Former prime minister of Libya Muammar Gaddafi lived a largely public life. Also known as Colonel Gaddafi, he died in 2011, but it will be a long time before his legacy is forgotten. Here, we present our list of 15 things you probably did not know about Muammar Gaddafi. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: Under His Rule, a Home Was a Natural Human Right. Gaddafi’s Green Book states, “The house is a basic need of both the individual and the family, therefore it should not be owned by others.” He believed that every person should have his own home if he wants it.
Number Fourteen: He Believed in Free Health Care and Education. Under Gaddafi’s rule, Libyan citizens had access to some of the best health care services. If a Libyan citizen could not find the treatment he or she needed, funds were sent so he or she could travel to where he or she needed to go.
Number Thirteen: He Helped Execute the Largest Irrigation Project in the World. A manmade river was designed so water would be readily available all around Libya. Gaddafi’s government funded the project, and it was said that Gaddafi called the project, ‘the eighth wonder of the world.”
Number Twelve: He Raised the Education Level. Before Gaddafi’s rule, just one-quarter of Libyans were literate. Under his rule, that number went from 25 percent to 87 percent.
Number Eleven: He Never Went Anywhere Without His Entourage. Gaddafi alway shad Ukrainian nurses and female virgin bodyguards with him. Apparently, his favorite posse member was a “voluptuous” blonde named Galyna.
Number Ten: He Had an OCD-Like Fear. Apparently, Gaddafi was perfectly fine with climbing 34 steps, but he had a huge issue with climbing more than 35 steps at a time. He very frequently refused to travel to the highest floors of buildings.
Number Nine: He Once Paid People to Attent His Lecture. And it gets more ridiculous than that. In Rome in 2010, Gaddafi actually paid a modeling agency to bring 500 women to one of his lectures. He tried to get the women to convert to Islam.