President of Libya
Born: 07 June 1942
Profession: Dictator
Affiliation(s): Libyan Army
Citizenship: Libyan
Profile Muammar al-Qaddafi was born in a Bedouin tent in 1942. He joined the military and staged a coup to seize control of Libya in 1969, ousting King Idris. After seizing power in 1969, he abolished the Libyan Constitution of 1951 and civil liberties enshrined in it. He imposed laws based on the political ideology he had formulated, called the Third International Theory and published in The Green Book. Rising oil prices and extraction in Libya led to increasing revenues. By exporting as much oil per capita as Saudi Arabia, Libya achieved the highest living standards in Africa. However, at the same time similarly oil-rich Gulf countries improved their living standards much further, and this fact was visible to ordinary Libyans.Early during his regime, Gaddafi and his relatives took over much of the economy. Gaddafi started several wars and acquired chemical weapons. The United Nations called Libya under Gaddafi a pariah state. In the 1980s, countries around the world imposed sanctions against Gaddafi. Six days after the capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2006 by United States troops, Gaddafi renounced Tripoli's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs and welcomed international inspections to verify that he would follow through on the commitment. A leading advocate for a United States of Africa, he served as Chairperson of the African Union (AU) from 2 February 2009 to 31 January 2010. Though his Arab nationalist rhetoric and socialist-style policies gained him support in the early days of his rule, his corruption, military interference in Africa, and record of human rights abuses turned much of the Libyan population against him. Accused of supporting terrorism, in the last decade of his rule Qaddafi reached a rapprochement with Western leaders, and Libya became a key provider of oil to Europe. During the "Arab Spring" of 2011, NATO troops supported dissidents attempting to overthrow Qaddafi's government. After months on the run, on October 20, 2011, Qaddafi was killed in his hometown of Surt. Early Life Muammar al-Qaddafi was born in 1942 in the town of Surt, in western Libya. Raised in a Bedouin tent in the Libyan desert, According to many biographies, his family belongs to a small tribe of Arabs, the Qadhadhfa. They are mostly herders that live in the Hun Oasis. At the time of his birth, Libya was an Italian colony. According to Gaddafi, his grandfather, Abdessalam Bouminyar, fought against the Italian occupation of Libya and died as the "first martyr in Khoms. In 1951, Libya gained independence under the Western-allied King Idris. As a young man Qaddafi was influenced by the Arab nationalist movement, and admired Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. In 1961 he entered the military college in the city of Benghazi. He spent four months recieving military training in the United Kingdom. After graduating, Qaddafi steadily rose through the ranks of the military. As disaffection with King Idris grew, On 1 September 1969 a small group of junior military officers led by Gaddafi staged a bloodless coup d'état against King Idris of Libya while the king was in Turkey for medical treatment. Idris's nephew, Crown Prince Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi, was formally deposed by the revolutionary army officers and put under house arrest; they abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the Libyan Arab Republic. A talented and charismatic man, Qaddafi had become the ruler of Libya at age 27. Taking Control of Libya Qaddafi's first order of business was to shut down the American and British military bases in Libya. He also demanded that foreign oil companies in Libya share a bigger portion of revenue with the country. Qaddafi replaced the Gregorian calendar with the Islamic one, and forbid the sale of alcohol. Feeling threatened by a failed coup attempt by his fellow officers in December 1969, Qaddafi put in laws criminalizing political dissent. In 1970, he expelled the remaining Italians from Libya, and emphasized what he saw as the battle between Arab nationalism and western imperialism. He vocally opposed Zionism and Israel, and expelled the Jewish community from Libya. Qaddafi's inner circle of trusted people became smaller and smaller, as power was shared by himself and a small group of family and friends. His intelligence agents traveled around the world to intimidate and assassinate Libyans living in exile. In these early days, Qaddafi sought to orient Libya away from the West, and towards the Middle East and Africa. He involved the Libyan military in several foreign conflicts, including in Egypt and Sudan, and the bloody civil war in Chad. In 1974, Qaddafi published the Green Book, an explanation of his political philosophy. The book describes the problems with liberal democracy and capitalism, and promotes Qaddafi's policies as the remedy. Qaddafi claimed that Libya boasted popular committees and shared ownership, but in reality this was far from true. Qaddafi had appointed himself or close family and friends to all positions of power, and their corruption and crackdowns on any kind of civic organizing meant much of the population lived in poverty. Meanwhile, Qaddafi and those close to him were amassing fortunes in oil revenue. Rapprochement with the West In 1990s, the relationship between Qaddafi and the West began to thaw. As Qaddafi faced a growing threat from Islamists who opposed his rule, he began to share intelligence information with the British and American intelligence services. In 1994, Nelson Mandela persuaded the Libyan leader to hand over the suspects from the Lockerbie bombing. It wasn't long before Qaddafi had mended relations with the West almost entirely. Qaddafi was welcomed in Western capitals, and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi counted him among his close friends. Qaddafi's son and heir apparent, Seif al-Islam Qaddafi, mixed with London's high society for several years. Many critics of the newfound friendship of Qaddafi and the West believed it was based on oil. In 2001, the United Nations eased sanctions on Libya, and foreign oil companies worked out lucrative new contracts to operate in Libya. The influx of money to Libya made Qaddafi and his family and associates even wealthier, and the disparity between the ruling family and the masses ever more apparent. Arab Spring After more than four decades in power, Qaddafi's downfall happened in less than a year. In January of 2011, the Tunisian revolution forced out longtime dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and set off the Arab Spring. The next month Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak was forced out, providing a morale boost to protesters in several Arab capitals. Despite the atmosphere of severe repression, demonstrations broke out in Benghazi, and spread throughout the country. Qaddafi used aggressive force to try to suppress the protests, adn the violence quickly escalated. Police and foreign mercenaries were brought in to shoot at protesters, and helicopters were sent to bombard protesters from the air. As casualties mounted, Libyans grew more determined to see Qaddafi's ouster. As violence spread through the country, Qaddafi made several rambling speeches on state television, claiming the demonstrators were traitors, foreigners, al Qaeda, and drug addicts. He urged his supporters to continue the fight, and small groups of heavily armed loyalists battled against the rebels. By the end of February, the opposition had gained control over much of the country, and the rebels formed a governing body called the National Transitional Council. The opposition surrounded Tripoli, where Qaddafi still had some support. Most of the international community expressed support for the NTC, and called for the ouster of Qaddafi. At the end of March, a NATO coalition began to provide support for the rebel forces in the form of airstrikes and a no-fly zone. NATO's military intervention over the next six months proved to be decisive. In April, a NATO attack killed one of Qaddafi's sons. When Tripoli fell to rebel forces in late August, it was seen as a major victory for the opposition, and a symbolic end for Qaddafi's rule. In June, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam, and his brother-in-law, for crimes against humanity. In July, more than 30 countries recognized the NTC as the legitimate government of Libya. Qaddafi had lost control of Libya, but his whereabouts were still unknown. Death On Thursday, October 20, Libyan officials announced the death of Muammar al-Qaddafi near his hometown of Surt. Early reports had conflicting accounts of his death, while some said he was killed in a gun battle, and others said he was targeted by a NATO aerial attack. Video circulated of Qaddafi's bloodied body being dragged around by fighters. For months, Qaddafi and his family had been at large, believed to be hiding in the western part of the country, where they still had small pockets of support. As news of the former dictator's death spread, Libyans poured into the streets, celebrating the what many hailed as the culmination of their revolution. Marriages and children Gaddafi's first wife was Fatiha al-Nuri (1969–1970). His second wife was Safia Farkash, née el-Brasai, a former nurse from Obeidat tribe born in Bayda. He met her in 1969, following the revolt, when he was hospitalized with appendicitis. Gaddafi had eight biological children, seven of them sons. Muhammad al-Gaddafi (born 1970), his eldest son, was the only child born to Gaddafi's first wife, and ran the Libyan Olympic Committee. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (born 25 June 1972), his second son, is an architect who was long-rumoured to be Gaddafi's successor. He was a spokesman to the Western world, and he has negotiated treaties with Italy and the United States. He was viewed as politically moderate. Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi (born 25 May 1973), is a professional football player. Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi (born 20 September 1975), is a former employee of the General National Maritime Transport Company, a company that specialized in oil exports. He is best-known for his violent incidents in Europe, attacking police officers in Italy (2001), drunk driving (2004), and for assaulting a girlfriend in Paris (2005). Ayesha Gaddafi (born 1976), Gaddafi's only biological daughter, is a lawyer who joined the defense teams of executed former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi. Moatassem Gaddafi (1977 – 20 October 2011), Gaddafi's fifth son, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Libyan Army. He later served as Libya's National Security Advisor. He was seen as a possible successor to his father, after Saif Al-Islam. Moatassem was killed along with his father during the battle of Sirte. Saif al-Arab al-Gaddafi (1982 – 30 April 2011) was appointed a military commander in the Libyan Army during the 2011 Libyan civil war. Saif al-Arab and three of Gaddafi's grandchildren were reported killed by a NATO bombing in April 2011. This is disputed by the organizations alleged to be responsible. Khamis Gaddafi (27 May 1983 – 29 August 2011), his seventh son, was serving as the commander of the Libyan Army's elite Khamis Brigade. On 30 August 2011, a spokesman for the NTC said it was "almost certain" Khamis Gaddafi had been killed in Tarhuna two days earlier, during clashes with units of the National Liberation Army. He is also said to have adopted two children, Hanna and Milad. Gaddafi's brother-in-law, Abdullah Senussi, is believed to head military intelligence. 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 Eni oil corporation, Fiat, UniCredit bank, and Finmeccanica. In January 2002 Gaddafi purchased a 7.5% share of Italian football club Juventus for US$21 million, through the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company. This followed a long-standing association with Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli and car manufacturer Fiat. On 25 February 2011 Britain's Treasury set up a specialised unit to trace Gaddafi's assets in Britain. Gaddafi allegedly worked for years with Swiss banks to launder international banking transactions. Gaddafi had an Airbus A340 private jet, which he bought from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia for $120 million in 2003. Operated by Tripoli based Afriqiyah Airways, and decorated externally in their colours, it was used in 2009 to repatriate Lockerbie bomber Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, 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 BBC News reporter John Simpson to contain various luxuries including a jacuzzi.
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