Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi might be facing the same fate as Hosni Mubarak. Libya’s uprising was boiling and now it has erupted. The Libyan unrest is spreading to the capital Tripoli after protesters were killed in the second city Benghazi. Qaddafi is attempting to stop protests with a violent crackdown, triggering some of the worst bloodshed in two months, since unrest began sweeping the Arab world.
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It’s safe to say that if this uprising continues, Qaddafi may be out indefinitely. Before Qaddafi is potentially ousted, there are a couple things you should know about the leader and his country. Here is a guide to Muammar Qaddafi and Libya.
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Long Live The King
Qaddafi is one of three people that are the longest serving heads of state. The other two are King Rama IX of Thailand and Queen Elizabeth II.
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Drops Books Like Jay-Z…
Qaddafi penned ‘ The Green Book’ in three volumes from 1975 to 1979. He also released a collection of essays and allegories named ‘Escape to Hell and other stories.’
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We Are All One
The ‘United States of Africa’ was an idea Qaddafi had in 1972. He attempted to join Libya with Egypt and Syria in a ‘Federation of Arab Republics,’ Two years later, he made another failed effort to merge Libya with Tunisia.
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Qaddafi The Baller
Qaddafi bought a significant stake in Juventus, the Italian football club, from his friend Gianni Agnelli, the owner of Fiat.
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The King of Kings of Africa
Qaddafi gave himself the title ‘King of Kings of Africa.’ He also decided that he should be known as ‘Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya’ or ‘Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution.’
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Down With Al-Qaeda
Qaddafi spoke out quickly and strongly against al-Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks, and urged Libyans to donate blood for the victims.
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Water Works
Libya has one of the world’s most ambitious irrigation systems. The Great Man-Made River is a huge network of pipes, viaducts and wells, sometimes as much as 500 meters underneath the surface of the earth, which transports more than 6 million cubic meters of water from underneath the Sahara to the country’s northern regions every day.
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