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Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (1942 – 20 October 2011), commonly known as Colonel Gaddafi, was a Libyan revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He governed Libya as Revolutionary Chairman of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then as the "Brotherly Leader" of the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" from 1977 to 2011. He was initially ideologically committed to Arab nationalism and Arab socialism but later ruled according to his own Third International Theory.
Conditions of Libya under Gaddafi
Gaddafi sought to transform Libya into a new socialist state called a Jamahiriya ("state of the masses") in 1977.
- No electricity bills in Libya; free electricity for all its citizens.[1]
- There was no interest on loans, banks in Libya are state-owned and loans given to all its citizens at 0% interest by law.[1]
- If a Libyan is unable to find employment after graduation, the state would pay the average salary of the profession as if he or she is employed until employment is found.[1]
- Should Libyans want to take up a farming career, they receive farm land, a house, equipment, seed and livestock to kick start their farms – this was all for free.[1]
- Gaddafi carried out the world’s largest irrigation project, known as the Great Man-Made River project, to make water readily available throughout the desert country.[1]
- A home was considered a human right in Libya. (In Qaddafi’s Green Book it states: “The house is a basic need of both the individual and the family, therefore it should not be owned by others.”)[1]
- All newlyweds in Libya would receive 60,000 Dinar (US$ 50,000 ) by the government to buy their first apartment so to help start a family.[1]
- A portion of Libyan oil sales is or was credited directly to the bank accounts of all Libyan citizens.[1]
- A mother who gives birth to a child would receive US $5,000.[1]
- When a Libyan buys a car, the government would subsidize 50% of the price.[1]
- Fuel subsidies: The price of petrol in Libya was $0.14 per liter.[1]
- Food subsidies: For $ 0.15, a Libyan local could purchase 40 loaves of bread.[1]
- Education and medical treatments was all free in Libya. Libya can boast one of the finest health care systems in the Arab and African World. All people have access to doctors, hospitals, clinics and medicines, completely free of charge.[1]
- If Libyans cannot find the education or medical facilities they need in Libya, the government would fund them to go abroad for it – not only free but they get US $2,300/month accommodation and car allowance.[1]
- 25% of Libyans have a university degree. Before Gaddafi only 25% of Libyans were literate. Today the figure is 87%.[1]
- Libya had no external debt and its reserves amount to $150 billion – though much of this is now frozen globally.[1]
Death
Following NATO invasion of Libya, Gaddafi was killed by a US drone strike, despite the rebels' call for covert support for their mission, rather than overt support.[2]