Here’s a look at the life of the late Moammar Gadhafi, leader of Libya from 1969 to 2011.
Personal:
Birth date: June 7, 1942
Death date: October 20, 2011
Birth place: Sirte, Libya
Father: Mohamed Abdulsalam Abuminiar, a Bedouin farmer
Mother: Aisha Ben Niran
Marriages: Safia Farkash (1970-October 20, 2011, his death); Fatiha al-Nuri (dates unavailable publicly)
Children: with Safia Farkash: Saif al-Islam; Saadi; Aisha; Hannibal; Mutassim (d. October 20, 2011); Saif al-Arab (d. April 30, 2011); Khamis (d. August 28, 2011); Milad (adopted); Hanna (adopted, reportedly died in 1986); with Fatiha al-Nuri: Mohamed
Education: University of Libya in Tripoli, 1963; Libyan military academy in Benghazi, 1965
Other Facts:
Nicknames included “brother leader” and “king of kings of Africa.”
Known for his wraparound sunglasses and military uniforms or tribal robes that played up his Bedouin roots.
Timeline:
September 1, 1969 - Leads a bloodless coup in Tripoli, Libya, overthrowing the government of King Idris and creates the Libyan Arab Republic.
1969-1977 - Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC).
1969-2011 - Head of State and Colonel of the Libyan Armed Forces.
1970-1972 - Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Libya.
1971 - Member of the President’s Council in the Federation of Arab Republics. The Federation of Arab Republics was Gadhafi’s attempt to merge Libya with Egypt and Syria.
1975 - Publishes the first part of his three-volume meditation on politics and philosophy in the “Green Book,” subtitled “The Solution of the Problem of Democracy.” Volumes two and three are published in 1977 and 1981.
1977 - Renames the Libyan Arab Republic to the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, where jamahiriya means a government ruled by the masses.
1977 - The General People’s Congress (GPC) replaces the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), which has led the country since the 1969 coup.
1977-1979 - Secretary-general of the General People’s Congress.
December 19, 2003 - Admits that Libya has been trying to develop a broad arsenal of unconventional weapons, and he promises to dismantle them and submit to international inspections.
April 27, 2004 - Makes his first visit to Europe in almost 15 years, traveling to Brussels to meet with European Union President Romano Prodi. While there, he urges other countries to follow Libya’s example in giving up their weapons of mass destruction and pledges to help fight terrorism and illegal immigration to Europe.
May 15, 2006 - US President George W. Bush announces that the United States is restoring normal diplomatic relations with Libya for the first time in over a quarter century.
September 5, 2008 - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with Gadhafi in Libya, the first such meeting between Libya and a high-ranking US official since 1953.
September 23, 2009 - Gadhafi addresses the United Nations General Assembly, in his first visit to the United States. In the one-hour and 36-minute speech, he criticizes the UN and the Security Council and suggests that the United Nations should be moved out of New York City.
February 14, 2011 - Appeals for peaceful demonstrations in Libya against Gadhafi go out on Facebook.
February 17, 2011 - Protests turn violent amid calls on social media sites for a “Day of Rage.”
February 21, 2011 - Moammar Gadhafi’s son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, addresses the nation on Libyan state television, warning of “a fierce civil war” if the unrest continues and insisting that his father is not like the deposed presidents of Egypt and Tunisia.
February 22, 2011 - Gadhafi speaks on Libyan television and vows to die as a martyr rather that give up power.
February 24, 2011 - Switzerland freezes the Gadhafi family’s assets held in Swiss banks.
February 25, 2011 - US President Barack Obama signs an executive order freezing Moammar Gadhafi’s assets.
February 26, 2011 - The UN Security Council imposes sanctions against Libya, including an arms embargo and asset freeze. The Council also refers Libya to the International Criminal Court for investigation of crimes against humanity.
February 28, 2011 - In an interview with ABC’s Christiane Amanpour, Gadhafi states that his countrymen love him and would die to protect him.
April 30, 2011 - NATO launches a missile attack on a house in Tripoli. The attack kills Gadhafi’s youngest son, Saif al-Arab, and three grandchildren.
June 27, 2011 - Arrest warrants are issued by the International Criminal Court for Gadhafi, son Saif al-Islam and brother-in-law Abdullah Senussi for their roles in the crimes against humanity in suppressing the revolt of the Libyan people.
July 1, 2011 - In an audio message broadcast on Libyan TV, Gadhafi threatens to take the fighting to Europe and says, “You are mistaken, you are involved in a battle that you don’t know what you are going to face, so withdraw, and run away…Our people is able in one day to move the battle to the Mediterranean, and able to move the battle to Europe.”
August 29, 2011 - Algeria’s state press agency announces that Moammar Gadhafi’s wife Safia, daughter Aisha, sons Hannibal and Mohammed and a number of grandchildren are in Algeria.
September 1, 2011 - A message, purportedly from Gadhafi, airs on Rai TV in Syria, urging Libyans to continue fighting. The message comes on the 42nd anniversary of his rise to power.
October 20, 2011 - Gadhafi dies of a gunshot wound to the head after being captured by rebel forces in his hometown of Sirte, Libya. Video shows that Gadhafi was alive when he was captured. Moammar Gadhafi’s son, Mutassim, and his former defense minister, Abu Baker Yunis, are also killed.
October 24, 2011 - The National Transitional Council and the United Nations call for an independent investigation into the death of Moammar Gadhafi.
October 25, 2011 - Moammar Gadhafi, his son Mutassim, and his defense minister Abu Baker Yunis are interred in an undisclosed location.