One of the world’s most eccentric and unpredictable leaders, Gaddafi dominated the world stage for decades. After 42 years at the helm of his sparsely populated, oil-rich nation, Muammar Gaddafi – the Arab world’s longest-ruling leader – lost his grip on power after a six-month uprising. Since he lead a successful military coup in 1969, Gaddafi styled himself as Libya’s “brother leader” and the “guide of the revolution”, as an almost paternal figure looking after Libya’s six million inhabitants. His relationship with the rest of the world was erratic. For years, Gaddafi was known in the West as a pariah, blamed for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jumbo jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. After years of denial, Libya acknowledged responsibility and agreed to pay up to $10m to relatives of victims; Gaddafi also declared he would dismantle all weapons of mass destruction.
