Muammar Gaddafi was effectively overthrown in late August 2011, when rebel forces captured the Libyan capital, Tripoli, ending his control over the state. He was later killed on 20 October 2011 near Sirte, which symbolically marked the final collapse of his regime.

Key dates

  • Fall of Tripoli (de facto overthrow): Rebel forces took Tripoli in late August 2011, displacing Gaddafi’s government and ending his ability to rule the country in practice.
  • Death and final fall: Gaddafi was captured and killed by anti‑government fighters in Sirte on 20 October 2011, after several weeks on the run.

Short context

  • Gaddafi had ruled Libya since a 1969 coup that overthrew King Idris I, establishing the Libyan Arab Republic.
  • His overthrow came amid the 2011 Arab Spring, when protests in Libya escalated into an armed uprising backed by a NATO air campaign, culminating in the fall of Tripoli and later Sirte.

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