Mu'ammer Muhammad al-Gaddafi
/ɡəˈdɑːfi
/(also Qaddafi)
(1942–2011), Libyan colonel, head of state 1970–2011. After leading the coup which overthrew King Idris in 1969, he established the Libyan Arab Republic. Gaddafi pursued an anti-colonial policy and was accused of supporting international terrorism. He was overthrown in 2011, following an uprising assisted by a NATO-led military intervention, and killed by rebel forces.