Muammar Gaddafi, a name very well known to the world community, had the beginnings of his distinguished career during the Libyan revolution of 1969. It resulted in the ouster of King Idris, and established the Libyan Arab Republic. For a long time afterward, Gaddafi ruled this African country both as the state head as well as controller of the armed forces.
Gaddafi himself designed the single-color, green flag of Libya, and also designated green as the national color of Libya. All this was done toward his policy of “Islamic socialism”.
In early 2011, Muammar Gaddafi came into news because of the Libyan civil unrest, which saw many UN nations conducting air strikes against him on the grounds of human rights violation. After a long civil war, he was captured and killed.
Career Summary
Here’s a quick timeline of the important events and developments that influenced Gaddafi’s career:
- 1961: Joined the military academy in Benghazi.
- 1969: Conducted a successful bloodless coup against King Idris while he was overseas for treatment. This resulted in the formation of the Libyan Arab Republic.
- 1972: Reportedly tried to get weapons of mass destruction.
- 1972: Created the Islamic Legion to unify the country.
- 1975: The Green Book is published.
- 1974: Unsuccessful attempt at Tunisia’s merger with Libya.
- 2008: Attempted political integration across all Africa in a mass gathering of kings and tribal heads.
- 2011: Civil war in Libya, resulting in Gaddafi’s death.
Political Ideology
Gaddafi was instrumental in integrating Islam into the social fabric of Libya. He was known for his erratic statements and an over-zealous pro-Libya attitude. For instance, he praised the Somali pirates for defending their country from ‘foreign invaders’.
In 1975, he published The Green Book, his political writings. This was of course more a propaganda tool in line with many such works produced by despots of the past.
From time to time, Gaddafi did not hesitate in using violence to quell internal and external opposition.
