Muammar Gaddafi 1942 2011 Libyan Leader

Oct. 20 Muammar Gaddafi is dead, Libya's new leaders said, killed by fighters who overran his home town and final bastion. His bloodied body was stripped and displayed around the world from cellphone video. Gaddafi, was the autocratic ruler of Libya, from 1969 when he seized power in a military coup and became the longest-serving leader in both Africa and the Arab world. He was born in the desert near Sirte in 1942, and was known for his flamboyant dress-sense and gun-toting female body guards. His relationship with the rest of the world was erratic. Gaddafi was known in the West as a pariah, was responsible for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jumbo jet over Lockerbie, which killed 270 people. After street protests brought down the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, a rebellion against Gaddafi's rule started in the country's east. PICTURED: 1972 - Exact date and location unkown - MUAMMAR GADDAFI has been the de facto leader of Libya since 1969

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Autocratic Bastion Bloodied Cellphone Coup Displayed Dress-sense Erratic Facto Flamboyant Gaddafi Gaddafis Gun-toting Jumbo Libyas Lockerbie Longest-serving Muammar Overran Pariah Protests Responsible Rule Seized Sirte Stripped Tripoli Unkown Video

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