History UsefulNotes / MuammarGaddafi

* While Gaddafi is not mentioned in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', he would presumably be the GreaterScopeVillain behind those Libyan terrorists who wanted Doc Brown to build them a nuclear bomb.

After the 1986 Bombing of Libya and the 1993 imposition of United Nations sanctions, Gaddafi established closer economic and security relations with the west, cooperated with investigations into previous Libyan acts of state-sponsored terrorism and paid compensation, and ended his nuclear weapons program, resulting in the lifting of UN sanctions in 2003.

[[OverlyLongName Colonel Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi]] (circa  1942 – 20 October 2011) staged a bloodless coup d'état of UsefulNotes/{{Libya}} on September 1st 1969, where he led a small team of junior officers and overthrew then-King Idris, while he was in Turkey for medical treatment. Disposing of Crown Prince Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi (Idris' nephew), they abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. This was likely fueled by the frustration and shame felt by Libyan officers, who stood by helplessly at the time of Israel's swift and humiliating defeat of Arab armies on three fronts in 1967. Under Gaddafi, [[UsefulNotes/{{Libya}} Libya]] was considered a pariah state by the West; among the allegations were bloody oppression of internal dissidents, acts of state-sponsored terrorism, assassinations of expatriate opposition leaders, and crass nepotism exhibited in amassing a multi-billion dollar fortune for himself and his family.

In regards to Israel, Gaddafi announced that any Arab wishing to volunteer for Palestinian terrorist groups "can register his name at any Libyan embassy [and] will be given adequate training for combat", even promising financial support for attacks. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Gaddafi sent one armored brigade, two fighter squadrons, and financial aid to Egypt.

[[OverlyLongName Colonel Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi]] (circa  1942 – 20 October 2011) staged a bloodless coup d'état of UsefulNotes/{{Libya}} on September 1st 1969, where he led a small team of junior officers and overthrew then-King Idris, while he was in Turkey for medical treatment. Disposing of Crown Prince Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi (Idris' nephew), they abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. This was likely fueled by the frustration and shame felt by Libyan officers, who stood by helplessly at the time of Israel's swift and humiliating defeat of Arab armies on three fronts in 1967. Under Gaddafi, [[UsefulNotes/{{Libya}} Libya]] was considered a pariah state by the West; among the allegations were oppression of internal dissidence, acts of state-sponsored terrorism, assassinations of expatriate opposition leaders, and crass nepotism exhibited in amassing a multi-billion dollar fortune for himself and his family.

Has gone through a radical change in portrayal since the events of his overthrow: before 2011, he was mostly used as the butt of jokes about [[SpellMyNameWithAnS the many spellings of his name]] (a side effect of the vagaries of UsefulNotes/{{Arabic|Language}} pronunciation) and for his eccentricities; today, his horrible acts are more likely to be emphasized. On the flipside, considering how Libya [[AnarchyIsChaos turned]] [[ReignOfTerror out]] after his death, there is a not-insignificant sentiment among opponents of the 2011 revolution that he may have been NecessarilyEvil.

In early February 2011, [[UsefulNotes/TheArabSpring major political protests]], inspired by protests in Tunisia, Egypt and other parts of the Arab world,[[note]]Libya borders both Tunisia and Egypt[[/note]] broke out in Libya against Gaddafi's government, quickly escalating from protests into a full-blown civil war. Gaddafi vowed to "die a martyr" if necessary in his fight against the rebels and external forces. He fled Tripoli when rebel forces captured the city, and his whereabouts remained unknown until October 20, 2011. On that day Gaddafi was critically wounded in Sirte, either in a firefight with rebel forces, or by a NATO airstrike, and was captured, beaten, [[AssShove possibly sodomized]] and finally summarily executed together with some of his last remaining supporters. His corpse was [[DeadGuyOnDisplay put on display]] in a freezer for a few days, before being buried in an unmarked grave in the desert.

* He's not actually mentioned, but Gaddafi would presumably be the GreaterScopeVillain behind those Libyan terrorists in ''Film/BackToTheFuture''.

Has gone through a radical change in portrayal since the events of his overthrow: before 2011, he was mostly used as the butt of jokes about [[SpellMyNameWithAnS the many spellings of his name]] (a side effect of the vagaries of UsefulNotes/{{Arabic|Language}} pronunciation) and for his eccentricities; today, his horrible acts are more likely to be emphasized. On the flipside, considering how Libya [[AnarchyIsChaos turned]] [[ReignOfTerror out]] after his death, there is a not-insignificant sentiment among opponents of the 2011 revolution that he may have been a NecessaryEvil.

In early February 2011, [[UsefulNotes/TheArabSpring major political protests]], inspired by protests in Tunisia, Egypt and other parts of the Arab world,[[note]]Libya borders both Tunisia and Egypt[[/note]] broke out in Libya against Gaddafi's government, quickly escalating from protests into a full-blown civil war. Gaddafi vowed to "die a martyr" if necessary in his fight against the rebels and external forces. He fled Tripoli when rebel forces captured the city, and his whereabouts remained unknown until October 20, 2011. On that day Gaddafi was critically wounded in Sirte, either in a firefight with rebel forces, or by a NATO airstrike, and was captured, beaten, [[AssShove possibly sodomized]] and finally summarily executed together with some of his last remaining supporters.

* Likewise the 1982 satire ''Wrong Is Right'' had a WMD-craving Middle Eastern dictator who's a clear expy of Gaddafi. Ironically in a post-9/11 world the plot resembles the events surrounding a [[UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein certain other dictator]].

[[OverlyLongName Colonel Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi]] (circa  1942 – 20 October 2011) staged a bloodless coup d'état of UsefulNotes/Libya on September 1st 1969, where he led a small team of junior officers and overthrew then-King Idris, while he was in Turkey for medical treatment. Disposing of Crown Prince Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi (Idris' nephew), they abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. This was likely fueled by the frustration and shame felt by Libyan officers, who stood by helplessly at the time of Israel's swift and humiliating defeat of Arab armies on three fronts in 1967. Under Gaddafi, [[UsefulNotes/{{Libya}} Libya]] was considered a pariah state by the West; among the allegations were oppression of internal dissidence, acts of state-sponsored terrorism, assassinations of expatriate opposition leaders, and crass nepotism exhibited in amassing a multi-billion dollar fortune for himself and his family.

[[OverlyLongName Colonel Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi]] (circa  1942 – 20 October 2011) staged a bloodless coup d'état of Libya on September 1st 1969, where he led a small team of junior officers and overthrew then-King Idris, while he was in Turkey for medical treatment. Disposing of Crown Prince Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi (Idris' nephew), they abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. This was likely fueled by the frustration and shame felt by Libyan officers, who stood by helplessly at the time of Israel's swift and humiliating defeat of Arab armies on three fronts in 1967. Under Gaddafi, [[UsefulNotes/{{Libya}} Libya]] was considered a pariah state by the West; among the allegations were oppression of internal dissidence, acts of state-sponsored terrorism, assassinations of expatriate opposition leaders, and crass nepotism exhibited in amassing a multi-billion dollar fortune for himself and his family.

* ''Literature/TheExecutioner''. In "American Nightmare", "The Colonel" (he's never named but it's obvious who it is) hires an American mercenary for a terrorist operation in the United States. Turns out it's actually revenge on some people he paid a lot of money to film a puff piece on Libya, but who decided to expose his WMD program and keep the money anyway.

* In the ''Series/{{Airwolf}} pilot, the villain who steals Airwolf flies it to Libya. One of the tasks the Colonel asks of him in exchange for sanctuary is to sink a US warship in the Gulf of Sidra.

* Likewise the 1982 satire ''Wrong Is Right'' had a WMD-craving Middle Eastern dictator who's a clear expy of Gaddafi. Ironically in a post-9/11 world the plot resembles the events surrounding a [[UsefulNotes/SadaamHussein certain other dictator]].

In early February 2011, [[UsefulNotes/TheArabSpring major political protests]], inspired by protests in Tunisia, Egypt and other parts of the Arab world,[[note]]Libya borders both Tunisia and Egypt[[/note]] broke out in Libya against Gaddafi's government, quickly escalating from protests into a full-blown civil war. Gaddafi vowed to "die a martyr" if necessary in his fight against the rebels and external forces. He fled Tripoli when rebel forces captured the city, and his whereabouts remained unknown until October 20, 2011. On that day Gaddafi was critically wounded in Sirte, either in a firefight with rebel forces, or by a NATO airstrike, and was captured, beaten, possibly sodomized and finally summarily executed together with some of his last remaining supporters.

[[OverlyLongName Colonel Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi]], born June 7th 1942, staged a bloodless coup d'état of Libya on September 1st 1969, where he led a small team of junior officers and overthrew then-King Idris, while he was in Turkey for medical treatment. Disposing of Crown Prince Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi (Idris' nephew), they abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. This was likely fueled by the frustration and shame felt by Libyan officers, who stood by helplessly at the time of Israel's swift and humiliating defeat of Arab armies on three fronts in 1967. Under Gaddafi, [[UsefulNotes/{{Libya}} Libya]] was considered a pariah state by the West; among the allegations were oppression of internal dissidence, acts of state-sponsored terrorism, assassinations of expatriate opposition leaders, and crass nepotism exhibited in amassing a multi-billion dollar fortune for himself and his family.

[[OverlyLongName Colonel Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi]], born June 7th 1942, staged a bloodless coup d'état of Libya on September 1st 1969, where he led a small team of junior officers and overthrew then-King Idris, while he was in Turkey for medical treatment. Disposing of Crown Prince Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi (Idris' nephew), they abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. This was likely fueled by the frustration and shame felt by Libyan officers, who stood by helplessly at the time of Israel's swift and humiliating defeat of Arab armies on three fronts in 1967. Under Gaddafi, [[UsefulNotes/{{Libya}} Libya]] was considered as a pariah state by the West; among the allegations were oppression of internal dissidence, acts of state-sponsored terrorism, assassinations of expatriate opposition leaders, and crass nepotism exhibited in amassing a multi-billion dollar fortune for himself and his family.

[[caption-width-right:289: [[MeaningfulName Abu Shafshufa]][[hottip:translation:Arabic for "Old Fuzzhead"]]]]

* The short-lived 1987 series ''Second Chance'' had a one off gag showing Saint Peter condemning him to spend the rest of eternity in Hell as a [[IronicHell human bomb exploding and reforming every two minutes]]. What makes this notable is the given date of his death: July 29th 2011, [[AccidentallyAccurate less than three months away from the real date]].

->''"He has a split personality - both parts evil."''

Has gone through a radical change in portrayal since the events of his overthrow: before 2011, he was mostly used as the butt of jokes about [[SpellMyNameWithAnS the many spellings of his name]] (a side effect of the vagaries of UsefulNotes/{{Arabic|Language}} pronunciation) and for his eccentricities; today, his horrible acts are more likely to be emphasized.