Military · Politics · Literature · 1942–2011
Born: 7 June 1942 · Died: 20 October 2011 · Age at death: 69
Muammar Gaddafi died aged 69. He was born on 7 June 1942 and died on 20 October 2011.
Libyan army officer who seized power in 1969 and ruled for 42 years until he was overthrown and killed in 2011
Did you know?He was famously protected by a dedicated unit of female bodyguards known as the Amazonian Guard.
Gaddafi ruled Libya for over four decades, one of the longest-serving non-royal leaders of modern times. He seized power in a bloodless coup in 1969 at the age of just 27, overthrowing King Idris. He used the country's oil wealth to fund welfare programmes and grand projects, while crushing dissent at home. His government was linked to acts of terrorism abroad, including the Lockerbie bombing of 1988, which made him an international outcast for years. He was overthrown and killed during the uprising of 2011, part of the wider wave of revolts known as the Arab Spring.
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (c. 1942 – 20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician, and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his overthrow by Libyan rebel forces in 2011 during the First Libyan Civil War.
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Profile
Libyan dictator, born 1942
Muammar Gaddafi was born in Qasr Abu Hadi on 7 June 1942.
He seized power in a coup in 1969.
He ruled Libya for 42 years.
He was killed during the 2011 civil war.
Career highlights
Did you know?He set out his ideas in the Green Book.
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