How Gaddafi Gained Power of Libya

Gaddafi was born on June 7, 1942 at Qasr Abu Hadi. He graduated from the University of Libya in 1963. Then he graduated the Libyan military academy at Banghazi in 1965. He was an Arab nationalist, and wanted to overthrow King Idris. Gaddafi and a group of officers planned out how to overthrow King Idris. By 1969 the planning was complete and the revolutionaries were ready to revolt. They waited until King Idris left Libya to get some medical treatment. After he left, they started the coup. They got rid of the monarchy and Gaddafi became Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya(A&E). This is how Muammar Gaddafi gained power of Libya.

Cities Controlled by Gaddafi

This map shows areas of Libya that were controlled by Gaddafi during their civil war.

Gaddafi Benifits Libya

After gaining power, Gaddafi immediately started to make changes. First, he ordered to shutdown American and British bases. He also said that he would get rid of their oil companies if they didn’t give more revenue resulting in a better economy for Libya (Smith). In 1977, Libya’s government turned into a direct democracy. The literacy rate rose from only 10% to 90%, and the life expectancy rose 20 years. He also set up equal rights for colored people and woman. He also gave financial support and free healthcare. He did all of this without borrowing any money from foreign countries, which means that Libya was debt free (Azad). Gaddafi was a great guy in the beginning but he became insane with power and money.

Gaddafi Takes Advantage of his Power

Although Gaddafi did all these things to benefit the Libyan people, he was accused for the following. One thing he did is that he took advantage of his power. He spent a lot of the Libya’s money on his family and other superior people (Risen and Lichtblau). A lot of Libya’s major companies were run by Gaddafi and his family (Rheannon). Also, his family would have private parties with celebrities. He also spent a lot of money on weapons and on supporting foreign revolutions (Econimist). Gaddafi abused money and power leading to his fall in the future.

Pan Am Flight 103 and the Abu Salim Prison Massacre

Even though Gaddafi murdered a lot of people, there are two crimes that got my attention. One of the major crimes was the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. It was flying from London’s Airport to the New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. A total of 270 people were killed, 243 passangers, 16 crew members, and 11 people on the ground at Lockerbie, Scotland (PanAmAir). The Libyan government didn’t accept guilt for the bombing of the plane until August 15, 2003 (Barringer). The second thing major killing that happened was Abu Salim Prison Massacre. Abu Salim is the top security prison in Tripoli, the capital of Libya. They gathered 1270 of the prisoners and murdered all of them by shooting them and using grenades (HRW). These are two major reasons why the Libyans rebelled against Muammar Gaddafi.

Pictures of Pan Am flight 103

This is a picture of the front of Pan Am Flight 103  after it crashed.

This is a picture of the plane from above. You can still see part of the planes name Clipper Maid of the Seas.

People are viewing pictures of the victims.

This shows how strong the plane crashed.

Abu Salim Prison Massacre

The building in the background is the Abu Salim Prison.

These are bones from the prisoners killed at the prison.

How Muammar Gaddafi Died

Muammar Gaddafi died at the age of 69 on October 20, 2011. He was killed near his hometown of  Sirte(BBC). NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, tracked down Gaddafi until he was at Sirte. After seeing that a convoy of vehicles, which Gaddafi was in, trying to escape the city the rebels went after him. A French airstrike fired at the vehicles. Then a lot of the people in the cars, including Gaddafi, tried to escape. The Libyan rebels went after Gaddafi and found him. As soon as they caught him they started to attack him. Some of the rebels recorded as they tortured Gaddafi. He was shot dead shortly after. He was found in pipe to the side of the road (Barr, Faille, Johnson). This is how Muammar Gaddafi was killed.

News that Gaddafi is Dead

My Conclusion

After doing all this research on Gaddafi, I have developed a new perspective on Gaddafi. Before starting this research, I only viewed him as a criminal for killing a lot of people. Now I realize what happened to him. I believe that after he gained power of Libya, he tried his best to help the economy and citizens of Libya. After he was in power for a while, I think he was afraid of people wanting remove him from power. Due to the fact that he wanted to stay in power, he made his country fear him so that they wouldn’t revolt. After killing thousands of people, the revolutionaries ended up killing him. In the end, this lead to his fall. This is what I believe happened to Gaddafi after he gained a lot of power.

Work Cited

A&E Television Networks. "Qaddafi Leads Coup in Libya." History.com. A&E Television Networks.Web.15May2012.<http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/qaddafi-leads-coup-in-libya>.
Economist. "Endgame in Tripoli." Economist.com. The Economist Newspaper Limited, 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://www.economist.com/node/18239888>.
Smith, William D. "'Shotgun Wedding' For the Companies." The Ledger [Lakeland Florida] 8 Oct. 1972, The World sec.: 3. Print.
BBC. "Obituary: Muammar Gaddafi." BBC News. BBC, 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12537524>.
BBC. "Colonel Gaddafi: Rise and Fall." BBC News. BBC, 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 May 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14593695>.
Barr, Andrew, Mike Faille, and Richard Johnson. "Graphic: How Muammar Gaddafi Was Captured Cowering in a ConcreteÂ　pipe." National Post. National Post, 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 May 2012. <http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/10/20/graphic-how-gaddafi-died/>.
Azad, Sher. "Political Revery." Daily News. Lake House, 22 Oct. 2011. Web. 30 May 2012. <http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/10/22/fea02.asp>.
A&E. "Muammar Al-Qaddafi Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 31 May 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/muammar-al-qaddafi-39014>.
Risen, James, and Eric Lichtblau. "HOARD OF CASH ENABLES QADDAFI TO EXTEND FIGHT." The New York Times. The New York Times, 9 Mar. 2011. Web. 31 May 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/world/africa/10qaddafi.html?_r=1>.
Rheannon, Francesca. "Lesson from Libya: Despotism, Poverty and Risk." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 04 Mar. 2011. Web. 31 May 2012. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/04/idUS108205791820110304>.
Pan Am Air. "Pan Am Accidents: Clipper Maid of the Seas - Victims." Pan Am Air. PanAmAir. Web. 03 June 2012. <http://www.panamair.org/accidents/lockerbievictims.htm>.
Barringer, Felicity. "Libya Admits Culpability in Crash of Pan Am Plane." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2003. Web. 03 June 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/16/international/middleeast/16NATI.html>.
HRW. "Libya: June 1996 Killings at Abu Salim Prison." Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, 27 June 2006. Web. 03 June 2012. <http://www.hrw.org/news/2006/06/27/libya-june-1996-killings-abu-salim-prison>.