Tripoli, Oct 20: Born in a desert near Sirte in 1942, Muammar Gaddafi, the mercurial and eccentric strongman, was the longest-serving leader in both Africa and the Arab world, having ruled Libya since he toppled King Idris I in a coup at the age of 27.
Since the bloodless military coup in 1969, Gaddafi, known for his flamboyant dressing style and gun-toting female bodyguards as much as for his iron clasp over the country, styled himself as the country’s “brother leader” and the “guide of the revolution.”
His name was synonymous with almost every facets of the life of Libya’s about six million inhabitants. His relationship with the world has seen some very dark phase. Former US president Ronald Reagan had once called him a “mad dog”.
From: http://ping.fm/Fj3fc
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