Libya: Gaddafi planned to crown himself king

Brief unearthed by Britain's Daily Telegraph reveals fallen regime's plans to make Gaddafi king of Libya in efforts to 'confront Libya's enemies', gain upper hand in uprising

Ynetnews|Published: 08.28.11 , 13:51

Muammar Gaddafi's regime may have lost all hope of ever regaining the upper hand in Libya, but it has now been revealed that they once had very grandiose plans for their now former leader.

An internal briefing paper found in the Libyan prime minister’s office set out plans for confronting Libya's enemies, including a proposal to proclaim a new monarchy.

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Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Sunday that it had uncovered the document during a visit to Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi’s deserted Tripoli office.

The eight point strategy document was among papers dealing with the “crisis” facing the regime as pressure mounted on Gaddafi to leave power.

Crowned head? Gaddafi's statue destroyed by rebels (Photo: AP)

The brief dated 15 July set out a step-by-step program to mobilize Libya’s tribes to re-establish regime control of the country. But by then rebels controlled three large swathes of the country in the east, center and west of Libya and were advancing on the capital Tripoli.

At the same time Libyan officials were publicly appealing for a ceasefire and said they were committed to an African Union road map as the basis for peace. But internally Gaddafi’s henchmen were scheming to return Libya to a tribal state presided over by his family.

No formal position

Such a plan would have allowed the 69-year old dictator, who overthrew King Idris in 1969 in a military coup, to handover power to one of his seven sons within a constitutional framework.

Gaddafi did not hold a formal position in the Libyan state and has always been referred to as the Brother Leader or Guide of the revolution. Officially known as the “The Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya”, Gaddafi’s state has been a radical republican force backing antimonarchy movements around the world.

Yet in a bid to increase his standing in Africa, Gaddafi had himself proclaimed king of kings of the continent in 1999. He used the title to disrupt large amounts of Libya’s oil wealth to tribal chieftains in the name of African unity.