Muammar Gaddafi is famous as the Libyan leader who seized power in a military coup in 1969. With nearly-42 years in power, Muammar Gaddafi has become the fourth longest-ruling non-royal leader since 1900. He is also considered to be the longest-ruling Arab leader ever.
Gaddafi's family was reported to take over much of the economy. The Libyan leader spent billions of his rising oil revenues on international projects, including acquiring both chemical and nuclear weapons in order to start several wars. Gaddafi even directed the country’s revenues to sponsor terror as well as other political activities around the world.
Since 2011, a number of demonstrations against Gaddafi have spread across Libya. Gaddafi since then has lost control of most of eastern Libya and large parts of the west as well. In August 2011, Mr. Gaddafi lost much of Tripoli to the uprising.
The photo taken in 1971 shows the young Muammar Gaddafi in army fatigues
The Libyan military officer Moammar Abu Minyar al-Gadhafi (left) seized power in a military coup in 1969
Mr. Gadhafi has played an important role in the establishment of the Federation of Arab Republics, including Egypt, Libya and Syria. In the photo, Gadhafi attended the signing ceremony of the federation
The Libyan leader was in a press conference in 1986 where he introduced to American journalists about his family
Colonel Muammar Gadhafi waved to supporters from a balcony of his Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli after delivering a speech condemning the United States in 1986
Gadhafi’s wife Sofiya Gaddafi and his children were photographed in 1986
Muammar Gaddafi posed with Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Tripoli, Libya in 1977
Mr. Gaddafi arrived at a graduation at the women's military academy in Tripoli in 1981
Muammar Gaddafi talks to correspondents outside the compound that was bombed by U.S. warplanes in 1986
Gaddafi attended at a parade to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the Libyan revolution in Tripoli in September 1987
Colonel Gaddafi was reported to have close relations with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The two leaders had a photo together in Marsa Matrouh, a main Egyptian tourist city in 1989
British Prime Minister Tony Blair met Libyan leader Gaddafi in 2004
The Libyan leader shook hands with President Barack Obama at the 2009 G8 Summit held in L'Aquila, Italy
Libyan leader Gaddafi addressed the Libyan nation on state television, vowing to fight against protesters and die a martyr in February 2011
Muammar Gaddafi: 42 Years in Power
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Muammar Gaddafi: 42 Years in Power