What Makes Colonel Gaddafi an Autocrat in Libya?

Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (June 1942 – 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, ruled Libya autocratically from 1969, when he seized power in a military coup, until 2011 when a civil war overthrew his government.

His 42-year rule prior to the uprising made him the fourth longest-ruling non-royal leader since 1900, as well as the longest-ruling Arab leader. He variously styled himself as the Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution and the King of Kings.

After he seized power in 1969, he abolished the Libyan Constitution of 1951 and civil liberties enshrined in it. He imposed laws based on the political ideology he formulated, called the Third International Theory and published in The Green Book.

Rising oil prices and extraction in Libya led to increased revenues. By exporting as much oil per capita as Saudi Arabia, Libya achieved the highest living standards in Africa.

Early during his regime, Gaddafi and his relatives seized control of much of the economy. Gaddafi initiated several wars and acquired chemical weapons.

Gaddafi also supplied weapons to the Provisional Irish Republican Army, a listed terrorist organization in the United Kingdom and other countries. The United Nations declared Libya under Gaddafi a pariah state.

In the 1980s, countries around the world imposed sanctions against Gaddafi. Six days after United States troops captured Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi renounced Tripoli’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs and welcomed international inspections to verify that he would follow through on the commitment.

As a leading advocate for a United States of Africa, he served as Chairperson of the African Union (AU) from 2 February 2009 to 31 January 2010.

In February 2011, following revolutions in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia, protesters began to oppose Gaddafi’s rule. These escalated into an uprising that spread across the country, with forces opposing Gaddafi establishing a government based in Benghazi named the National Transitional Council (NTC).

This led to the 2011 Libyan Civil War, which included NATO-led coalition forces intervening to enforce a UN Security Council Resolution 1973 calling for a no-fly zone and protection of civilians in Libya.

Colonel Gaddafi and his family had their assets frozen, and both Interpol and the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on 27 June for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and his brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senussi, concerning crimes against humanity.

Gaddafi and his forces lost the Battle of Tripoli in August, and on 16 September 2011 the NTC took Libya’s seat at the UN, replacing Gaddafi. Gaddafi retained control over parts of Libya, most notably the city of Sirte, to which he presumably fled.

Although Gaddafi’s forces initially held out against the NTC’s advances, rebel forces killed Gaddafi as they took Sirte on 20 October 2011, thus proving that he had fled to Sirte.

Content for this question contributed by Brande Smith, resident of National City, San Diego County, California, USA