Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Libya under Gaddafi was considered a pariah state by the West which alleged oppression of internal dissidence, acts of state-sponsored terrorism, assassinations of expatriate opposition leaders, and crass nepotism exhibited in amassing a multi-billion dollar fortune for himself and his family. Gaddafi was a firm supporter of led a Pan-African campaign for a United States of Africa. After the 1986 Bombing of Libya and the 1993 imposition of United Nations sanctions, Gaddafi established closer economic and security relations with the west, cooperated with investigations into previous Libyan acts of state-sponsored terrorism and paid compensation, and ended his nuclear weapons program, resulting in the lifting of UN sanctions in 2003.
In early February 2011, major political protests, inspired by recent protests in Tunisia, Egypt and other parts of the Arab world, broke out in Libya against Gaddafi's government and turned into a civil war. Gaddafi vowed to "die a martyr" if necessary in his fight against the rebels and
1 Early life
2 Military coup d'état
3 In power
3.1 Political repression
3.2 Economy
3.3 Assassinations abroad
3.4 Weapons of mass destruction program
3.5 Efforts to merge with other countries
3.6 Public works
3.7 Postage stamps and currency
3.8 Partial rapprochement
4 Ideology
4.1 Political philosophy and personal bias
4.2 Other
5 2011 civil war
5.1 Gaddafi supporters
5.2 Prosecution for massacres
6 Personal life and family
6.1 Family wealth
6.2 Public relations
6.3 Name
7 See also
8 References
9 Notes
10 External links
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Muammar al-Gaddafi was born in a bedouin tent in the desert near Sirt in 1942. His family belongs to a small tribe of arabized Berbers, the Qadhadhfa, who are stockherders with holdings in the Hun Oasis. As a boy, Gaddafi attended a Muslim elementary school, during which time the major events occurring in the Arab world—the Arab defeat in Palestine in 1948 to Israeli forces and Gamal Abdel Nasser's rise to power in Egypt in 1952profoundly influenced him. He finished his secondary school studies under a private tutor in Misrata, emphasizing the study of history.
In Libya, as in a number of other Arab countries, admission to the military academy and a career as an army officer became available to members of the lower economic strata only 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 animated by Nasser's brand of Arab nationalism as well as by an intense hatred of Israel, a military career was a revolutionary vocation.
Gaddafi entered the Libyan military academy at Benghazi in 1961 and, along with most of his colleagues from the Revolutionary Command Council, graduated in the 1965–66 period. Gaddafi's association with the Free Officers Movement began as a cadet. The frustration and shame felt by Libyan officers who stood by helplessly at the time of Israel's swift and humiliating defeat of Arab armies on three fronts in 1967 fueled their determination to contribute to Arab unity by overthrowing the monarchy. An early conspirator, Gaddafi began his first plan to overthrow the monarchy while in military college.
Gaddafi pursued further studies in Europe. Many false rumors circulated with regards to this part of his life. Gaddafi did not attend the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He did receive further military training at the Hellenic Military Academy in Athens, Greece and somewhere in the United Kingdom.
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi