatic recognition, hoping to secure the position of their military bases in Libya and fearing further instability. Hoping to ingratiate themselves with Gaddafi, in 1970 the US informed him of at least one planned counter-coup. Such attempts to form a working relationship with the RCC failed; Gaddafi was determined to reassert national sovereignty and expunge what he described as foreign colonial and imperialist influences. His administration insisted that the US and the UK remove their military bases from Libya, with Gaddafi proclaiming that "the armed forces which rose to express the people's revolution tolerate living in their shacks while the bases of imperialism exist in Libyan territory." The British left in March and the Americans in June 1970.

Moving to reduce Italian influence, in October 1970 all Italian-owned assets were expropriated, and the 12,000-strong Italian community was expelled from Libya alongside the smaller community of Libyan Jews. The day became a national holiday known as "Vengeance Day". Italy complained that this was in contravention of the 1956 Italo-Libyan Treaty, although no UN sanctions were forthcoming. Aiming to reduce NATO power in the Mediterranean, in 1971 Libya requested that Malta cease allowing NATO to use its land for a military base, in turn offering Malta foreign aid. Compromising, Malta's government continued allowing NATO to use the island, but only on the condition that NATO would not use it for launching attacks on Arab territory. Over the coming decade, Gaddafi's government developed stronger political and economic links with Dom Mintoff's Maltese administration, and under Libya's urging Malta did not renew the UK's airbases on the island in 1980. Orchestrating a military build-up, the RCC began purchasing weapons from France and the Soviet Union. The commercial relationship with the latter led to an increasingly strained relationship with the US, which was then engaged in the Cold War with the Soviets.

A 1973 anti-Gaddafist British newsreel including an interview with Gaddafi about his support for foreign militants

Gaddafi was especially critical of the US due to its support of Israel and sided with the Palestinians in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, viewing the 1948 creation of the State of Israel as a Western colonial occupation forced upon the Arab world. He believed that Palestinian violence against Israeli and Western targets was the justified response of an oppressed people who were fighting against the colonization of their homeland. Calling on the Arab states to wage "continuous war" against Israel, in 1970 he initiated a Jihad Fund to finance anti-Israeli militants. In June 1972 Gaddafi created the First Nasserite Volunteers Centre to train anti-Israeli guerrillas.

Like Nasser, Gaddafi favoured the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his group, Fatah, over more militant and Marxist Palestinian groups. As the years progressed however, Gaddafi's relationship with Arafat became strained, with Gaddafi considering him too moderate and calling for more violent action. Instead, he supported militias like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, As-Sa'iqa, the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, and the Abu Nidal Organization. He funded the Black September Organization whose members perpetrated the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli athletes in West Germany and had the killed militants' bodies flown to Libya for a hero's funeral.

Gaddafi financially supported other militant groups across the world, including the Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam, the Almighty Black P. Stone Nation, the Tupamaros, the 19th of April Movement and the Sandinista National Liberation Front in Nicaragua, the ANC among other liberation movements in the fight against Apartheid in South Africa, the Provisional Irish Republican Army, ETA, Action directe, the Red Brigades, and the Red Army Faction in Europe, and the Armenian Secret Army, the Japanese Red Army, the Free Aceh Movement, and the Moro National Liberation Front in the Philippines. Gaddafi was indiscriminate in the causes which he funded, sometimes switching from supporting one side in a conflict to the other, as in the Eritrean War of Independence. Throughout the 1970s these groups received financial support from Libya, which came to be seen as a leader in the Third World's struggle against colonialism and neocolonialism. Though many of these groups were labelled "terrorists" by critics of their activities, Gaddafi rejected this characterization, instead considering them to be revolutionaries who were engaged in liberation struggles.

The "Popular Revolution": 1973–1977

Gaddafi with Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu in Bucharest, 1974

On 16 April 1973, Gaddafi proclaimed the start of a "Popular Revolution" in a speech at Zuwarah. He initiated this with a five-point plan, the first point of which dissolved all existing laws, to be replaced by revolutionary enactments. The second point proclaimed that all opponents of the revolution had to be removed, while the third initiated an administrative revolution that Gaddafi proclaimed would remove all traces of bureaucracy and the bourgeoisie. The fourth point announced that the population must form People's Committees and be armed to defend the revolution, while the fifth proclaimed the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in Libya, to expunge the country of "poisonous" foreign influences. He began to lecture on this new phase of the revolution in Libya, Egypt, and France. As a process, it had many similarities with the Cultural Revolution implemented in China.

As part of this Popular Revolution, Gaddafi invited Libya's people to found General People's Committees as conduits for raising political consciousness. Although offering little guidance for how to set up these councils, Gaddafi claimed that they would offer a form of direct political participation that was more democratic than a traditional party-based representative system. He hoped that the councils would mobilize the people behind the RCC, erode the power of the traditional leaders and the bureaucracy, and allow for a new legal system chosen by the people. Many such committees were established in schools and colleges, where they were responsible for vetting staff, courses, and textbooks to determine if they were compatible with the country's revolutionary ideology.

The People's Committees led to a high percentage of public involvement in decision making, within the limits permitted by the RCC, but exacerbated tribal divisions and tensions. They also served as a surveillance system, aiding the security services in locating individuals with views critical of the RCC, leading to the arrest of Ba'athists, Marxists, and Islamists. Operating in a pyramid structure, the base form of these Committees were local working groups, who sent elected representatives to the district level, and from there to the national level, divided between the General People's Congress and the General People's Committee. Above these remained Gaddafi and the RCC, who remained responsible for all major decisions. In crossing regional and tribal identities, the committee system aided national integration and centralization and tightened Gaddafi's control over the state and administrative apparatus.

Third International Theory and The Green Book

Main articles: Third International Theory and The Green Book (Muammar Gaddafi)

In June 1973, Gaddafi created a political ideology as a basis for the Popular Revolution: Third International Theory. This approach regarded both the US and the Soviet Union as imperialist and thus rejected Western capitalism as well as Marxist–Leninist atheism. In this respect, it was similar to the Three Worlds Theory developed by China's political leader Mao Zedong. As part of this theory, Gaddafi praised nationalism as a progressive force and advocated the creation of a pan-Arab state which would lead the Islamic and Third Worlds against imperialism. Gaddafi saw Islam as having a key role in this ideology, calling for an Islamic revival that returned to the origins of the Qur'an, rejecting scholarly interpretations and the Hadith; in doing so, he angered many Libyan clerics. During 1973 and 1974, his government deepened the legal reliance on sharia, for instance by introducing flogging as punishment for those convicted of adultery or homosexual activity.

Gaddafi summarized Third International Theory in three short volumes published between 1975 and 1979, collectively known as The Green Book. Volume one was devoted to the issue of democracy, outlining the flaws of representative systems in favour of direct, participatory GPCs. The second dealt with Gaddafi's beliefs regarding socialism, while the third explored social issues regarding the family and the tribe. While the first two volumes advocated radical reform, the third adopted a socially conservative stance, proclaiming that while men and women were equal, they were biologically designed for different roles in life. During the years that followed, Gaddafists adopted quotes from The Green Book, such as "Representation is Fraud", as slogans. Meanwhile, in September 1975, Gaddafi implemented further measures to increase popular mobilization, introducing objectives to improve the relationship between the Councils and the ASU.

In 1975, Gaddafi's government declared a state monopoly on foreign trade. Its increasingly radical reforms, coupled with the large amount of oil revenue being spent on foreign causes, generated discontent in Libya, particularly among the country's merchant class. In 1974, Libya saw its first civilian attack on Gaddafi's government when a Benghazi army building was bombed. Much of the opposition centred around RCC member Umar Muhayshi. With fellow RCC members Bashir Saghir al-Hawaadi and Awad Ali Hamza, he began plotting a coup against Gaddafi. In 1975, their plot was exposed and Muhayshi fled to Tunisia, eventually receiving asylum from Sadat's Egypt. Hawaadi, Hamza, and Omar El-Hariri were arrested. Most of the other conspirators were executed in March 1976. Another RCC member, foreign minister Abdul-Munim al-Huni, also fled to Egypt. In the aftermath, only five RCC members remained: Gaddafi, Jalloud, Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr, Mustafa Kharubi, and Kweldi al-Hamidi. Thus, power was further concentrated in Gaddafi's hands. This ultimately led to the RCC's official abolition in March 1977.

In September 1975, Gaddafi purged the army, arresting around 200 senior officers, and in October he founded the clandestine Office for the Security of the Revolution. In April 1976, he called upon his supporters in universities to establish "revolutionary student councils" and drive out "reactionary elements". During that year, anti-Gaddafist student demonstrations broke out at the universities of Tripoli and Benghazi, resulting in clashes with both Gaddafist students and police. The RCC responded with mass arrests and introduced compulsory national service for young people. In January 1977, two dissenting students and a number of army officers were publicly hanged; Amnesty International condemned it as the first time in Gaddafist Libya that dissenters had been executed for purely political crimes. Dissent also arose from conservative clerics and the Muslim Brotherhood, who accused Gaddafi of moving towards Marxism and criticized his abolition of private property as being against the Islamic sunnah; these forces were then persecuted as anti-revolutionary, while all privately owned Islamic colleges and universities were shut down.

Foreign relations

Following Anwar Sadat's ascension to the Egyptian presidency, Libya's relations with Egypt deteriorated. Over the coming years, the two slipped into a state of cold war. Sadat was perturbed by Gaddafi's unpredictability and insistence that Egypt required a cultural revolution akin to that being carried out in Libya. In February 1973, Israeli forces shot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114, which had strayed from Egyptian airspace into Israeli-held territory during a sandstorm. Gaddafi's foreign minister Salah Busir was on board and allegedly targeted by Israel in retaliation for the Munich massacre. Gaddafi was infuriated that Egypt had not done more to prevent the incident, and in retaliation planned to destroy the Queen Elizabeth 2, a British ship chartered by American Jews to sail to Haifa for Israel's 25th anniversary. Gaddafi ordered an Egyptian submarine to target the ship, but Sadat cancelled the order, fearing a military escalation.

Gaddafi in 1976 with a child on his lap

Gaddafi was later infuriated when Egypt and Syria planned the Yom Kippur War against Israel without consulting him and was angered when Egypt conceded to peace talks rather than continuing the war. Gaddafi became openly hostile to Egypt's leader, calling for Sadat's overthrow. When Sudanese President Gaafar Nimeiry took Sadat's side, Gaddafi also spoke out against him, encouraging the Sudan People's Liberation Army's attempt to overthrow Nimeiry. In 1974, Gaddafi released Abdul-Aziz Shennib, a commander under King Idris, from prison and appointed him Libyan ambassador to Jordan. Shennib had attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst with King Hussein of Jordan and was tasked by Gaddafi with Hussein's assassination. Shennib instead informed Hussein of the plot and defected to Jordan. Relations with Syria also soured over the events in the Lebanese Civil War. Initially, both Libya and Syria had contributed troops to the Arab League's peacekeeping force, although after the Syrian army attacked the Lebanese National Movement, Gaddafi openly accused Syrian President Hafez al-Assad of "national treason"; he was the only Arab leader to criticize Syria's actions. In late 1972 and early 1973, Libya invaded Chad to annex the uranium-rich Aouzou Strip.

Intent on propagating Islam, in 1973 Gaddafi founded the Islamic Call Society, which had opened 132 centres across Africa within a decade. In 1973 he converted Gabonese President Omar Bongo, an action which he repeated three years later with Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic. Between 1973 and 1979, Libya provided $500 million in aid to African countries, namely to Zaire and Uganda, and founded joint-venture companies throughout the countries to aid trade and development. Gaddafi was also keen on reducing Israeli influence within Africa, using financial incentives to successfully convince eight African states to break off diplomatic relations with Israel in 1973.

A strong relationship was also established between Gaddafi's Libya and Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's Pakistani government, with the two countries exchanging nuclear research and military assistance. In recognition of Gaddafi's support of Pakistan's right to pursue nuclear weapons and financial support for the "Islamic bomb," Lahore Stadium was renamed Gaddafi Stadium. Gaddafi also provided support for Pakistan in the Bangladesh Liberation War; he reportedly deployed F-5s to Sargodha AFB and penned a strongly worded letter to Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi accusing her of aggression against Pakistan. Gaddafi's strong relationship with Pakistan ended after Bhutto was deposed by Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 as Zia distrusted Gaddafi and rejected further Libyan financing for the Pakistani nuclear program in favor of Saudi financing.

Gaddafi sought to develop closer links in the Maghreb; in January 1974 Libya and Tunisia announced a political union, the Arab Islamic Republic. Although advocated by Gaddafi and Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba, the move was deeply unpopular in Tunisia, and it was soon abandoned. Retaliating, Gaddafi sponsored anti-government militants in Tunisia into the 1980s. Turning his attention to Algeria, in 1975 Libya signed, in Hassi Messaoud, a defensive alliance allegedly to counter alleged "Moroccan expansionism", also funding the Polisario Front of Western Sahara in its independence struggle against Morocco. Seeking to diversify Libya's economy, Gaddafi's government began purchasing shares in major European corporations like Fiat as well as buying real estate in Malta and Italy, which would become a valuable source of income during the 1980s oil slump.

Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Foundation: 1977

On 2 March 1977, the General People's Congress adopted the "Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People" at Gaddafi's behest. Dissolving the Libyan Arab Republic, it was replaced by the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Arabic: الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الاشتراكية, al-Jamāhīrīyah al-‘Arabīyah al-Lībīyah ash-Sha‘bīyah al-Ishtirākīyah), a "state of the masses" conceptualized by Gaddafi. A new, all-green banner was adopted as the country's flag. Officially, the Jamahiriya was a direct democracy in which the people ruled themselves through the 187 Basic People's Congresses (BPCs), where all adult Libyans participated and voted on national decisions. These then sent members to the annual General People's Congress, which was broadcast live on television. In principle, the People's Congresses were Libya's highest authority, with major decisions proposed by government officials or with Gaddafi himself requiring the consent of the People's Congresses. Gaddafi became General Secretary of the GPC, although he stepped down from this position in early 1979 and appointed himself "Leader of the Revolution".

Flag of Libya (1977–2011)

Although all political control was officially vested in the People's Congresses, in reality Libya's existing political leadership continued to exercise varying degrees of power and influence. Debate remained limited, and major decisions regarding the economy and defence were avoided or dealt with cursorily; the GPC largely remained "a rubber stamp" for Gaddafi's policies. On rare occasions, the GPC opposed Gaddafi's suggestions, sometimes successfully; notably, when Gaddafi called on primary schools to be abolished, believing that homeschooling was healthier for children, the GPC rejected the idea. In other instances, Gaddafi pushed through laws without the GPC's support, such as when he desired to allow women into the armed forces. At other times, he ordered snap elections when it appeared that the GPC would enact laws he opposed. Gaddafi proclaimed that the People's Congresses provided for Libya's every political need, rendering other political organizations unnecessary; all non-authorized groups, including political parties, professional associations, independent trade unions, and women's groups, were banned. Despite these restrictions, St. John noted that the Jamahiriya system still "introduced a level of representation and participation hitherto unknown in Libya".

With preceding legal institutions abolished, Gaddafi envisioned the Jamahiriya as following the Qur'an for legal guidance, adopting sharia law; he proclaimed "man-made" laws unnatural and dictatorial, only permitting Allah's law. Within a year he was backtracking, announcing that sharia was inappropriate for the Jamahiriya because it guaranteed the protection of private property, contravening The Green Book's socialism. His emphasis on placing his own work on a par with the Qur'an led conservative clerics to accuse him of shirk, furthering their opposition to his regime. In July 1977, a border war broke out with Egypt, in which the Egyptians defeated Libya despite their technological inferiority. The conflict lasted one week before both sides agreed to sign a peace treaty that was brokered by several Arab states. Both Egypt and Sudan had aligned themselves with the US, and this pushed Libya into a strategic, although not political, alignment with the Soviet Union. In recognition of the growing commercial relationship between Libya and the Soviets, Gaddafi was invited to visit Moscow in December 1976; there, he entered talks with Leonid Brezhnev. In August 1977, he visited Yugoslavia, where he met its leader Josip Broz Tito, with whom he had a much warmer relationship. He also enjoyed a warm relationship with Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu. According to Romanian spy chief Ion Mihai Pacepa, Gaddafi once exclaimed to Ceaușescu, "My brother! You are my brother for the rest of my life!" After Pacepa defected to the US in July 1978, Gaddafi and Yasser Arafat contributed $1 million each to Ceaușescu's $4 million bounty on Pacepa.

Revolutionary Committees and furthering socialism: 1978–1980

If socialism is defined as a redistribution of wealth and resources, a socialist revolution clearly occurred in Libya after 1969 and most especially in the second half of the 1970s. The management of the economy was increasingly socialist in intent and effect with wealth in housing, capital and land significantly redistributed or in the process of redistribution. Private enterprise was virtually eliminated, largely replaced by a centrally controlled economy.

—Libyan Studies scholar Ronald Bruce St. John

In December 1978, Gaddafi stepped down as Secretary-General of the GPC, announcing his new focus on revolutionary rather than government activities; this was part of his new emphasis on separating the apparatus of the revolution from government. Although no longer in a formal government post, he adopted the title of "Leader of the Revolution" and continued as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Historian Dirk Vandewalle stated that despite the Jamahariya's claims to being a direct democracy, Libya remained "an exclusionary political system whose decision-making process" was "restricted to a small cadre of advisers and confidantes" surrounding Gaddafi.

Libya turned towards socialism. In March 1978, the government issued guidelines for housing redistribution, attempting to ensure every adult owned their own home. Most families were banned from owning more than one house, while former rental properties were expropriated by the state and sold to the tenants at a heavily subsidized price. In September, Gaddafi called for the People's Committees to eliminate the "bureaucracy of the public sector" and the "dictatorship of the private sector"; the People's Committees took control of several hundred companies, converting them into worker cooperatives run by elected representatives.

In March 1979, the GPC announced the separation of government and revolution, the latter being represented by new Revolutionary Committees, who operated with the People's Committees in schools, universities, unions, the police force, and the military. Dominated by revolutionary zealots, mostly youths, the Revolutionary Committees were based in Tripoli and met with Gaddafi annually. Membership was drawn from within the BPCs. The revolutionary committee system became "a key—if not the main—mechanism through which exercises political control in Libya". Publishing a weekly magazine, The Green March, starting October 1980 they took control of the press. Responsible for perpetuating the revolution, they performed ideological surveillance, adopting a significant security role, making arrests and putting people on trial according to the "law of the revolution". With no legal or safeguards, the administration of revolutionary justice was largely arbitrary and resulted in widespread abuse and the suppression of civil liberties: the "Green Terror".

In 1979, the committees began the redistribution of land in the Jefara plain, continuing through 1981. In May 1980, measures to redistribute and equalize wealth were implemented; anyone with over 1000 dinar in their bank account saw that extra money expropriated. The following year, the GPC announced that the government would take control of all import, export and distribution functions, with state supermarkets replacing privately owned businesses; this led to a decline in the availability of consumer goods and the development of a thriving black market. Gaddafi was frustrated by the slow pace of social reform on women's issues, and in 1979 launched a Revolutionary Women's Formation, to replace the more gradualist Libyan General Women's Federation. In 1978 he had established a Women's Military Academy in Tripoli, encouraging all women to enlist for training. The measure was hugely controversial and voted down by the GPC in February 1983. Gaddafi remained adamant, and when it was again voted down by the GPC in March 1984, he refused to abide by the decision, declaring that "he who opposes the training and emancipation of women is an agent of imperialism, whether he likes it or not."

The Jamahiriya's radical direction earned the government many enemies. Most internal opposition came from Islamic fundamentalists, inspired by the events of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. In February 1978, Gaddafi discovered that his head of military intelligence was plotting to kill him and increasingly entrusted security to his Qadhadfa tribe. Many who had seen their wealth confiscated turned against the administration, and Western-funded opposition groups were founded by exiles. Most prominent was the National Front for the Salvation of Libya (NFSL), which orchestrated militant attacks against Libya's government. Another, al-Borkan, began killing Libyan diplomats abroad. Following Gaddafi's command to kill these "stray dogs", the Revolutionary Committees set up overseas branches to suppress counter-revolutionary activity, assassinating dissidents. Although Syria and Israel also employed hit squads, Gaddafi was unusual in publicly bragging about his use of them; in April 1980, he ordered all dissidents to return home by June 10 or be "liquidated wherever you are". Within a three months period in 1980, at least ten Libyan dissidents were murdered in Europe, including ex-diplomats, ex-army officers, businessmen, journalists, and student activists in disparate locations such as London, Greece and Austria. At least eleven more were assassinated in 1981. In 1984, Gaddafi was tricked by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak into announcing the assassination of former Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid al-Bakkoush in Cairo; Bakkhoush not only turned up alive but held a press conference with Egypt's Interior Minister. In 1979, Gaddafi created the Islamic Legion, through which several thousand Africans were military trained.

Libya had sought to improve US relations under President Jimmy Carter, for instance by courting his brother, businessman Billy Carter, and paying for the services of former CIA officers, but in 1979 the US placed Libya on its list of "State Sponsors of Terrorism". Relations were further damaged when a demonstration torched the US embassy in solidarity with the perpetrators of the Iran hostage crisis. Libyan fighters began intercepting US fighter jets flying over the Mediterranean, signalling the collapse of relations between the countries. Italian media have alleged that the Itavia Flight 870 was shot down during a dogfight involving Libyan, United States, French and Italian Air Force fighters in an assassination attempt by NATO members on a Libyan politician, perhaps even Gaddafi, flying in the same airspace.

Libyan relations with Lebanon and Shi'ite communities deteriorated due to the 1978 disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr when visiting Libya; the Lebanese accused Gaddafi of having him killed or imprisoned, a charge he denied. Relations with Pakistan broke down in this period. Despite Gaddafi's repeated appeals to Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to spare Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's life, Bhutto was executed in 1979. In retaliation and for Zia's refusal to share Pakistan's nuclear technology, Gaddafi began training Al-Zulfiqar, an anti-Zia insurgency led by Bhutto's sons Murtaza and Shahnawaz, expelled all 150,000 Pakistanis living in Libya, and provided asylum for the Bhutto family. Relations with Syria improved, as Gaddafi and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad shared an enmity with Israel and Egypt's Sadat. In 1980, they proposed a political union, with Libya promising to pay off Syria's £1-billion debt to the Soviet Union; although pressures led Assad to pull out, they remained allies. Another key ally was Uganda, and in 1979, during the Uganda–Tanzania War, Gaddafi sent 2,500 troops to defend President Idi Amin from Tanzanian invaders. The mission failed; 400 Libyans were killed, and Libya was forced to retreat. Gaddafi came to regret his alliance with Amin, openly criticizing him as a "fascist" and a "show-off".

Conflict with the US and its allies: 1981–1986

The early 80s saw economic trouble in Libya; from 1982 to 1986, annual oil revenues dropped from $21 to $5.4 billion. Focusing on irrigation projects, 1983 saw construction start on Libya's largest and most expensive infrastructure project, the Great Man-Made River; although designed to be finished by the end of the decade, it remained incomplete at the start of the 21st century. Military spending increased, while other administrative budgets were cut. Foreign debt rose, and austerity measures were introduced to promote self-reliance; in 1985 there was a mass deportation of foreign workers, mostly Egyptian and Tunisian. Domestic threats continued to plague Gaddafi; in May 1984, his Bab al-Azizia home was unsuccessfully attacked by a militia—linked to the NFSL or Muslim Brotherhood—and in the aftermath 5,000 dissidents were arrested. In spring 1985, members of the military tried to assassinate Gaddafi twice. The first was a plot by conservative officers to assassinate him at a villa on the outskirts of Tripoli; the second was an assault on his convoy. In November 1985, Colonel Hassan Ishkal, the third most powerful man in Libya, head of the military region of Sirte, died in a suspicious car accident. Ishkal's death was attributed to Jalloud, Khalifa Hunaysh or Gaddafi.

Construction for the Great Man-Made River Project

Libya had long supported the FROLINAT militia in neighbouring Chad, but FROLINAT became divided over its ties to Libya in 1976. In January 1978, the anti-Libya faction within FROLINAT, led by Hissène Habré, switched sides and allied with Chadian President Félix Malloum. Meanwhile, the pro-Libya faction within FROLINAT, led by Goukouni Oueddei, renamed itself People's Armed Forces (FAP). In December 1980, Gaddafi reinvaded Chad at the request of the FAP-controlled GUNT government to aid in the civil war; in January 1981, Gaddafi suggested a political merger. The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) rejected this and called for a Libyan withdrawal, which came in November 1981. The civil war resumed, and Libya sent troops back in.

In 1982, the GUNT government was overthrown by Habré's forces and Oueddei fled to Libya, where Gaddafi provided him with arms to continue to guerrilla war against Habré. In November 1984, Gaddafi met with French President François Mitterrand; both agreed to withdraw from Chad. Oueddei broke with Gaddafi in 1985 due to the former's intentions to negotiate a truce with Habré. Consequently, he was placed under house arrest by Gaddafi and allegedly arrested by Libyan police and shot in the stomach. Oueddei survived the shooting and fled to Algeria, but continued to claim he and Gaddafi enjoyed a good relationship. When Gaddafi ordered the remnant of GUNT to attack Habré in February 1986 in violation of his agreement with Mitterrand, France launched Operation Épervier, which escalated into the Toyota War. Libya suffered a humiliating defeat as it was completely expelled from Chad and its commander Khalifa Haftar captured, along with 600-700 Libyan soldiers. Gaddafi disavowed Haftar and the other prisoners; one possible contributing factor to this repudiation may have been that Gaddafi had signed an agreement to withdraw Libyan forces, and Haftar's operations had been in violation of this. An embittered Haftar then joined the anti-Gaddafi National Front for the Salvation of Libya, became a CIA asset, and was given refuge in the US.

Many African nations were tired of Libya's interference in their affairs; by 1980, nine African states had severed diplomatic relations, while in 1982 the OAU cancelled its scheduled conference in Tripoli to prevent Gaddafi gaining chairmanship. Some African states, such as Jerry Rawlings's Ghana and Thomas Sankara's Burkina Faso, had warm relations with Libya during the 1980s.

Proposing political unity with Morocco, in August 1984, Gaddafi and Moroccan monarch Hassan II signed the Oujda Treaty, forming the Arab–African Union; such a union was considered surprising due to the political differences and longstanding enmity that existed between the two. In a sign of warming relations, Gaddafi promised to stop funding the Polisario Front and Hassan II extradited former RCC member Umar Muhayshi to Libya, where he was immediately killed. But relations deteriorated, particularly due to Morocco's friendship with the US and Israel; in August 1986, Hassan abolished the union. Angered by the snub, Gaddafi plotted with Abu Nidal to assassinate Hassan in 1987, but the plot was aborted.

In 1981, the new US president, Ronald Reagan, pursued a hardline approach to Libya, viewing it as a puppet regime of the Soviet Union. Gaddafi played up his commercial relationship with the Soviets, revisiting Moscow in 1981 and 1985, and threatening to join the Warsaw Pact. The Soviets were nevertheless cautious of Gaddafi, seeing him as an unpredictable extremist. In August 1981, the US staged military exercises in the Gulf of Sirte – an area which Libya claimed. The US shot down two Libyan Su-22 planes which were on an intercept course. Closing down Libya's embassy in Washington, Reagan advised US companies operating in Libya to reduce Americans stationed there. In December 1981, the White House claimed Gaddafi had dispatched a hit squad to assassinate Reagan, allegedly led by Carlos the Jackal, who had been living in Libya under Gaddafi's protection after the 1975 OPEC siege. Secretary of State Alexander Haig, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, Counselor to the President Edwin Meese, chief of staff James Baker, and deputy chief of staff Michael Deaver were considered potential targets and given special security. US ambassador to Italy Maxwell M. Rabb, who was Jewish, was urgently recalled due to threats against his life. Gaddafi denied the allegations. Gaddafi was accused of having ties to the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions, which had murdered US military attaché Charles R. Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris. In March 1982, the US implemented an embargo of Libyan oil, and in January 1986 ordered all US companies to cease operating in the country, although several hundred workers remained when the Libyan government doubled their pay. In spring 1986, the US Navy again performed exercises in the Gulf of Sirte; the Libyan military retaliated, but failed as the US sank Libyan ships. Diplomatic relations also broke down with the UK, after Libyan diplomats were accused in the killing of Yvonne Fletcher, a British policewoman stationed outside their London embassy, in April 1984.

In 1980, Gaddafi hired former CIA agent Edwin P. Wilson, living in Libya as a fugitive from US justice, to plot the murder of an anti-Gaddafi Libyan graduate student at Colorado State University named Faisal Zagallai. Zagallai was shot in the head in October 1980, in Fort Collins, Colorado by a former Green Beret and associate of Wilson named Eugene Tafoya. Zagallai survived the attack and Tafoya was convicted of third-degree assault and conspiracy to commit assault. Wilson was lured back to the US and sentenced to 32 years due to his ties to Gaddafi. In 1984, Gaddafi publicly executed Al-Sadek Hamed Al-Shuwehdy, an aeronautical engineer studying in the US.

After the US accused Libya of orchestrating the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing, in which two US soldiers died, Reagan decided to retaliate. The CIA was critical of the move, believing Syria was a greater threat and that an attack would strengthen Gaddafi's reputation; however, Libya was recognized as a "soft target". Reagan was supported by the UK, but opposed by other European allies, who argued it contravened international law. In Operation El Dorado Canyon, orchestrated on 15 April 1986, US military planes launched air-strikes, bombing military installations, killing around 100 Libyans, including civilians. One target had been Gaddafi's home. Himself unharmed, two of Gaddafi's sons were injured, and he claimed his adopted daughter Hanna was killed, although her existence has since been questioned. Gaddafi retreated to the desert to meditate. There were sporadic clashes between Gaddafists and army officers who wanted to overthrow the government. Although the US was condemned internationally, Reagan received a popularity boost at home. Publicly lambasting US imperialism, Gaddafi's reputation as an anti-imperialist was strengthened domestically and across the Arab world, and, in June 1986, he ordered the names of the month to be changed in Libya.

"Revolution within a Revolution": 1987–1998

The late 1980s saw a series of liberalizing economic reforms within Libya designed to cope with the decline in oil revenues. In May 1987, Gaddafi announced the start of the "Revolution within a Revolution", which began with reforms to industry and agriculture and saw the re-opening of small business. Restrictions were placed on the activities of the Revolutionary Committees; in March 1988, their role was narrowed by the newly created Ministry for Mass Mobilization and Revolutionary Leadership to restrict their violence and judicial role, while in August 1988 Gaddafi publicly criticized them. In March, hundreds of political prisoners were freed, with Gaddafi falsely claiming that there were no further political prisoners in Libya. In June, Libya's government issued the Great Green Charter on Human Rights in the Era of the Masses, in which 27 articles laid out goals, rights, and guarantees to improve the situation of human rights in Libya, restricting the use of the death penalty and calling for its eventual abolition. Many of the measures suggested in the charter would be implemented the following year, although others remained inactive. Also in 1989, the government founded the Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights, to be awarded to figures from the Third World who had struggled against colonialism and imperialism; the first year's winner was South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela. From 1994 through to 1997, the government initiated cleansing committees to root out corruption, particularly in the economic sector.

In the aftermath of the 1986 US attack, the army was purged of perceived disloyal elements, and in 1988, Gaddafi announced the creation of a popular militia to replace the army and police. In 1987, Libya began production of mustard gas at a facility in Rabta, although publicly denied it was stockpiling chemical weapons, and unsuccessfully attempted to develop nuclear weapons. The period also saw a growth in domestic Islamist opposition, formulated into groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. Several assassination attempts against Gaddafi were foiled, and in turn, 1989 saw the security forces raid mosques believed to be centres of counter-revolutionary preaching. In December 1993, former Libyan foreign minister Mansour Rashid El-Kikhia, a leader of an anti-Gaddafi coalition in exile, was abducted in Cairo. His body was not found until 2012 in a morgue that belonged to Gaddafi's intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi.

In October 1993, elements of the increasingly marginalized army, led by officers from the powerful Warfalla tribe, initiated a failed coup in Misrata and Bani Walid allegedly with help from the National Front for the Salvation of Libya, Khalifa Haftar, and the CIA, while in September 1995, Islamists launched an insurgency in Benghazi, and in July 1996 an anti-Gaddafist football riot broke out in Tripoli. In March 1996, Haftar again briefly returned to Libya to instigate an uprising against Gaddafi in the mountains of eastern Libya. The Revolutionary Committees experienced a resurgence to combat these Islamists.

In 1989, Gaddafi was overjoyed by the foundation of the Arab Maghreb Union, uniting Libya in an economic pact with Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, viewing it as beginnings of a new pan-Arab union. Gaddafi was able to recover some influence in Chad after Hissène Habré was overthrown by Idriss Déby in a Libya-sponsored coup in 1990. Déby also gave Gaddafi detailed information about CIA operations in Chad. Meanwhile, Libya stepped up its support for anti-Western militants such as the Provisional IRA, and in 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie in Scotland, killing 243 passengers and 16 crew members, plus 11 people on the ground. British police investigations identified two Libyans – Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah – as the chief suspects, and in November 1991 issued a declaration demanding that Libya hand them over. When Gaddafi refused, citing the Montreal Convention, the United Nations (UN) imposed Resolution 748 in March 1992, initiating economic sanctions against Libya which had deep repercussions for the country's economy. The country suffered an estimated US$900 million financial loss as a result. On 5 November 1995, US President Bill Clinton declared the US would continue to induce pressure on Libya, also recognizing that Libyan terrorists were responsible for the Lockerbie bombing. Further problems arose with the West when in January 1989, two Libyan warplanes were shot down by the US off the Libyan coast and in September 1989, UTA Flight 772 was blown up over the Ténéré desert in Niger, killing all 170 people on board (156 passengers and 14 crew members).

In 1996, Gaddafi wrote a letter to the newly elected Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's daughter Sheikh Hasina, pleading with her to spare the lives of her father's assassins Syed Faruque Rahman and Khandaker Abdur Rashid. Rahman and Rashid both had business ties to Libya.

Many Arab and African states opposed the UN sanctions, with Mandela criticizing them on a visit to Gaddafi in October 1997, when he praised Libya for its work in fighting apartheid and awarded Gaddafi the Order of Good Hope. They would only be suspended in 1998 when Libya agreed to allow the extradition of the suspects to the Scottish Court in the Netherlands, in a process overseen by Mandela. As a result of the trial, Fhimah was acquitted and al-Megrahi convicted. Privately, Gaddafi maintained that he knew nothing about who perpetrated the bombing and that Libya had nothing to do with it.

Pan-Africanism, reconciliation and privatization: 1999–2011

Links with Africa and conflicts in the Arab League

Gaddafi wearing an insignia showing the image of the African continent

During the final years of the 20th century, Gaddafi—frustrated by the failure of his pan-Arab ideals and the refusal of the Arab world to challenge the international air embargo imposed on Libya—increasingly rejected Arab nationalism in favour of pan-Africanism, emphasizing Libya's African identity. In a 1998 interview, Gaddafi claimed that "the Arab world is finished" and expressed his wish for Libya to become a "black country." From 1997 to 2000, Libya initiated cooperative agreements or bilateral aid arrangements with 10 African states, and in 1999 joined the Community of Sahel-Saharan States. In June 1999, Gaddafi visited Mandela in South Africa, and the following month attended the OAU summit in Algiers, calling for greater political and economic integration across the continent and advocating the foundation of a United States of Africa. He became one of the founders of the African Union (AU), initiated in July 2002 to replace the OAU. At the opening ceremonies, he called for African states to reject conditional aid from the developed world, a direct contrast to the message of South African President Thabo Mbeki. There was speculation that Gaddafi wanted to become the AU's first chair, raising concerns within Africa that this would damage the Union's international standing, particularly with the West.

At the third AU summit, held in Tripoli, Libya, in July 2005, Gaddafi called for greater integration, advocating a single AU passport, a common defence system, and a single currency, using the slogan: "The United States of Africa is the hope." His proposal for a Union of African States, a project originally conceived by Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah in the 1960s, was rejected at the 2001 Assembly of Heads of States and Government (AHSG) summit in Lusaka by African leaders who thought it "unrealistic" and "utopian". In June 2005, Libya joined the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). In March 2008 in Uganda, Gaddafi gave a speech once again urging Africa to reject foreign aid. In August 2008, Gaddafi was proclaimed "King of Kings" by a committee of traditional African leaders; they crowned him in February 2009, in a ceremony held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. That same month, Gaddafi was elected as the chairperson of the African Union, a position he retained for one year. In October 2010, Gaddafi apologized to African leaders for the historical enslavement of Africans by the Arab slave trade.

Meanwhile, Gaddafi continued to have testy relationships with most of his fellow Arab leaders. In the 2003 Arab League summit, Gaddafi was involved in a public verbal altercation with Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, then the Crown Prince. Gaddafi accused Saudi Arabia of having made an "alliance with the devil" when it invited the US to intervene in the 1991 Gulf War. Abdullah responded that Gaddafi was a "liar" and an "agent of colonizers" and threatened Gaddafi that "your grave awaits you." Two weeks after the summit, Gaddafi allegedly plotted with the Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar to assassinate Abdullah. The plot was overseen by Libyan intelligence chief Moussa Koussa, Mohammed Ismail (a colonel in Gaddafi's military intelligence), and Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi (an American citizen and founder of American Muslim Council). The assassination conspiracy was foiled by Saudi intelligence with the help of the FBI and CIA. Amoudi was sentenced to 23 years in prison in the US and stripped of his American citizenship. Ismail was arrested by Saudi Arabia, pardoned by Abdullah in 2005, and later acquired UAE citizenship due to his close ties with its ruler Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. After the failure of the assassination plot, Gaddafi continued to discuss instigating a regime change in Saudi Arabia with multiple power brokers in the Persian Gulf, including Qatar's Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, Oman's foreign minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, and Kuwaiti extremist preacher Hakem al-Mutairi.

The Gaddafi–Abdullah feud came into public view again in the 2009 Arab League summit when Gaddafi accused Abdullah, who had become King of Saudi Arabia in 2005, of being created by Britain and protected by the US. Alluding to their 2003 altercation, Gaddafi taunted Abdullah for ostensibly avoiding a confrontation with him for six years and quoted Abdullah's 2003 "grave awaits you" threat back at him before storming out of the meeting to visit a museum. Abdullah also left the meeting hall in anger. A Saudi official later claimed that Gaddafi and Abdullah had held a 30 minutes meeting at the sideline of the summit and that the "personal problem" between them was "over." However, Gaddafi had given weapons and money to the Houthis to attack Saudi Arabia.

Rebuilding links with the West

Gaddafi at the AU summit

In 1999, Libya began secret talks with the British government to normalize relations. In 2001, Gaddafi publicly condemned the September 11 attacks on the US by al-Qaeda, expressing sympathy with the victims and calling for Libyan involvement in the US-led War on Terror against militant Islamism. His government continued suppressing domestic Islamism, at the same time as Gaddafi called for the wider application of sharia law. Libya also cemented connections with China and North Korea, being visited by Chinese President Jiang Zemin in April 2002. However, relations with China became strained in May 2006 due to a visit to Tripoli by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian. Influenced by the events of the Iraq War, in December 2003, Libya renounced its possession of weapons of mass destruction, decommissioning its chemical and nuclear weapons programs. Relations with the US improved as a result. British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Gaddafi in March 2004; the pair developed close personal ties. In 2003, Libya paid US$2.7 billion to the families of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing as it was the condition the US and UK had made for terminating the remaining UN sanctions. Libya continued to deny any role in the bombing. In 2009, Gaddafi attempted to strong-arm global energy companies operating in Libya to cover Libya's settlement with the families of the victims of Lockerbie.

Video showing the meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Muammar Gaddafi, in 2008

In 2004, Gaddafi traveled to the headquarters of the European Union (EU) in Brussels—signifying improved relations between Libya and the EU—and the EU dropped its sanctions on Libya. As a strategic player in Europe's attempts to stem illegal migration from Africa, in October 2010, the EU paid Libya over €50 million to stop African migrants passing into Europe; Gaddafi encouraged the move, saying that it was necessary to prevent the loss of European cultural identity to a new "Black Europe". Gaddafi also completed agreements with the Italian government that they would invest in various infrastructure projects as reparations for past Italian colonial policies in Libya. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gave Libya an official apology in 2006, after which Gaddafi called him the "iron man" for his courage in doing so. In August 2008, Gaddafi and Berlusconi signed a historic cooperation treaty in Benghazi; under its terms, Italy would pay $5 billion to Libya as compensation for its former military occupation. In exchange, Libya would take measures to combat illegal immigration coming from its shores and boost investment in Italian companies.

After the US removed Libya from its list of state sponsors of terrorism in 2006, Gaddafi nevertheless continued his anti-Western rhetoric. At the 2008 Arab League summit, held in Syria, he warned fellow Arab leaders that they could be overthrown and executed by the US like Saddam Hussein. At the Second Africa-South America Summit, held in Venezuela in September 2009, he called for a military alliance across Africa and Latin America to rival NATO. That same month he traveled to New York City and addressed the United Nations General Assembly for the first time on 23 September 2009, using it to condemn "Western aggression," and spoke for just over 90 minutes instead of the allotted 15. In the Spring of 2010, Gaddafi proclaimed jihad against Switzerland after Swiss police accused two of his family members of criminal activity in the country, resulting in the breakdown of bilateral relations.

Gaddafi allegedly financed Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2007 French presidential election. He also financed Austrian far-right politician Jörg Haider starting in 2000.

Economic reform

Libya's economy witnessed increasing privatization; although rejecting the socialist policies of nationalized industry advocated in The Green Book, government figures asserted that they were forging "people's socialism" rather than capitalism. Gaddafi welcomed these reforms, calling for wide-scale privatization in a March 2003 speech; he promised that Libya would join the World Trade Organization. These reforms encouraged private investment in Libya's economy. By 2004, there was US$40 billion of direct foreign investment in Libya, a six-fold rise over 2003. Sectors of Libya's population reacted against these reforms with public demonstrations, and in March 2006, revolutionary hard-liners took control of the GPC cabinet; although scaling back the pace of the changes, they did not halt them. In 2010, plans were announced that would have seen half the Libyan economy privatized over the following decade, these plans appear to have been soon abandoned however, as the companies that the government stated they were going to float on the stock market, among them the National Commercial Bank and the Libyan Iron and Steel Company were never floated and remained 100% state-owned. Many socialist policies remained however, with subsidiaries of logistics company HB Group being nationalized in 2007. Agriculture remained largely untouched by the reforms, with farms remaining cooperatives, the Agricultural Bank of Libya remaining wholly state-owned and state interventionist policies and price controls remaining. The oil industry remained largely state-owned, with the wholly state-owned National Oil Corporation retaining a 70% share in Libya's oil industry, the government also imposed a 93% tax on all oil that foreign companies produced in Libya. Price controls and subsidies over oil and food remained in place, and state-provided benefits such as free education, universal healthcare, free housing, free water and free electricity remained in place. Libya also changed its stance on the WTO after the removal of technocrat Shukri Ghanem, with Gaddafi condemning the WTO as a neocolonial terrorist organisation, and urging African and Third World countries not to join it.

While there was no accompanying political liberalization, with Gaddafi retaining predominant control, in March 2010, the government devolved further powers to the municipal councils. Rising numbers of reformist technocrats attained positions in the country's governance; best known was Gaddafi's son and heir apparent Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who was openly critical of Libya's human rights record. He led a group who proposed the drafting of a new constitution, although it was never adopted. Involved in encouraging tourism, Saif founded several privately run media channels in 2008, but after criticizing the government, they were nationalized in 2009.

Libyan Civil War and death

Main article: Libyan Civil War (2011) Further information: 2011 military intervention in Libya

Origins and development: February–August 2011

An anti-Gaddafist placard being displayed by demonstrators in Ireland in 2011

Following the start of the Arab Spring in 2011, Gaddafi spoke out in favour of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, then threatened by the Tunisian Revolution. He suggested that Tunisia's people would be satisfied if Ben Ali introduced a Jamahiriyah system there. Fearing domestic protest, Libya's government implemented preventive measures by reducing food prices, purging the army leadership of potential defectors, and releasing several Islamist prisoners. This proved ineffective, and on 17 February 2011, major protests broke out against Gaddafi's government. Unlike Tunisia or Egypt, Libya was largely religiously homogeneous and had no strong Islamist movement, but there was widespread dissatisfaction with the corruption and entrenched systems of patronage, while unemployment had reached around 30 percent.

Accusing the rebels of being "drugged" and linked to al-Qaeda, Gaddafi proclaimed that he would die a martyr rather than leave Libya. As he announced that the rebels would be "hunted down street by street, house by house and wardrobe by wardrobe", the army opened fire on protesters in Benghazi, killing hundreds. Shocked at the government's response, a number of senior politicians resigned or defected to the protesters' side. The uprising spread quickly through Libya's less economically developed eastern half. By February's end, eastern cities such as Benghazi, Misrata, al-Bayda, and Tobruk were controlled by rebels, and the Benghazi-based National Transitional Council (NTC) formed to represent them.

Pro-Gaddafi protests in Tripoli, May 2011

In the conflict's early months it appeared that Gaddafi's government—with its greater fire-power—would be victorious. Both sides disregarded the laws of war, committing human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial executions, and revenge attacks. On 26 February, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1970, suspending Libya from the UN Human Rights Council, implementing sanctions and calling for an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the killing of unarmed civilians. In March, the Security Council declared a no-fly zone to protect the civilian population from aerial bombardment, calling on foreign nations to enforce it; it also specifically prohibited foreign occupation. Ignoring this, Qatar sent hundreds of troops to support the dissidents and, along with France and the United Arab Emirates, provided weaponry and military training to the NTC. NATO announced that it would enforce the no-fly zone. On 30 April a NATO airstrike killed Gaddafi's sixth son and three of his grandsons in Tripoli. This Western military intervention was criticized by various leftist governments, including those that had criticized Gaddafi's response to the protests, because they regarded it as an imperialist attempt to secure control of Libya's resources.

In June, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and his brother-in-law Abdullah Senussi, head of state security, for charges concerning crimes against humanity. That month, Amnesty International published their report, finding that Gaddafi's forces were responsible for numerous war crimes but added that a number of allegations of human rights abuses lacked credible evidence. The report added that "much Western media coverage has from the outset presented a very one-sided view of the logic of events, portraying the protest movement as entirely peaceful and repeatedly suggesting that the regime's security forces were unaccountably massacring unarmed demonstrators". In July, over 30 governments recognized the NTC as the legitimate government of Libya; Gaddafi called on his supporters to "Trample on those recognitions, trample on them under your feet ... They are worthless". In August, the Arab League recognized the NTC as "the legitimate representative of the Libyan state".

Aided by NATO air cover, the rebel militia pushed westward, defeating loyalist armies and securing control of the centre of the country. Gaining the support of Amazigh (Berber) communities of the Nafusa Mountains, who had long been persecuted as non-Arabic speakers under Gaddafi, the NTC armies surrounded Gaddafi loyalists in several key areas of western Libya. In August, the rebels seized Zliten and Tripoli, ending the last vestiges of Gaddafist power. It is probable that without the NATO air strikes supporting the rebels, they would not have been able to advance west and Gaddafi's forces would have ultimately retaken control of eastern Libya.

Capture and killing

Main articles: Killing of Muammar Gaddafi and International reactions to the death of Muammar Gaddafi

After the fall of Tripoli, only a few towns in western Libya such as Bani Walid, Sebha, and Sirte remained Gaddafist strongholds. Gaddafi was reportedly planning to catch up with his Sebha commander Ali Kanna's Tuareg forces and seek asylum in Burkina Faso. Instead, Gaddafi retreated to his hometown of Sirte, where he convened a meeting with his son Mutassim and intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi and learned that his youngest son Khamis had been killed by a NATO airstrike on 29 August. In the weeks that followed, Gaddafi continued to broadcast defiant audio messages through Syria-based Arrai TV. On 10 September, General Massoud Abdel Hafiz announced the formation of the Republic of Fezzan in Sebha, where Gaddafi would be president for life. Sebha fell on 22 September.

Surrounding himself with bodyguards and a small entourage, including Mutassim, security chief Mansour Dhao, and defense minister Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr, Gaddafi continually changed residences to escape NATO and NTC shelling, devoting his days to prayer and reading the Qur'an. On 20 October, Gaddafi recorded a farewell audio message for his family, later publicized by AlHadath, and then broke out of Sirte's District 2 in a joint civilian-military convoy. According to Dhao, it was a "suicide mission" as Gaddafi wanted to die in the Jarref Valley, close to where he was born. At around 08:30, NATO bombers attacked, destroying at least 14 vehicles and killing at least 53 people. The convoy scattered, and Gaddafi and those closest to him fled to a nearby villa, which was shelled by rebel militia from Misrata. Fleeing to a construction site, Gaddafi and his inner cohort hid inside drainage pipes while his bodyguards battled the rebels; in the conflict, Gaddafi suffered head injuries from a grenade blast while Jabr was killed. The Misrata militia took Gaddafi prisoner, causing serious injuries as they tried to apprehend him; the events were filmed on a mobile phone. A video appears to picture Gaddafi being poked or stabbed in the anus "with some kind of stick or knife" or possibly a bayonet. Pulled onto the front of a pick-up truck, he fell off as it drove away. His semi-naked body was then placed into an ambulance and taken to Misrata; upon arrival, he was found to be dead. Official NTC accounts claimed that Gaddafi was caught in a crossfire and died from bullet wounds. Other eye-witness accounts claimed that rebels had fatally shot Gaddafi in the stomach.

That afternoon, NTC Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril publicly revealed the news of Gaddafi's death. His corpse was placed in the freezer of a local market alongside the corpses of Yunis Jabr and Mutassim; the bodies were publicly displayed for four days, with Libyans from all over the country coming to view them. Footage of Gaddafi's death was broadcast extensively across media networks internationally. In response to international calls, on 24 October Jibril announced that a commission would investigate Gaddafi's death. On 25 October, the NTC announced that Gaddafi had been buried at an unidentified location in the desert.

Political ideology

Main article: Third International Theory

We call it the Third Theory to indicate that there is a new path for all those who reject both materialist capitalism and atheist communism. The path is for all the people of the world who abhor the dangerous confrontation between the Warsaw and North Atlantic military alliances. It is for all those who believe that all nations of the world are brothers under the aegis of the rule of God.

—Muammar Gaddafi

Gaddafi's ideological worldview was molded by his environment, namely his Islamic faith, his Bedouin upbringing, and his disgust at the actions of Italian colonialists in Libya. As a schoolboy, Gaddafi adopted the ideologies of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism, influenced in particular by Nasserism, the thought of the Egyptian President Nasser, whom Gaddafi regarded as his hero; Nasser privately described Gaddafi as "a nice boy, but terribly naïve". During the early 1970s, Gaddafi formulated his own particular approach to Arab nationalism and socialism, known as Third International Theory, which The New York Times described as a combination of "utopian socialism, Arab nationalism, and the Third World revolutionary theory that was in vogue at the time". In addition to Nasser, Gaddafi also cited Charles de Gaulle, Sun Yat-sen, Abraham Lincoln and Josip Broz Tito as political inspirations. He regarded this system as a practical alternative to the then-dominant international models of Western capitalism and Marxism–Leninism. He laid out the principles of this Theory in the three volumes of The Green Book, in which he sought to "explain the structure of the ideal society".

The Libyan studies specialist Ronald Bruce St. John regarded Arab nationalism as Gaddafi's "primordial value", stating that during the early years of his government, Gaddafi was "the Arab nationalist par excellence". Gaddafi called for the Arab world to regain its dignity and assert a major place on the world stage, blaming Arab backwardness on stagnation resulting from Ottoman rule, European colonialism and imperialism, and corrupt and repressive monarchies. Gaddafi's Arab nationalist views led him to the pan-Arabist belief in the need for unity across the Arab world, combining the Arab nation under a single nation-state. To this end, he had proposed a political union with five neighbouring Arab states by 1974, although without success. In keeping with his views regarding Arabs, his political stance was described as nativist. Gaddafi also had international ambitions, wanting to export his revolutionary ideas throughout the world. Gaddafi saw his socialist Jamahiriyah as a model for the Arab, Islamic, and non-aligned worlds to follow, and in his speeches declared that his Third International Theory would eventually guide the entire planet. He nevertheless had minimal success in exporting the ideology outside of Libya.

Along with Arab nationalism, anti-imperialism was also a defining feature of Gaddafi's regime during its early years. He believed in opposing Western imperialism and colonialism in the Arab world, including any Western expansionism through the form of Israel. He offered support to a broad range of political groups abroad that called themselves "anti-imperialist", especially those that set themselves in opposition to the United States. For many years, anti-Zionism was a fundamental component of Gaddafi's ideology. He believed that the state of Israel should not exist and that any Arab compromise with the Israeli government was a betrayal of the Arab people. In large part due to their support of Israel, Gaddafi despised the United States, considering the country to be imperialist and lambasting it as "the embodiment of evil". He sought to distinguish "oriental" Jews who had lived in the Middle East for generations from the European Jews who had migrated to Palestine during the 20th century, calling the latter "vagabonds" and "mercenaries" who should return to Europe. He rallied against Jews in many of his speeches, with Blundy and Lycett claiming that his antisemitism was "almost Hitlerian". As Pan-Africanism increasingly became his focus in the early 21st century, Gaddafi became less interested in the Israel-Palestine issue, calling for the two communities to form a new single-state that he termed "Isratin". This would have led the Jewish population to become a minority within the new state.

Islamic modernism and Islamic socialism

Gaddafi rejected the secularist approach to Arab nationalism that had been pervasive in Syria, with his revolutionary movement placing a far stronger emphasis on Islam than previous Arab nationalist movements had done. He deemed Arabism and Islam to be inseparable, referring to them as "one and indivisible", and called on the Arab world's Christian minority to convert to Islam. He insisted that Islamic law should be the basis for the law of the state, blurring any distinction between the religious and secular realms. He desired unity across the Islamic world, and encouraged the propagation of the faith elsewhere; on a 2010 visit to Italy, he paid a modelling agency to find 200 young Italian women for a lecture he gave urging them to convert. According to the Gaddafi biographer Jonathan Bearman, in Islamic terms Gaddafi was a modernist rather than a fundamentalist, for he subordinated religion to the political system rather than seeking to Islamicise the state as Islamists sought to do. He was driven by a sense of "divine mission", believing himself a conduit of God's will, and thought that he must achieve his goals "no matter what the cost". His interpretation of Islam was nevertheless idiosyncratic, and he clashed with conservative Libyan clerics. Many criticized his attempts to encourage women to enter traditionally male-only sectors of society, such as the armed forces. Gaddafi was keen to improve women's status, although saw the sexes as "separate but equal" and therefore felt women should usually remain in traditional roles.

The purpose of the socialist society is the happiness of man, which can only be realized through material and spiritual freedom. Attainment of such freedom depends on the extent of man's ownership of his needs; ownership that is personal and sacredly guaranteed, i.e. your needs must neither be owned by somebody else, nor subject to plunder by any part of society.

—Muammar Gaddafi

Gaddafi described his approach to economics as "Islamic socialism". For him, a socialist society could be defined as one in which men controlled their own needs, either through personal ownership or through a collective. Although the early policies pursued by his government were state capitalist in orientation, by 1978 he believed that private ownership of the means of production was exploitative and thus he sought to move Libya away from capitalism and towards socialism. Private enterprise was largely eliminated in favour of a centrally controlled economy. The extent to which Libya became socialist under Gaddafi is disputed. Bearman suggested that while Libya did undergo "a profound social revolution", he did not think that "a socialist society" was established in Libya. Conversely, St. John expressed the view that "if socialism is defined as a redistribution of wealth and resources, a socialist revolution clearly occurred in Libya" under Gaddafi's regime.

Gaddafi was staunchly anti-Marxist, and in 1973 declared that "it is the duty of every Muslim to combat" Marxism because it promotes atheism. In his view, ideologies like Marxism and Zionism were alien to the Islamic world and were a threat to the ummah, or global Islamic community. Nevertheless, Blundy and Lycett noted that Gaddafi's socialism had a "curiously Marxist undertone", with political scientist Sami Hajjar arguing that Gaddafi's model of socialism offered a simplification of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels's theories. While acknowledging the Marxist influence on Gaddafi's thought, Bearman stated that the Libyan leader rejected Marxism's core tenet, that of class struggle as the main engine of social development. Instead of embracing the Marxist idea that a socialist society emerged from class struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoisie, Gaddafi believed that socialism would be achieved through overturning "unnatural" capitalism and returning society to its "natural equilibrium". In this, he sought to replace a capitalist economy with one based on his own romanticized ideas of a traditional, pre-capitalist past. This owed much to the Islamic belief in God's natural law providing order to the universe.

Personal life

Main article: Personal life of Muammar Gaddafi
Gaddafi (right) with Nimeiry and Nasser in 1969

A very private individual, Gaddafi was given to rumination and solitude and could be reclusive. Gaddafi described himself as a "simple revolutionary" and "pious Muslim" called upon by God to continue Nasser's work. Gaddafi was an austere and devout Muslim, although according to Vandewalle, his interpretation of Islam was "deeply personal and idiosyncratic." He was also a football enthusiast and enjoyed both playing the sport and horse riding as a means of recreation. He regarded himself as an intellectual; he was a fan of Beethoven and said his favourite novels were Uncle Tom's Cabin, Roots, and The Outsider.

Gaddafi regarded personal appearance as important, with Blundy and Lycett referring to him as "extraordinarily vain." Gaddafi had a large wardrobe, and sometimes changed his outfit multiple times a day. He favoured either a military uniform or traditional Libyan dress, tending to eschew Western-style suits. He saw himself as a fashion icon, stating "Whatever I wear becomes a fad. I wear a certain shirt and suddenly everyone is wearing it." Following his ascension to power, Gaddafi moved into the Bab al-Azizia barracks, a 6-square-kilometre (2.3 square miles) fortified compound located 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) from the centre of Tripoli. In the 1980s, his lifestyle was considered modest in comparison to those of many other Arab leaders.

He was preoccupied with his own security, regularly changing where he slept and sometimes grounding all other planes in Libya when he was flying. He made particular requests when travelling to foreign countries. During his trips to Rome, Paris, Madrid, Moscow, and New York City, he resided in a bulletproof tent, following his Bedouin traditions. Gaddafi was notably confrontational in his approach to foreign powers and generally shunned Western ambassadors and diplomats, believing them to be spies.

Gaddafi with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in 2010

In the 1970s and 1980s, there were reports of his making sexual advances toward female reporters and members of his entourage. Starting in the 1980s, he travelled with his all-female Amazonian Guard, who were allegedly sworn to a life of celibacy. After Gaddafi's death, the Libyan psychologist Seham Sergewa, part of a team investigating sexual offences during the civil war, stated that five of the guards told her they had been raped by Gaddafi and senior officials. After Gaddafi's death, the French journalist Annick Cojean [fr; fa; de; zh] published a book alleging that Gaddafi had had sexual relations with women, some in their early teenage years, who had been specially selected for him. One of those Cojean interviewed, a woman named Soraya, claimed that Gaddafi kept her imprisoned in a basement for six years, where he repeatedly raped her, urinated on her, and forced her to watch pornography, drink alcohol, and snort cocaine. The alleged sexual abuse was said to have been facilitated by Gaddafi's Chief of Protocol Nuri al-Mismari and Mabrouka Sherif. Gaddafi also hired several Ukrainian nurses to care for him; one described him as kind and considerate and was surprised that allegations of abuse had been made against him.

Gaddafi married his first wife, Fatiha al-Nuri, in 1969. Although they had one son, Muhammad Gaddafi (born 1970), their relationship was strained, and they divorced in 1970. Gaddafi's second wife was Safia Farkash, née el-Brasai, a former nurse from the Obeidat tribe born in Bayda. They met in 1969, following his ascension to power, when he was hospitalized with appendicitis; he claimed that it was love at first sight. The couple remained married until his death. Together they had seven biological children: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (born 1972), Al-Saadi Gaddafi (born 1973), Mutassim Gaddafi (1974–2011), Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi (born 1975), Ayesha Gaddafi (born 1976), Saif al-Arab Gaddafi (1982–2011), and Khamis Gaddafi (1983–2011). He also adopted two children, Hana Gaddafi and Milad Gaddafi. Several of his sons gained a reputation for lavish and anti-social behaviour in Libya, which proved a source of resentment toward his administration. At least three of his cousins were prominent figures in Gaddafi's regime. Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam is Libya's former Special Envoy to Egypt and a leading figure of the Gaddafi regime. Mansour Dhao was his chief of security and led the People's Guard. Sayyid Gaddaf al-Dam was a brigadier general and described as the second most powerful person in Libya in the 1980s.

Public life

13th Anniversary of 1 September Revolution on postage stamp, Libya 1982

According to Vandewalle, Gaddafi "dominated political life" during his period in power. The sociologist Raymond A. Hinnebusch described the Libyan as "perhaps the most exemplary contemporary case of the politics of charismatic leadership", displaying all of the traits of charismatic authority outlined by the sociologist Max Weber. According to Hinnebusch, the foundations of Gaddafi's "personal charismatic authority" in Libya stemmed from the blessing he had received from Nasser coupled with "nationalist achievements" such as the expulsion of foreign military bases, the extraction of higher prices for Libyan oil, and his vocal support for the Palestinian and other anti-imperialist causes.

A cult of personality devoted to Gaddafi existed in Libya through most of his rule. His biographer Alison Pargeter noted that "he filled every space, moulding the entire country around himself." Depictions of his face could be found throughout the country, including on postage stamps, watches, and school satchels. Quotations from The Green Book appeared on a wide variety of places, from street walls to airports and pens, and were put to pop music for public release. In private, Gaddafi often complained that he disliked this personality cult surrounding him, but that he tolerated it because the people of Libya adored him. The cult served a political purpose, with Gaddafi helping to provide a central identity for the Libyan state.

Several biographers and observers characterized Gaddafi as a populist. He enjoyed attending lengthy public sessions where people were invited to question him; these were often televised. Throughout Libya, crowds of supporters would arrive at public events where he appeared. Described as "spontaneous demonstrations" by the government, there are recorded instances of groups being coerced or paid to attend. He was typically late to public events, and would sometimes fail to arrive. Although Bianco thought he had a "gift for oratory", he was considered a poor orator by Blundy and Lycett. The biographer Daniel Kawczynski noted that Gaddafi was famed for his "lengthy, wandering" speeches, which typically involved criticizing Israel and the US. The journalist Ruth First described his speeches as being "an inexhaustible flow; didactic, at times incoherent; peppered with snatches of half-formed opinions; admonitions; confidences; some sound common sense, and as much prejudice".

Awards and honours

Main article: List of awards and honours bestowed upon Muammar Gaddafi

Reception and legacy

Main article: Reception and legacy of Muammar Gaddafi

Supporters praised Gaddafi's administration for the creation of a more equal society through domestic reform. They stressed the regime's achievements in combating homelessness, ensuring access to food and safe drinking water, and to dramatic improvements in education. Supporters have also applauded achievements in medical care, praising the universal free healthcare provided under the Gaddafist administration, with diseases like cholera and typhoid being contained and life expectancy raised.

Gaddafi's government's treatment of non-Arab Libyans came in for criticism from human rights activists, with native Berbers, Italian colonists, Jews, refugees, and foreign workers all facing persecution in Gaddafist Libya. Human rights groups also criticized the treatment of migrants, including asylum seekers, who passed through Gaddafi's Libya on their way to Europe. During the Civil War, various leftist groups endorsed the anti-Gaddafist rebels—but not the Western military intervention—by arguing that Gaddafi had become an ally of Western imperialism by cooperating with the War on Terror and efforts to block African migration to Europe. Gaddafi was widely perceived as a terrorist, especially in the US and UK.

Posthumous assessment

International reactions to Gaddafi's death were divided. Gaddafi was mourned as a hero by many across sub-Saharan Africa but was widely condemned elsewhere.

Following his defeat in the civil war, Gaddafi's system of governance was dismantled and replaced by the interim government of the NTC, which legalized trade unions and freedom of the press. In January 2013, the GNC officially renamed the Jamahiriyah as the "State of Libya". Gaddafi loyalists then founded a new political party, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya. Led by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Popular Front was allowed to participate in the future general election.

See also

Notes

  1. English pronunciation: /ˈmoʊəmɑːr ɡəˈdæfi/ MOH-ə-mar gə-DAF-ee or /ɡəˈdɑːfi/ gə-DAH-fee; Arabic: مُعمّر محمد أبو منيار القذّافي, romanizedMuʿammar Muḥammad ʾAbū Minyār al-Qaḏḏāfī, Standard Arabic pronunciation: [muˈʕamːar alqaˈðːaːfi] , Libyan Arabic pronunciation: [ɡəˈðːaːfiː] (eastern dialects) or [ɡəˈdːaːfiː] (western dialects).

    Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by The Straight Dope lists 32 spellings known from the US Library of Congress, while ABC identified 112 possible spellings.

    A 2007 interview with Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi confirms that Saif spelled his own name Qadhafi and the passport of Gaddafi's son Mohammed used the spelling Gathafi. According to Google Ngram the variant Qaddafi was slightly more widespread, followed by Qadhafi, Gaddafi and Gadhafi. Scientific romanizations of the name are Qaḏḏāfī (DIN, Wehr, ISO) or (rarely used) Qadhdhāfī (ALA-LC).
  1. For purposes of this article, 20 October 2011—the date on which Gaddafi died—is considered to be the date he left office. Other dates might have been chosen:
    • On 15 July 2011, at a meeting in Istanbul, more than 30 governments, including the United States, withdrew recognition from Gaddafi's government and recognized the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the legitimate government of Libya.
    • On 23 August 2011, during the Battle of Tripoli, Gaddafi lost effective political and military control of Tripoli after his compound was captured by rebel forces.
    • On 25 August 2011, the Arab League proclaimed the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council to be "the legitimate representative of the Libyan state".
    • On 16 September 2011, the United Nations General Assembly sat the representatives of the National Transitional Council as Libya's official delegation.

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Preceded byIdrisas King of Libya Chairman of the Revolutionary
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1969–1977
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Preceded byMahmud Sulayman al-Maghribi Prime Minister of Libya
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