The Rise and Fall of Colonel Gaddafi

Gaddafi (right) with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in 1977 (Photo: Museum of Syrian History/Wiki Commons)

He was 27 years old, inspired by Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser and he seemed to fit the regional template of Arab nationalist from the military becoming president. But he outlasted his contemporaries.

During nearly 41 years in power he invented his own system of government, supported radical armed groups as diverse as the IRA in Northern Ireland and the Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, and presided over what may have been North Africa’s most totalitarian, arbitrary and brutal regime.

The World’s Matthew Bell looks back at Muammar Gaddafi’s life.

BBC’s Tarik Kafala looks back on Gaddafi’s reign

Libya Coverage on The World

From PBS NewsHour
In a 1985 PBS NewsHour interview, Libya’s Gaddafi was ‘not afraid’ of coup.

Several years earlier in 1981, Gaddafi appeared on PBS NewsHour after reports surfaced that Libya was supporting international terrorism. In response, President Ronald Reagan expelled all 27 Libyan diplomats from the US.

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