Gaddafi’s decades-long rule nears end

Muammar Gaddafi’s rule in Libya lasted for more than four decades, a record that few world leaders can boast.

Having seized power in a military coup at at the age of 27, he imposed a pan-Arab, anti-imperialist philosophy that won him both friends and enemies.

Despite admitting that he had a nuclear weapons programme, he was tolerated by the international community because of Libya’s rich oil deposits, a dwindling international resource.

Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher takes a look back at his rise – and subsequent fall.