title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: In 1989, Gaddafi was overjoyed by the foundation of the Arab Maghreb Union, uniting Libya in an economic pact with Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, viewing it as beginnings of a new pan-Arab union. Meanwhile, Libya stepped up its support for anti-Western militants such as the Provisional IRA, and in 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie in Scotland, killing 243 passengers and 16 crew members, plus 11 people on the ground. British police investigations identified two Libyans – Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah – as the chief suspects, and in November 1991 issued a declaration demanding that Libya hand them over. When Gaddafi refused, citing the Montreal Convention, the United Nations (UN) imposed Resolution 748 in March 1992, initiating economic sanctions against Libya which had deep repercussions for the country's economy. The country suffered an estimated US$900 million financial loss as a result. Further problems arose with the West when in January 1989, two Libyan warplanes were shot down by the US off the Libyan coast.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Many Arab and African states opposed the UN sanctions, with Mandela criticizing them on a visit to Gaddafi in October 1997, when he praised Libya for its work in fighting apartheid and awarded Gaddafi the Order of Good Hope. They would only be suspended in 1998 when Libya agreed to allow the extradition of the suspects to the Scottish Court in the Netherlands, in a process overseen by Mandela. As a result of the trial, Fhimah was acquitted and al-Megrahi convicted. Privately, Gaddafi maintained that he knew nothing about who perpetrated the bombing and that Libya had nothing to do with it.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: During the final years of the 20th Century, Gaddafi—frustrated by the failure of his pan-Arab ideals—increasingly rejected Arab nationalism in favour of pan-Africanism, emphasizing Libya's African identity. From 1997 to 2000, Libya initiated cooperative agreements or bilateral aid arrangements with 10 African states, and in 1999 joined the Community of Sahel-Saharan States. In June 1999, Gaddafi visited Mandela in South Africa, and the following month attended the OAU summit in Algiers, calling for greater political and economic integration across the continent and advocating the foundation of a United States of Africa. He became one of the founders of the African Union (AU), initiated in July 2002 to replace the OAU; at the opening ceremonies, he called for African states to reject conditional aid from the developed world, a direct contrast to the message of South African President Thabo Mbeki. There was speculation that Gaddafi wanted to become the AU's first chair, raising concerns within Africa that this would damage the Union's international standing, particularly with the West.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: At the third AU summit, held in Tripoli, Libya, in July 2005, Gaddafi called for greater integration, advocating a single AU passport, a common defence system, and a single currency, using the slogan: "The United States of Africa is the hope." His proposal for a Union of African States, a project originally conceived by Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah in the 1960s, was rejected at the 2001 Assembly of Heads of States and Government (AHSG) summit in Lusaka by African leaders who thought it "unrealistic" and "utopian". In June 2005, Libya joined the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). In March 2008 in Uganda, Gaddafi gave a speech once again urging Africa to reject foreign aid. In August 2008, Gaddafi was proclaimed "King of Kings" by a committee of traditional African leaders; they crowned him in February 2009, in a ceremony held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. That same month, Gaddafi was elected as the chairperson of the African Union, a position he retained for one year. In October 2010, Gaddafi apologized to African leaders for the historical enslavement of Africans by the Arab slave trade.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: In 1999, Libya began secret talks with the British government to normalize relations. In September 2001, Gaddafi publicly condemned the September 11 attacks on the US by al-Qaeda, expressing sympathy with the victims and calling for Libyan involvement in the US-led War on Terror against militant Islamism. His government continued suppressing domestic Islamism, at the same time as Gaddafi called for the wider application of "sharia" law. Libya also cemented connections with China and North Korea, being visited by Chinese President Jiang Zemin in April 2002. Influenced by the events of the Iraq War, in December 2003, Libya renounced its possession of weapons of mass destruction, decommissioning its chemical and nuclear weapons programs. Relations with the US improved as a result. British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Gaddafi in March 2004; the pair developed close personal ties. In 2003, Libya paid US$2.7 billion to the families of the victims of Lockerbie bombings as it was the condition the US and UK had made for terminating the remaining UN sanctions. Libya continued to deny any role in the bombing.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: In 2004, Gaddafi traveled to the headquarters of the European Union (EU) in Brussels—signifying improved relations between Libya and the EU—and the EU dropped its sanctions on Libya. As a strategic player in Europe's attempts to stem illegal migration from Africa, in October 2010, the EU paid Libya over €50 million to stop African migrants passing into Europe; Gaddafi encouraged the move, saying that it was necessary to prevent the loss of European cultural identity to a new "Black Europe". Gaddafi also completed agreements with the Italian government that they would invest in various infrastructure projects as reparations for past Italian colonial policies in Libya. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gave Libya an official apology in 2006, after which Gaddafi called him the "iron man" for his courage in doing so. In August 2008, Gaddafi and Berlusconi signed a historic cooperation treaty in Benghazi; under its terms, Italy would pay $5 billion to Libya as compensation for its former military occupation. In exchange, Libya would take measures to combat illegal immigration coming from its shores and boost investment in Italian companies.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism in 2006, Gaddafi nevertheless continued his anti-Western rhetoric, and at the Second Africa-South America Summit, held in Venezuela in September 2009, he called for a military alliance across Africa and Latin America to rival NATO. That month he also addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City for the first time, using it to condemn "Western aggression". In Spring 2010, Gaddafi proclaimed "jihad" against Switzerland after Swiss police accused two of his family members of criminal activity in the country, resulting in the breakdown of bilateral relations.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Libya's economy witnessed increasing privatization; although rejecting the socialist policies of nationalized industry advocated in "The Green Book", government figures asserted that they were forging "people's socialism" rather than capitalism. Gaddafi welcomed these reforms, calling for wide-scale privatization in a March 2003 speech; he promised that Libya would join the World Trade Organization. These reforms encouraged private investment in Libya's economy. By 2004, there was US$40 billion of direct foreign investment in Libya, a six-fold rise over 2003. Sectors of Libya's population reacted against these reforms with public demonstrations, and in March 2006, revolutionary hard-liners took control of the GPC cabinet; although scaling back the pace of the changes, they did not halt them. In 2010, plans were announced that would have seen half the Libyan economy privatized over the following decade, these plans appear to have been soon abandoned however, as the companies that the government stated they were going to float on the stock market, among them the National Commercial Bank and the Libyan Iron and Steel Company were never floated and remained 100% state-owned. Many socialist policies remained however, with subsidiaries of logistics company HB Group being nationalized in 2007. Agriculture remained largely untouched by the reforms, with farms remaining cooperatives, the Agricultural Bank of Libya remaining wholly state-owned and state interventionist policies and price controls remaining. The oil industry remained largely state-owned, with the wholly state-owned National Oil Corporation retaining a 70% share in Libya's oil industry, the government also imposed a 93% tax on all oil that foreign companies produced in Libya. Price controls and subsidies over oil and food remained in place, and state-provided benefits such as free education, universal healthcare, free housing, free water and free electricity remained in place. Libya also changed its stance on the WTO after the removal of Shukri Ghanem, with Gaddafi condemning the WTO as a neocolonial terrorist organisation, and urging African and Third World countries not to join it.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: While there was no accompanying political liberalization, with Gaddafi retaining predominant control, in March 2010, the government devolved further powers to the municipal councils. Rising numbers of reformist technocrats attained positions in the country's governance; best known was Gaddafi's son and heir apparent Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who was openly critical of Libya's human rights record. He led a group who proposed the drafting of a new constitution, although it was never adopted. Involved in encouraging tourism, Saif founded several privately run media channels in 2008, but after criticizing the government, they were nationalized in 2009.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Following the start of the Arab Spring in 2011, Gaddafi spoke out in favour of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, then threatened by the Tunisian Revolution. He suggested that Tunisia's people would be satisfied if Ben Ali introduced a "Jamahiriyah" system there. Fearing domestic protest, Libya's government implemented preventive measures by reducing food prices, purging the army leadership of potential defectors, and releasing several Islamist prisoners. This proved ineffective, and on 17 February 2011, major protests broke out against Gaddafi's government. Unlike Tunisia or Egypt, Libya was largely religiously homogeneous and had no strong Islamist movement, but there was widespread dissatisfaction with the corruption and entrenched systems of patronage, while unemployment had reached around 30 percent.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Accusing the rebels of being "drugged" and linked to al-Qaeda, Gaddafi proclaimed that he would die a martyr rather than leave Libya. As he announced that the rebels would be "hunted down street by street, house by house and wardrobe by wardrobe", the army opened fire on protesters in Benghazi, killing hundreds. Shocked at the government's response, a number of senior politicians resigned or defected to the protesters' side. The uprising spread quickly through Libya's less economically developed eastern half. By February's end, eastern cities such as Benghazi, Misrata, al-Bayda, and Tobruk were controlled by rebels, and the Benghazi-based National Transitional Council (NTC) formed to represent them.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: In the conflict's early months it appeared that Gaddafi's government—with its greater fire-power—would be victorious. Both sides disregarded the laws of war, committing human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial executions, and revenge attacks. On 26 February, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1970, suspending Libya from the UN Human Rights Council, implementing sanctions and calling for an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the killing of unarmed civilians. In March, the Security Council declared a no-fly zone to protect the civilian population from aerial bombardment, calling on foreign nations to enforce it; it also specifically prohibited foreign occupation. Ignoring this, Qatar sent hundreds of troops to support the dissidents and, along with France and the United Arab Emirates, provided weaponry and military training to the NTC. NATO announced that it would enforce the no-fly zone. On 30 April a NATO airstrike killed Gaddafi's sixth son and three of his grandsons in Tripoli. This Western military intervention was criticized by various leftist governments, including those that had criticized Gaddafi's response to the protests, because they regarded it as an imperialist attempt to secure control of Libya's resources.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: In June, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and his brother-in-law Abdullah Senussi, head of state security, for charges concerning crimes against humanity. That month, Amnesty International published their report, finding that Gaddafi's forces were responsible for numerous war crimes but added that a number of allegations of human rights abuses lacked credible evidence. The report added that "much Western media coverage has from the outset presented a very one-sided view of the logic of events, portraying the protest movement as entirely peaceful and repeatedly suggesting that the regime's security forces were unaccountably massacring unarmed demonstrators". In July, over 30 governments recognized the NTC as the legitimate government of Libya; Gaddafi called on his supporters to "Trample on those recognitions, trample on them under your feet ... They are worthless". In August, the Arab League recognized the NTC as "the legitimate representative of the Libyan state".


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Aided by NATO air cover, the rebel militia pushed westward, defeating loyalist armies and securing control of the centre of the country. Gaining the support of Amazigh (Berber) communities of the Nafusa Mountains, who had long been persecuted as non-Arabic speakers under Gaddafi, the NTC armies surrounded Gaddafi loyalists in several key areas of western Libya. In August, the rebels seized Zliten and Tripoli, ending the last vestiges of Gaddafist power. It is probable that without the NATO air strikes supporting the rebels, they would not have been able to advance west and Gaddafi's forces would have ultimately retaken control of eastern Libya.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Only a few towns in western Libya such as Bani Walid, Sebha, and Sirte remained Gaddafist strongholds. Retreating to Sirte after Tripoli's fall, Gaddafi announced his willingness to negotiate for a handover to a transitional government, a suggestion rejected by the NTC. Surrounding himself with bodyguards, he continually moved residences to escape NTC shelling, devoting his days to prayer and reading the Qur'an. On 20 October, Gaddafi broke out of Sirte's District 2 in a joint civilian-military convoy, hoping to take refuge in the Jarref Valley. At around 08:30, NATO bombers attacked, destroying at least 14 vehicles and killing at least 53 people. The convoy scattered, and Gaddafi and those closest to him fled to a nearby villa, which was shelled by rebel militia from Misrata. Fleeing to a construction site, Gaddafi and his inner cohort hid inside drainage pipes while his bodyguards battled the rebels; in the conflict, Gaddafi suffered head injuries from a grenade blast while defence minister Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr was killed.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: The Misrata militia took Gaddafi prisoner, causing serious injuries as they tried to apprehend him; the events were filmed on a mobile phone. A video appears to picture Gaddafi being poked or stabbed in the anus "with some kind of stick or knife" or possibly a bayonet. Pulled onto the front of a pick-up truck, he fell off as it drove away. His semi-naked, lifeless body was then placed into an ambulance and taken to Misrata; upon arrival, he was found to be dead. Official NTC accounts claimed that Gaddafi was caught in a cross-fire and died from bullet wounds. Other eye-witness accounts claimed that rebels had fatally shot Gaddafi in the stomach. Gaddafi's son Mutassim, who had also been in the convoy, was similarly captured and found dead several hours later, most probably from an extrajudicial execution. Around 140 Gaddafi loyalists were rounded up from the convoy; the corpses of 66 were later found at the nearby Mahari Hotel, victims of extrajudicial execution. Libya's chief forensic pathologist, Othman al-Zintani, carried out the autopsies of Gaddafi, his son, and Jabr in the days following their deaths; although the pathologist informed the press that Gaddafi had died from a gunshot wound to the head, the autopsy report was not made public.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: That afternoon, NTC Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril publicly revealed the news of Gaddafi's death. His corpse was placed in the freezer of a local market alongside the corpses of Yunis Jabr and Mutassim; the bodies were publicly displayed for four days, with Libyans from all over the country coming to view them. Footage of Gaddafi's death was broadcast extensively across media networks internationally. In response to international calls, on 24 October Jibril announced that a commission would investigate Gaddafi's death. On 25 October, the NTC announced that Gaddafi had been buried at an unidentified location in the desert.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Seeking vengeance for the killing, Gaddafi supporters severely wounded and tortured one of those who had captured Gaddafi, 22-year-old Omran Shaaban, near Bani Walid in September 2012. They tortured him for days, and he eventually died in France.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Gaddafi's ideological worldview was molded by his environment, namely his Islamic faith, his Bedouin upbringing, and his disgust at the actions of Italian colonialists in Libya. As a schoolboy, Gaddafi adopted the ideologies of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism, influenced in particular by Nasserism, the thought of the Egyptian President Nasser, whom Gaddafi regarded as his hero; Nasser privately described Gaddafi as "a nice boy, but terribly naïve". During the early 1970s, Gaddafi formulated his own particular approach to Arab nationalism and socialism, known as Third International Theory, which "The New York Times" described as a combination of "utopian socialism, Arab nationalism, and the Third World revolutionary theory that was in vogue at the time". He regarded this system as a practical alternative to the then-dominant international models of Western capitalism and Marxism–Leninism. He laid out the principles of this Theory in the three volumes of "The Green Book", in which he sought to "explain the structure of the ideal society".


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: The Libyan studies specialist Ronald Bruce St. John regarded Arab nationalism as Gaddafi's "primordial value", stating that during the early years of his government, Gaddafi was "the Arab nationalist par excellence". Gaddafi called for the Arab world to regain its dignity and assert a major place on the world stage, blaming Arab backwardness on stagnation resulting from Ottoman rule, European colonialism and imperialism, and corrupt and repressive monarchies. Gaddafi's Arab nationalist views led him to the pan-Arabist belief in the need for unity across the Arab world, combining the Arab nation under a single nation-state. To this end, he had proposed a political union with five neighbouring Arab states by 1974, although without success. In keeping with his views regarding Arabs, his political stance was described as nativist. Gaddafi also had international ambitions, wanting to export his revolutionary ideas throughout the world. Gaddafi saw his socialist "Jamahiriyah" as a model for the Arab, Islamic, and non-aligned worlds to follow, and in his speeches declared that his Third International Theory would eventually guide the entire planet. He nevertheless had minimal success in exporting the ideology outside of Libya.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Along with Arab nationalism, anti-imperialism was also a defining feature of Gaddafi's regime during its early years. He believed in opposing Western imperialism and colonialism in the Arab world, including any Western expansionism through the form of Israel. He offered support to a broad range of political groups abroad that called themselves "anti-imperialist", especially those that set themselves in opposition to the United States. For many years, anti-Zionism was a fundamental component of Gaddafi's ideology. He believed that the state of Israel should not exist and that any Arab compromise with the Israeli government was a betrayal of the Arab people. In large part due to their support of Israel, Gaddafi despised the United States, considering the country to be imperialist and lambasting it as "the embodiment of evil". He sought to distinguish "oriental" Jews who had lived in the Middle East for generations from the European Jews who had migrated to Palestine during the 20th century, calling the latter "vagabonds" and "mercenaries" who should return to Europe. He rallied against Jews in many of his speeches, with Blundy and Lycett claiming that his anti-Semitism was "almost Hitlerian". As Pan-Africanism increasingly became his focus in the early 21st century, Gaddafi became less interested in the Israel-Palestine issue, calling for the two communities to form a new single-state that he termed "Isratin". This would have led the Jewish population to become a minority within the new state.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Gaddafi rejected the secularist approach to Arab nationalism that had been pervasive in Syria, with his revolutionary movement placing a far stronger emphasis on Islam than previous Arab nationalist movements had done. He deemed Arabism and Islam to be inseparable, referring to them as "one and indivisible", and called on the Arab world's Christian minority to convert to Islam. He insisted that Islamic law should be the basis for the law of the state, blurring any distinction between the religious and secular realms. He desired unity across the Islamic world, and encouraged the propagation of the faith elsewhere; on a 2010 visit to Italy, he paid a modelling agency to find 200 young Italian women for a lecture he gave urging them to convert. According to the Gaddafi biographer Jonathan Bearman, in Islamic terms Gaddafi was a modernist rather than a fundamentalist, for he subordinated religion to the political system rather than seeking to Islamicise the state as Islamists sought to do. He was driven by a sense of "divine mission", believing himself a conduit of God's will, and thought that he must achieve his goals "no matter what the cost". His interpretation of Islam was nevertheless idiosyncratic, and he clashed with conservative Libyan clerics. Many criticized his attempts to encourage women to enter traditionally male-only sectors of society, such as the armed forces. Gaddafi was keen to improve women's status, although saw the sexes as "separate but equal" and therefore felt women should usually remain in traditional roles.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Gaddafi described his approach to economics as "Islamic socialism". For him, a socialist society could be defined as one in which men controlled their own needs, either through personal ownership or through a collective. Although the early policies pursued by his government were state capitalist in orientation, by 1978 he believed that private ownership of the means of production was exploitative and thus he sought to move Libya away from capitalism and towards socialism. Private enterprise was largely eliminated in favour of a centrally controlled economy. The extent to which Libya became socialist under Gaddafi is disputed. Bearman suggested that while Libya did undergo "a profound social revolution", he did not think that "a socialist society" was established in Libya. Conversely, St. John expressed the view that "if socialism is defined as a redistribution of wealth and resources, a socialist revolution clearly occurred in Libya" under Gaddafi's regime.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Gaddafi was staunchly anti-Marxist, and in 1973 declared that "it is the duty of every Muslim to combat" Marxism because it promotes atheism. In his view, ideologies like Marxism and Zionism were alien to the Islamic world and were a threat to the ummah, or global Islamic community. Nevertheless, Blundy and Lycett noted that Gaddafi's socialism had a "curiously Marxist undertone", with political scientist Sami Hajjar arguing that Gaddafi's model of socialism offered a simplification of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels's theories. While acknowledging the Marxist influence on Gaddafi's thought, Bearman stated that the Libyan leader rejected Marxism's core tenet, that of class struggle as the main engine of social development. Instead of embracing the Marxist idea that a socialist society emerged from class struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoisie, Gaddafi believed that socialism would be achieved through overturning "unnatural" capitalism and returning society to its "natural equilibrium". In this, he sought to replace a capitalist economy with one based on his own romanticized ideas of a traditional, pre-capitalist past. This owed much to the Islamic belief in God's natural law providing order to the universe.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: A very private individual, Gaddafi was given to rumination and solitude and could be reclusive. The reporter Mirella Bianco interviewed Gaddafi's father, who stated that his son was "always serious, even taciturn", also being courageous, intelligent, pious, and family-oriented. Gaddafi's friends described him to Bianco as a loyal and generous man. More widely, he was often regarded as being "bizarre, irrational or quixotic". Bearman noted that Gaddafi was emotionally volatile and had an impulsive temperament, with the CIA believing that the Libyan leader suffered from clinical depression. Gaddafi described himself as a "simple revolutionary" and "pious Muslim" called upon by God to continue Nasser's work. Gaddafi was an austere and devout Muslim, although according to Vandewalle, his interpretation of Islam was "deeply personal and idiosyncratic." He was also a football enthusiast and enjoyed both playing the sport and horse riding as a means of recreation. He regarded himself as an intellectual; he was a fan of Beethoven and said his favourite novels were "Uncle Tom's Cabin", "", and "The Stranger".


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Gaddafi regarded personal appearance as important, with Blundy and Lycett referring to him as "extraordinarily vain." Gaddafi had a large wardrobe, and sometimes changed his outfit multiple times a day. He favoured either a military uniform or traditional Libyan dress, tending to eschew Western-style suits. He saw himself as a fashion icon, stating "Whatever I wear becomes a fad. I wear a certain shirt and suddenly everyone is wearing it." Following his ascension to power, Gaddafi moved into the Bab al-Azizia barracks, a 6-square-kilometre (2.3 sq mi) fortified compound located two miles from the centre of Tripoli. His home and office at Azizia was a bunker designed by West German engineers, while the rest of his family lived in a large two-storey building. Within the compound were also two tennis courts, a football pitch, several gardens, camels and a Bedouin tent in which he entertained guests. In the 1980s, his lifestyle was considered modest in comparison to those of many other Arab leaders.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: He was preoccupied with his own security, regularly changing where he slept and sometimes grounding all other planes in Libya when he was flying. He made particular requests when travelling to foreign countries. During his trips to Rome, Paris, Madrid, Moscow, and New York City, he resided in a bulletproof tent, following his Bedouin traditions. Gaddafi was notably confrontational in his approach to foreign powers and generally shunned Western ambassadors and diplomats, believing them to be spies.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: In the 1970s and 1980s, there were reports of his making sexual advances toward female reporters and members of his entourage. Starting in the 1980s, he travelled with his all-female Amazonian Guard, who were allegedly sworn to a life of celibacy. After Gaddafi's death, the Libyan psychologist Seham Sergewa, part of a team investigating sexual offences during the civil war, stated that five of the guards told her they had been raped by Gaddafi and senior officials. After Gaddafi's death, the French journalist Annick Cojean published a book alleging that Gaddafi had had sexual relations with women, some in their early teenage years, who had been specially selected for him. One of those Cojean interviewed, a woman named Soraya, claimed that Gaddafi kept her imprisoned in a basement for six years, where he repeatedly raped her, urinated on her, and forced her to watch pornography, drink alcohol, and snort cocaine. Gaddafi also hired several Ukrainian nurses to care for him; one described him as kind and considerate and was surprised that allegations of abuse had been made against him.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Gaddafi married his first wife, Fatiha al-Nuri, in 1969. She was the daughter of General Khalid, a senior figure in King Idris's administration, and was from a middle-class background. Although they had one son, Muhammad Gaddafi (born 1970), their relationship was strained, and they divorced in 1970. Gaddafi's second wife was Safia Farkash, née el-Brasai, a former nurse from the Obeidat tribe born in Bayda. They met in 1969, following his ascension to power, when he was hospitalized with appendicitis; he claimed that it was love at first sight. The couple remained married until his death. Together they had seven biological children: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (born 1972), Al-Saadi Gaddafi (born 1973), Mutassim Gaddafi (1974–2011), Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi (born 1975), Ayesha Gaddafi (born 1976), Saif al-Arab Gaddafi (1982–2011), and Khamis Gaddafi (1983–2011). He also adopted two children, Hana Gaddafi and Milad Gaddafi. Several of his sons gained a reputation for lavish and anti-social behaviour in Libya, which proved a source of resentment toward his administration. His cousin Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam is Libya's former Special Envoy to Egypt and a leading figure of the Gaddafi regime. He was a key member of Gaddafi's inner circle.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: According to Vandewalle, Gaddafi "dominated [Libya's] political life" during his period in power. The sociologist Raymond A. Hinnebusch described the Libyan as "perhaps the most exemplary contemporary case of the politics of charismatic leadership", displaying all of the traits of charismatic authority outlined by the sociologist Max Weber. According to Hinnebusch, the foundations of Gaddafi's "personal charismatic authority" in Libya stemmed from the blessing he had received from Nasser coupled with "nationalist achievements" such as the expulsion of foreign military bases, the extraction of higher prices for Libyan oil, and his vocal support for the Palestinian and other anti-imperialist causes.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: A cult of personality devoted to Gaddafi existed in Libya through most of his rule. His biographer Alison Pargeter noted that "he filled every space, moulding the entire country around himself." Depictions of his face could be found throughout the country, including on postage stamps, watches, and school satchels. Quotations from "The Green Book" appeared on a wide variety of places, from street walls to airports and pens, and were put to pop music for public release. In private, Gaddafi often complained that he disliked this personality cult surrounding him, but that he tolerated it because the people of Libya adored him. The cult served a political purpose, with Gaddafi helping to provide a central identity for the Libyan state.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Several biographers and observers characterized Gaddafi as a populist. He enjoyed attending lengthy public sessions where people were invited to question him; these were often televised. Throughout Libya, crowds of supporters would arrive at public events where he appeared. Described as "spontaneous demonstrations" by the government, there are recorded instances of groups being coerced or paid to attend. He was typically late to public events, and would sometimes fail to arrive. Although Bianco thought he had a "gift for oratory", he was considered a poor orator by Blundy and Lycett. The biographer Daniel Kawczynski noted that Gaddafi was famed for his "lengthy, wandering" speeches, which typically involved criticizing Israel and the US. The journalist Ruth First described his speeches as being "an inexhaustible flow; didactic, at times incoherent; peppered with snatches of half-formed opinions; admonitions; confidences; some sound common sense, and as much prejudice".


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Gaddafi was a controversial and highly divisive world figure. According to Bearman, Gaddafi "evoked the extremes of passion: supreme adoration from his following, bitter contempt from his opponents". Bearman added that "in a country that formerly suffered foreign domination, [Gaddafi]'s anti-imperialism has proved enduringly popular". Gaddafi's domestic popularity stemmed from his overthrow of the monarchy, his removal of the Italian settlers and both American and British air bases from Libyan territory, and his redistribution of the country's land on a more equitable basis. Supporters praised Gaddafi's administration for the creation of an almost classless society through domestic reform. They stressed the regime's achievements in combating homelessness, ensuring access to food and safe drinking water, and to dramatic improvements in education; under Gaddafi, literacy rates rose significantly, and all education to university level was free. Gaddafi's Great Man-Made River is the world's largest irrigation project. Supporters have also applauded achievements in medical care, praising the universal free healthcare provided under the Gaddafist administration, with diseases like cholera and typhoid being contained and life expectancy raised.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Biographers Blundy and Lycett believed that under the first decade of Gaddafi's leadership, life for most Libyans "undoubtedly changed for the better" as material conditions and wealth drastically improved, while Libyan studies specialist Lillian Craig Harris remarked that in the early years of his administration, Libya's "national wealth and international influence soared, and its national standard of living [had] risen dramatically". Such high standards declined during the 1980s, as a result of economic stagnation; it was in this decade that the number of Libyan defectors increased. Gaddafi claimed that his "Jamahiriya" was a "concrete utopia", and that he had been appointed by "popular assent", with some Islamic supporters believing that he exhibited "barakah". His opposition to Western governments earned him the respect of many in the Euro-American far right, with the UK-based National Front, for instance, embracing aspects of the Third International Theory during the 1980s. His anti-Western stance also attracted praise from the far left; in 1971, the Soviet Union awarded him the Order of Lenin, although his mistrust of atheist Marxism-Leninism prevented him from attending the ceremony in Moscow. First noted that, during the early 1970s, various students at the Paris 8 University were hailing Gaddafi as "the only Third World leader with any real stomach for struggle".


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: The Libyan anti-Gaddafist movement brought together a diverse array of groups, which had varied motives and objectives. It comprised at least five generations of oppositional forces which included Islamic fundamentalists who opposed his radical reforms, a few active monarchists, members of the old pre-Gaddafist elite, conservative nationalists who backed his Arab nationalist agenda but opposed his left-wing economic reforms, and technocrats who had their future prospects stunted by the 1969 coup. Members of Libya's merchant middle-class were often angered at the loss of their businesses through Gaddafi's nationalization program, while many Libyans objected to Gaddafi's use of the country's oil wealth to fund revolutionary activity abroad rather than domestic development in Libya itself. He also faced opposition from rival socialists such as Ba'athists and Marxists; during the Civil War, he was criticized by both left-of-centre and right-of-centre governments for overseeing human rights abuses. Dubbed the "mad dog of the Middle East" by Reagan, Gaddafi became a bogeyman for Western governments, who presented him as the "vicious dictator of an oppressed people". For these critics, Gaddafi was "despotic, cruel, arrogant, vain and stupid," with Pargeter noting that "for many years, he came to be personified in the international media as a kind of super villain."


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: According to critics, Libya's people lived in a climate of fear under Gaddafi's administration, due to his government's pervasive surveillance of civilians. Gaddafi's Libya was typically described by Western commentators as a police state, with many U.S. right-wingers believing that Gaddafi was a Marxist-Leninist in a close relationship with the Soviet Union. Gaddafi's state has also been characterized as authoritarian. His administration has also been criticized by political opponents and groups like Amnesty International for the human rights abuses carried out by the country's security services. These abuses included the repression of dissent, public executions, and the arbitrary detention of hundreds of opponents, some of whom reported being tortured. One of the most prominent examples of this was a massacre that took place in Abu Salim prison in June 1996; Human Rights Watch estimated that 1,270 prisoners were massacred. Dissidents abroad were labelled "stray dogs"; they were publicly threatened with death and sometimes killed by government hit squads, or returned home by force to face imprisonment or death.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Gaddafi's government's treatment of non-Arab Libyans came in for criticism from human rights activists, with native Berbers, Italians, Jews, refugees, and foreign workers all facing persecution in Gaddafist Libya. Human rights groups also criticized the treatment of migrants, including asylum seekers, who passed through Gaddafi's Libya on their way to Europe. Despite his vocal opposition to colonialism, Gaddafi was criticized by some anti-colonial and leftist thinkers. The political economist Yash Tandon stated that while Gaddafi was "probably the most controversial, and outrageously daring (and adventurous) challenger of the Empire" (i.e. Western powers), he had nevertheless been unable to escape the West's neo-colonial control over Libya. During the Civil War, various leftist groups endorsed the anti-Gaddafist rebels—but not the Western military intervention—by arguing that Gaddafi had become an ally of Western imperialism by cooperating with the War on Terror and efforts to block African migration to Europe. Gaddafi's actions in promoting foreign militant groups, although regarded by him as a justifiable support for national liberation movements, was seen by the United States as interference in the domestic affairs of other nations and active support for international terrorism. Gaddafi himself was widely perceived as a terrorist, especially in the US and UK.


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: International reactions to Gaddafi's death were divided. US President Barack Obama stated that it meant that "the shadow of tyranny over Libya has been lifted," while UK Prime Minister David Cameron stated that he was "proud" of his country's role in overthrowing "this brutal dictator". Contrastingly, former Cuban President Fidel Castro commented that in defying the rebels, Gaddafi would "enter history as one of the great figures of the Arab nations", while Venezuela's Hugo Chávez described him as "a great fighter, a revolutionary and a martyr". Former South African President Nelson Mandela expressed sadness at the news, praising Gaddafi for his anti-apartheid stance, remarking that he backed Mandela's African National Congress during "the darkest moments of our struggle".


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Gaddafi was mourned as a hero by many across sub-Saharan Africa; The "Daily Times of Nigeria" for instance stated that while undeniably a dictator, Gaddafi was the most benevolent in a region that only knew dictatorship, and that he was "a great man that looked out for his people and made them the envy of all of Africa". The Nigerian newspaper "Leadership" reported that while many Libyans and Africans would mourn Gaddafi, this would be ignored by Western media and that as such it would take 50 years before historians decided whether he was "martyr or villain".


title: Muammar Gaddafi

text: Following his defeat in the civil war, Gaddafi's system of governance was dismantled and replaced by the interim government of the NTC, which legalized trade unions and freedom of the press. In July 2012, elections were held to form a new General National Congress (GNC), which officially took over governance from the NTC in August. The GNC elected Mohammed Magariaf as president of the chamber, and Mustafa A. G. Abushagur as Prime Minister; when Abushagur failed to gain congressional approval, the GNC elected Ali Zeidan to the position. In January 2013, the GNC officially renamed the "Jamahiriyah" as the "State of Libya". Gaddafi loyalists then founded a new political party, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya; two of its members, Subah Mussa and Ahmed Ali, promoted the new venture by hijacking the Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209 in December 2016. Led by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Popular Front was allowed to participate in the future general election.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Ms. Marvel is an American television miniseries created by Bisha K. Ali for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics featuring the character Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel. It is the seventh television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It follows Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old fangirl of the Avengers who struggles to fit in until she gains her own powers. Ali served as head writer with Adil & Bilall leading the directing team.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Iman Vellani stars as Kamala Khan, with Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Laurel Marsden, Azhar Usman, Rish Shah, Arian Moayed, Alysia Reiner, Laith Nakli, Nimra Bucha, Travina Springer, Adaku Ononogbo, Samina Ahmad, Fawad Khan, Mehwish Hayat, Farhan Akhtar, and Aramis Knight also starring. The series was announced with Ali's involvement in August 2019. Vellani was cast in September 2020, with Adil & Bilall, Meera Menon, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy hired as the series' directors. Filming began in early November 2020, shooting in Atlanta, Georgia, and New Jersey, before concluding in Thailand in May 2021.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: "Ms. Marvel" premiered on June 8, 2022, and ran for six episodes until July 13. It is part of of the MCU. The series received positive reviews, particularly for its creative visual style and Vellani's performance. "Ms. Marvel" sets up the events of the film "The Marvels" (2023), in which Vellani reprises her role as Khan.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old fangirl of the Avengers, particularly Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, struggles to fit in until she gains her own powers.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Recurring in the series are Jordan Firstman as school counselor Gabe Wilson, and Anjali Bhimani and Sophia Mahmud as Aunties Ruby and Zara. Additional guest stars include Ali Alsaleh and Dan Carter as Aadam and Saleem, members of the Clandestines who wield a golden mace and powered whip, respectively; and Vardah Aziz and Asfandyar Khan as Kamala's cousins Zainab and Owais, respectively. Ryan Penagos, vice president and creative executive at Marvel New Media, has a cameo appearance as the cosplay competition host at AvengerCon. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah make cameo appearances as a man in the mosque and one of the "Mosque Bros", respectively, while Amanat cameos during Aamir and Hillman's wedding, and G. Willow Wilson cameos as herself as a TikTok commentator. Brie Larson makes an uncredited cameo as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel in the series finale's mid-credits scene. A photo of Jameela Jamil as Titania, who stars as the character in the Disney+ series "" (2022), appears in the series; Jamil was unaware of its inclusion in "Ms. Marvel" until it aired.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Marvel Entertainment's creative consultant Joe Quesada said in September 2016 that there were plans to explore the character of Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel in other media following her unusually rapid success and popularity among comic book readers. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said in May 2018 that a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project based on Kamala Khan was "in the works", and would follow the release of the film "Captain Marvel" (2019) as Khan is inspired by that film's title character Carol Danvers.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: By August 2019, Marvel Studios had begun development on a "Ms. Marvel" television series for the streaming service Disney+, with Bisha K. Ali hired to serve as the head writer after working as a writer on the series "Loki". Ali had approached one of the Marvel Studios executives on "Loki", Kevin Wright, while were working on that series to get an opportunity to meet about "Ms. Marvel", and she declined an extension to continue working on "Loki" in order to create her pitch. She believed that Marvel responded to her "general vibe and energy" from the pitch, which conveyed to them that a series about Ms. Marvel was very personal to her "as a fan, as a South Asian person, as a Pakistani woman, [and] as a woman from a Muslim background". "Ms. Marvel" was officially announced at the 2019 D23 conference.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: In September 2020, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (credited as Adil & Bilall) were hired to direct two episodes of the series, with Meera Menon hired to direct one episode, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy hired to direct three; Menon and Obaid-Chinoy ultimately directed two episodes each. Despite their different visual styles and prior work, all of the directors worked closely together to create a "seamless transition" between their episodes. Ali, El Arbi, and Fallah serve as executive producers on the series and worked closely with Marvel Studios to develop it, with Kamala Khan co-creator Sana Amanat also serving as an executive producer alongside Marvel Studios' Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Brad Winderbaum.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: In addition to Ali, writers for the series include Kate Gritmon, Freddy Syborn, A. C. Bradley, Matthew Chauncey, Sabir Pirzada, Fatimah Asghar, and Will Dunn. Bradley and Chauncey were respectively the head writer, and story editor and writer for "What If...?", with Bradley also serving as a consulting producer on "Ms. Marvel", while Pirzada was a writer for "Moon Knight". Ali said Amanat's involvement allowed them to "stay true to the character" from the comic books while adding "something new, with a freshness, vitality and contemporary edge". Ali described her time working on "Loki" as "good training ground" to serve as "Ms. Marvel" head writer, learning what creative freedoms Marvel Studios allowed for each series to inhabit their own part of the MCU while still being bounded by the overarching storytelling. She was told to keep Khan's story "ground level", which was already part of her plan for the series, and to always focus on who the character represents. Ali received advice from "WandaVision" and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" head writers Jac Schaeffer and Malcolm Spellman.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: In "Ms. Marvel", Khan gains the ability to harness cosmic energy and create hard light constructs from a magical bangle, which differs from the shapeshifting abilities that she has in the comics. Feige explained that the Inhuman source of her abilities in the comics did not "match" with the timeline and events of the MCU, so her powers were adjusted to be related to her Pakistani heritage. They were also brought closer to the cosmic powers of the other heroes in the film "The Marvels" (2023), in which Vellani co-stars. Feige added that the character's "giant hands and arms" would still appear in the series "in spirit". The change to Khan's powers was not part of Ali's initial pitch and arose as a group decision to align the character with what had been established in the MCU. It was important to the creative team that Khan's new powers have the "same connectivity with her psychology and the journey she's going through and the way she sees herself" as her shapeshifting abilities did in the comics. Amanat and another of the character's co-creators, G. Willow Wilson, were both consulted on and supported the change. Amanat felt it was "fun to give Kamala different kinds of powers that feel big in scope and cinematic... the essence of what the powers are in the comics is there, both from a metaphorical standpoint and from a visual standpoint." The finale episode reveals that Khan has a genetic "mutation", implying that she is a mutant (which is supported by a musical excerpt of the "" theme being played during the reveal). Vellani confirmed that Khan was the first mutant in the MCU, and Ali said this explains why other members of her family do not have powers. Amanat and Wilson originally intended for Khan to be a mutant in the comics.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: "Ms. Marvel" is a coming-of-age story that Amanat said would be told "through the lens of Kamala's experience and her wild imagination". She described Khan's life and world as "naturally colorful" due to Jersey City being a "pretty crazy and vibrant and multicultural place". Carol Danvers is Khan's inspiration to become a hero after she almost defeated Thanos during the events of "" (2019). Amanat believed it was important to tell a story about who your heroes are for a young person of color, and exploring what that does to "your sense of self". Ali wanted to mix the "whimsical and magical" qualities from Ms. Marvel's comics with American high school films, taking specific inspiration from the films of John Hughes as well as "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999), "Lady Bird" (2017), "Eighth Grade" (2018), "Booksmart" (2019), and the MCU film "" (2017). Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was another inspiration for the series. "Ms. Marvel" features a love triangle between Khan, Bruno Carrelli, and Kamran, which was toned down during the writing process because Ali did not want audiences to believe it was the dominant storyline. El Arbi said it was relatable that Bruno was in the "friend zone", and Ali felt this was a "fundamental part of growing up".


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Khan's family plays a large role in the series, which Ali felt was "vital" and a way to differentiate the character within the MCU. She wanted to explore "what's been passed down to [Khan] through intergenerational trauma. I wanted to show these four generations of women and show that they are her superpower." Khan's father also gives her the Ms. Marvel name, while her mother helps construct her costume. The partition of India is a major part of the series, and was included from the beginning of development. Ali looked to the film "" (2011), which occurs at the end of World War II, to see how she could tie in the real-life events of the partition to what had been established in the MCU. Priya Satia, a professor at Stanford University and British Empire historian, consulted on the series. The writers created "essays" about how the Clandestines, the "Noor" dimension, and the Red Daggers were all connected. Ali explained that much of this was unable to be put into the final version of the series due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other time constraints, with the stories for the Clandestines and the Red Daggers having to be "truncated". Khan and the Clandestines are referred to as "Djinn" in the series. When some Muslim fans pointed out that the Quran prohibits the worshipping of "Djinn", Obaid-Chinoy responded that "Djinn" was just being used to represent "anyone who is different, or anyone who has powers". Ali elaborated that Khan and the Clandestines were not actually "Djinn", but the writers wanted to explore how Khan would feel about the name due to its negative cultural connotations.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: In September 2020, newcomer Iman Vellani was cast in the lead role. Her aunt had forwarded her a casting call for the role, which led to Vellani submitting a self-tape before being asked to audition at Marvel Studios' offices in Los Angeles. She had an in-person screen test in February 2020, as well as a virtual one over Zoom in June 2020, before landing the role. Set photos in November revealed that Matt Lintz had been cast in the series. The next month, Marvel confirmed that Lintz had been cast, portraying Bruno Carrelli, along with Yasmeen Fletcher as Nakia Bahadir; Zenobia Shroff as Muneeba Khan; Mohan Kapur as Yusuf Khan; Saagar Shaikh as Aamir Khan; Azhar Usman as Najaf; Aramis Knight as Kareem / Red Dagger; Rish Shah as Kamran; Travina Springer as Tyesha Hillman; Laith Nakli as Sheikh Abdullah; and Nimra Bucha as Najma.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Newcomer Laurel Marsden was cast in the role of Zoe Zimmer in February 2021, while Alysia Reiner was revealed to have also been cast in the series as Department of Damage Control (DODC) agent Sadie Deever. Fawad Khan said he was part of the cast in December 2021, appearing as Hasan, and Mehwish Hayat was reported a month later to also have a role in the series, as Aisha. In March 2022, Adaku Ononogbo was revealed to be cast as Fariha. Arian Moayed was part of the cast by that May, reprising his role as DODC agent P. Cleary from "" (2021), as was Farhan Akhtar in the guest role of Waleed. Samina Ahmad appears as Kamala's grandmother Sana, who was named for Amanat.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Also in February 2021, Alyy Khan revealed that he planned to be a part of the series in Obaid-Chinoy's episodes. In March 2022, Anjali Bhimani was revealed as auntie Ruby, a recurring role, after previously appearing in the Marvel Television series "Runaways". Jordan Firstman appears as Gabe Wilson, named as an homage to G. Willow Wilson, while Ali Alsaleh and Dan Carter appear as Aadam and Saleem. Vardah Aziz and Asfandyar Khan appear as Kamala's cousins Zainab and Owais, respectively. Brie Larson makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel in the series finale's mid-credits scene.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Arjun Bhasin was the costume designer for the series. Khan's Ms. Marvel costume was inspired by burkinis and shalwar kameez, with subtle "cultural details" in the fabric. Amanat credited Bhasin for incorporating "cool textures" to make the costume feel South Asian in a subtle way, and she noted that the lightning bolt on the costume was updated from the comic version. Christopher Glass was the production designer for the series, while Natasha Gerasimova took over for the series' reshoots. Perception created the end title sequence, using footage of locations in Jersey City mixed with Ms. Marvel-related murals.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: El Arbi and Fallah, Menon, and Obaid-Chinoy directed the series. Filming began in early November 2020 at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional filming at Blackhall Studios and Areu Brothers Studios. The series was filmed under the working title "Jersey". Cinematographers were Robrecht Heyvaert for El Arbi and Fallah, Carmen Cabana for Menon, and Jules O'Loughlin for Obaid-Chinoy.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: The animated sequences were not scripted, though an early version of the first episode's script had a moment inside Khan's head which the directors expanded across the entire series. El Arbi and Fallah conceived them as a way to "get inside Kamala Khan's head and capture her dream world and fantasy world", and for viewers to see the world "through her eyes". These moments were a way to translate the vibrancy the directors enjoyed from the comics into the series, and were inspired by the animated film "" (2018). The integration of the animated elements took a lot of planning during pre-production, so the directors could not improvise how those sequences were shot. El Arbi said the other directors enjoyed using these ideas for their episodes as well. The duo were inspired by Spike Lee to make New Jersey a character in the series like Lee does with New York City in his films, and also took inspiration from Steven Spielberg, anime (particularly for the visual effects), John Hughes's films, the films "Booksmart" and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (2010), the early 1990s television series "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" and "Saved by the Bell", and Adrian Alphona and Jamie McKelvie's art from the "Ms. Marvel" comics. El Arbi and Fallah concluded filming their episodes on March 5, 2021.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Cultural advisors were used to examine the scripts and footage to ensure authenticity. Secondary filming occurred in Hudson County, New Jersey, from March to early April. Vellani and Shah continued to film scenes in Atlanta through late April and early May. Obaid-Chinoy began filming the fourth and fifth episodes in Thailand by March 23, specifically in Bangkok and at the Studio Park facilities. Due to the series' strict COVID-19 protocols, "Ms. Marvel" was able to obtain a waiver from the Thai government to continue filming in the country throughout April and May 2021 despite new restrictions put in place in April that suspended other film and television productions. The cast and crew of 450 people were divided into three bubbles so production could continue if a positive test was found in one of the bubbles. Thailand stands in for Pakistan in the series, with the production unable to shoot in that country because of its political situation, though some pickup shots were filmed in Karachi. Principal photography concluded in Thailand in early May 2021.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Reshoots, with Obaid-Chinoy directing, occurred at the end of January 2022. She said these were mostly pickup material to help clarify story elements and make a cohesive narrative. Conversely, Gerasimova called the reshoots "pretty massive" because there was "quite a big script restructuring, and a lot of episodes were reshuffled", which resulted in the need to build new sets in Atlanta. This included trying to match with material that was shot in Thailand which Gerasimova said was "incredibly challenging". The series finale's mid-credits scene was shot by "The Marvels" director Nia DaCosta.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Editors on the series include Nona Khodai (episodes one, four, five, and six), Sabrina Plisco (episodes one, three, and six), and Emma McCleave and Sushila Love (episodes two and three). Visual effects for the series were created by Digital Domain, Framestore, FuseFX, Method Studios, RISE, SSVFX, Trixter, and Perception.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Composer Laura Karpman worked on the score for the series for five months, from February to July 2022. She previously composed for "What If...?" and had been hired to score "The Marvels". Karpman said she immersed herself in Khan's "rich musical heritage", and wanted to give the character "the kind of dignity and presence of every other major Marvel superhero" while acknowledging her cultural background. She worked closely with Amanat, who had specific ideas she wanted for the music of the series, while also recommending a violinist to Karpman to achieve certain "unique sounds".


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Approaching Khan's theme, Karpman looked to incorporate a traditional orchestra with South Asian musical elements, ensure that it was "hip, driven by contemporary beats, dhol beats, tabla beats, or both" since the character was a teenager. The South Asian elements were achieved by a number of artists who played the sarangi, sursringar, bansuri, and mridangam, recording remotely in India and Pakistan, alongside featured soloists, violinist Raaginder and vocalist Ganavya Doraiswamy. Karpman was impressed with the improvisation by these artists, believing those takes had "the most interesting stuff" in them over the ones with just the themes she had provided for them to play. These sounds were combined with a 70-piece orchestra that recorded every week at Synchron Stage Vienna, along with other production and processing elements; an eight-voice choir of South Asian singers added for the fifth episode score. Other themes created by Karpman included one for Khan's bangle and one for her heritage, and a love theme for Aisha and Hasan, among others. Karpman's score was released digitally by Marvel Music and Hollywood Records in two volumes: music from the first three episodes was released on June 22, and music from the last three was released on July 13. Karpman's ""Ms. Marvel" Suite" was released as a single on June 7.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: "Ms. Marvel" also features a number of existing songs, with Ali believing music was an integral part of adapting the character to the screen. She credited Amanat for having a strong vision of which songs were needed and should be used. Amanat called "Ms. Marvel" a "great platform" to showcase South Asian music, with the selections being a blend in a similar way to Khan.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: A first look at the series with early footage, testimonials about the impact the character has had, and clips of Vellani's audition was shown at Disney's Investor Day in December 2020. Josh Weiss at "Syfy Wire" called it "absolutely priceless" seeing the exact moment Vellani learned she had been cast as Khan. Additional footage was shown during Disney+ Day on November 12, 2021.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: The first trailer for the series was released on March 15, 2022. Many commentators noted the change to Khan's powers from the comics (in which she has shape-shifting abilities) to being able to harness cosmic energy and form constructs with magical bangles, believed to be similar to the Nega-Bands from the comics. Linda Codega at "Gizmodo" said the trailer was "as adorable, fun, and exciting as the comics[, full] of absolutely excellent directorial decisions" and that the series looked like "a tone-perfect mashup of "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" and "Sky High"". Gabrielle Sanchez of "The A.V. Club" said the trailer offered "an illustrative guide to Kamala Khan". The final shot of the trailer, as well as a teaser poster also released for the series, pays homage to the cover of "Ms. Marvel" (2014) #5.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: "A Fan's Guide to Ms. Marvel", a documentary short featuring an exclusive look at the production of the series and interviews from the filmmaking team and Vellani, was released on Disney+ on June 1, 2022. In January 2021, Marvel announced their "Marvel Must Haves" program, which reveals new toys, games, books, apparel, home decor, and other merchandise related to each episode of "Ms. Marvel" following an episode's release, which started on June 7 and concluded on July 15, 2022. QR codes were included in the first four episodes linking viewers to a website to access free digital comics featuring Ms. Marvel that updated weekly; this followed a similar program that happened with "Moon Knight". The comics released for the episodes, in order, were "Ms. Marvel" (2014) #1, "Ms. Marvel" (2014) #15, "Magnificent Ms. Marvel" (2019) #1, "Ms. Marvel" (2015) #12, and "Ms. Marvel" (2014) #19.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: "Ms. Marvel" premiered on Disney+ on June 8, 2022, and consisted of six episodes, with episodes being released weekly, concluding on July 13. The red carpet premiere occurred on June 2 at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. The series was originally scheduled to debut in late 2021, but following the announcement of "Hawkeye" premiering in late November 2021, Aaron Couch of "The Hollywood Reporter" said it was "unclear" if "Ms. Marvel" would also still release in 2021, given "Hawkeye" would still be releasing into December and it was "unlikely" two Marvel Studios series would release at the same time. In August 2021, Matt Webb Mitovich of "TVLine" felt it was "very safe to assume" "Ms. Marvel" would premiere in early 2022, with it confirmed the following month to be moving to 2022. In November 2021, it was confirmed to be releasing in mid-2022, with the June 2022 premiere confirmed in March 2022. "Ms. Marvel" is part of of the MCU.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: The series received a three-part theatrical release across Pakistan through licenser HKC Entertainment, due to Disney+ not being available in the country at that time. The first two episodes were released on June 16, 2022, followed by the third and fourth episodes on June 30, with the last two episodes released on July 14.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 98% approval rating, with an average score of 8.30/10, based on 302 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, ""Ms. Marvel" is a genuinely fresh addition to the MCU—both stylistically and substantively—with Iman Vellani ably powering proceedings with her super-sized charisma." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 78 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: The first two episodes were given to critics to review the series ahead of its premiere, with Destiny Jackson at "Empire" feeling the series was able to balance the comedic and dramatic moments, with "witty visual gags and well-rounded, warmly funny, instantly likeable characters", adding that "Ms. Marvel" had "an authentic take on Pakistani-American culture; [...] the show takes admirable care in explaining the rituals and realities of life as a modern Muslim". Writing for "Rolling Stone", Alan Sepinwall commented that the superhero scenes were "rarely more than functional" with a lack of energy compared to the more personal ones such as Kamala's "arguments with her parents, her and Nakia protesting the condition of the gender-segregated parts of the mosque, or her and... Kamran flirting while discussing their favorite Bollywood films". "Variety" Caroline Framke felt "Ms. Marvel" broke through "Marvel's typical house style" with the use of animation throughout to convey Khan's thoughts and day dreams, calling it a "tangibly kinetic magic" and likening it to the animated film "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse".


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Vellani's portrayal of Kamala Khan received widespread praise. "IGN" Emma Fraser compared her to Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop in "Hawkeye", with Kathryn Porter of "Paste" adding that Vellani "shines" in the role and that there was "no way to explain how great she is in this other than to say that she embodies the true spirit of Kamala Khan". Mohammad Zaheer at "BBC Culture" called Vellani "an adorable bundle of charisma" in a role "tailor-made for her", likening her to Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" film series.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: The changes to Khan's powers from the comics was also highlighted, albeit with a mixed reception. While the new origin's more personal connection was praised, the powers themselves drew criticism: Sepinwall called these abilities "more generic" than the comics powers; Charles Pulliam-Moore at "The Verge" wrote that the live-action abilities "are only able to approximate the flashy aspects of what was originally a nuanced metaphor in the comics. [...] But the show doesn't go nearly as far with its hero in terms of using its conceit to explore ideas like internalized racism or the pressures Western (read: white) beauty standards put on people of color"; and Porter pointed out that G. Willow Wilson—one of the character's creators—had previously described that during the development of Khan's powers, it was chosen not to give her "sparkly, hand wave-y, floaty, pretty powers", which Porter felt was "one of the most important things about her in the comics, and losing that in favor of powers that are, in fact, sparkly, hand wave-y, floaty, and pretty is really unfortunate".


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: Activist Malala Yousafzai praised the series for its reflection of Pakistani people, and was "struck by how familiar Kamala Khan’s life seemed to me", saying the series was "for every young person finding their place in the world". The series was anticipated by Muslims in Jersey City, New Jersey, with councilman Yousef Saleh calling "Ms. Marvel" a "critical point in TV culture" since it would feature Muslims portrayed as heroes rather than villains as is more commonly done, and he was excited about the presence of a Muslim Marvel superhero to "inspire the next generation". McNair Academic High School in the city features a club called Coles Kamala Korps, which was launched in 2022 in response to anticipation for the series and "The Marvels", after informally focusing on the character previously.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: After the release of the first episode, the series was review bombed on IMDb with a high amount of 1 star ratings. Multiple reviews were also posted with some reviewers expressing distaste for the family friendly aspects of the series or the change of Khan's powers, while others called the series "woke", mentioning Captain Marvel.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: The series won the 2022 Harvey Award for Best Adaptation from a Comic Book/Graphic Novel. At the 47th Saturn Awards, the series was nominated for Best Limited Event Series (Streaming) and Vellani won Best Performance by a Younger Actor (Streaming).


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: In February 2021, the documentary series "Marvel Studios: Assembled" was announced. The specials go behind the scenes of the making of the MCU films and television series with cast members and additional creatives. The special of this series, "Assembled: The Making of Ms. Marvel", featuring Vellani, was released on Disney+ on August 3, 2022.


title: Ms. Marvel (TV series)

text: During the series' official announcement at D23, Feige stated that after introducing Ms. Marvel in the series, the character would cross over to the MCU films, which he reiterated in November 2019. Previously, "Captain Marvel" star Brie Larson expressed interest in including Ms. Marvel in that film's sequel, and Vellani was confirmed to be appearing in the "Captain Marvel" sequel, "The Marvels", in December 2020. In February 2021, Feige stated that "Ms. Marvel" would set up the events of "The Marvels". The film was not fully conceived by the time Ali started working on the series, so she had a lot of creative freedom in crafting the series but knew there needed to be a "maturity" across Khan's character arc so she would be ready for the events of "The Marvels". Shaikh, Shroff, and Kapur reprise their roles as Khan's family members in "The Marvels".


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation. Anne was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard, and was educated in the Netherlands and France, largely as a maid of honour to Queen Claude of France. Anne returned to England in early 1522, to marry her Irish cousin James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond; the marriage plans were broken off, and instead, she secured a post at court as maid of honour to Henry VIII's wife, Catherine of Aragon.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Early in 1523, Anne was secretly betrothed to Henry Percy, son of Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, but the betrothal was broken off when the Earl refused to support their engagement. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey refused the match in January 1524 and Anne was sent home to Hever Castle. In February or March 1526 Henry VIII began his pursuit of Anne. She resisted his attempts to seduce her, refusing to become his mistress, as her sister Mary had previously been. Henry soon focused his desires on annulling his marriage to Catherine so he would be free to marry Anne. Wolsey failed to obtain an annulment of Henry's marriage from Pope Clement VII, and when it became clear that Clement would not annul the marriage, Henry and his advisers, such as Thomas Cromwell, began the breaking of the Catholic Church's power in England and closing the monasteries and the nunneries. In 1532, Henry made Anne the Marquess of Pembroke.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Henry and Anne formally married on 25 January 1533, after a secret wedding on 14 November 1532. On 23 May 1533, the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared Henry and Catherine's marriage null and void; five days later, he declared Henry and Anne's marriage valid. Shortly afterwards, Clement excommunicated Henry and Cranmer. As a result of this marriage and these excommunications, the first break between the Church of England and the Catholic Church took place, and the king took control of the Church of England. Anne was crowned Queen of England on 1 June 1533. On 7 September, she gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I. Henry was disappointed to have a daughter rather than a son but hoped a son would follow and professed to love Elizabeth. Anne subsequently had three miscarriages and by March 1536, Henry was courting Jane Seymour. In order to marry Seymour, Henry had to find reasons to end the marriage to Anne.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Henry VIII had Anne investigated for high treason in April 1536. On 2 May, she was arrested and sent to the Tower of London, where she was tried before a jury of peers, including Henry Percy, her former betrothed, and her uncle Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk; she was convicted on 15 May and beheaded four days later. Modern historians view the charges against her, which included adultery, incest and plotting to kill the king, as unconvincing.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: After her daughter, Elizabeth, became Queen in 1558, Anne became venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation, particularly through the written works of John Foxe. She has inspired, or been mentioned in, many artistic and cultural works and retained her hold on the popular imagination. She has been called "the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had", as she provided the occasion for Henry VIII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and declare the English church's independence from the Vatican.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Anne was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, later Earl of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormond, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard, who was the daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and a paternal aunt of the poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. Thomas Boleyn was a well-respected diplomat with a gift for languages; he was also a favourite of Henry VII of England, who sent him on many diplomatic missions abroad. Anne and her siblings grew up at Hever Castle in Kent. They were born in Norfolk at the Boleyn home at Blickling. A lack of parish records has made it impossible to establish Anne's date of birth. Contemporary evidence is contradictory, with several dates having been put forward by various historians. An Italian, writing in 1600, suggested that she had been born in 1499, while Sir Thomas More's son-in-law William Roper gave a date of 1512. Her birth is widely accepted by scholars and historians as most likely between 1501 and 1507.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: As with Anne, it is uncertain when her two siblings were born, but it seems clear that her sister Mary was older than Anne. Mary's children clearly believed their mother was the elder sister. Mary's grandson claimed the Ormonde title in 1596 on the basis that she was the elder daughter, which Elizabeth I accepted. Their brother George was born around 1504.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: The academic debate about Anne's birth date focuses on two key dates: c. 1501 and c. 1507. Eric Ives, a British historian and legal expert, advocates 1501, while Retha Warnicke, an American scholar who has also written a biography of Anne, prefers 1507. The key piece of surviving written evidence is a letter Anne wrote sometime in 1514. She wrote it in French to her father, who was still living in England while Anne was completing her education at Mechelen, in the Burgundian Netherlands, now Belgium. Ives argues that the style of the letter and its mature handwriting prove that Anne must have been about 13 at the time of its composition, while Warnicke argues that the numerous misspellings and grammar errors show that the letter was written by a child. In Ives's view, this would also be around the minimum age that a girl could be a maid of honour, as Anne was to the regent, Margaret of Austria. This is supported by claims of a chronicler from the late 16th century, who wrote that Anne was 20 when she returned from France. These findings are contested by Warnicke in several books and articles, and the evidence does not conclusively support either date.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Two independent contemporary sources support the 1507 date. Author Gareth Russell wrote a summary of the evidence and relates that Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria, wrote her memoirs shortly before her death in 1612. The former lady-in-waiting and confidante to Queen Mary I wrote of Anne Boleyn: "She was convicted and condemned and was not yet twenty-nine years of age." William Camden wrote a history of the reign of Elizabeth I and was granted access to the private papers of Lord Burghley and to the state archives. In that history, in the chapter dealing with Elizabeth's early life, he records in the margin that Anne was born in MDVII (1507).


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Anne's great-great-great-grandparents included a Lord Mayor of London, a duke, an earl, two aristocratic ladies and a knight. One of them, Geoffrey Boleyn, had been a mercer and wool merchant before becoming Lord Mayor. The Boleyn family originally came from Blickling in Norfolk, north of Norwich. Anne's relatives included the Howards, one of the preeminent families in England; and Anne's ancestors included King Edward I of England. According to Eric Ives, she was certainly of more noble birth than Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr, Henry VIII's other English wives. The spelling of the Boleyn name was variable, as common at the time. Sometimes it was written as "Bullen", hence the bull's heads which formed part of her family arms.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: At the court of Margaret of Austria in the Netherlands, Anne is listed as "Boullan". From there she signed the letter to her father as "Anna de Boullan". She was also called "Anna Bolina"; this Latinised form is used in most portraits of her.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Anne's early education was typical for women of her class. In 1513, she was invited to join the schoolroom of Margaret of Austria and her four wards. Her academic education was limited to arithmetic, her family genealogy, grammar, history, reading, spelling and writing. She also developed domestic skills such as dancing, embroidery, good manners, household management, music, needlework and singing. Anne learned to play games, such as cards, chess and dice. She was also taught archery, falconry, horseback riding and hunting.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Anne's father continued his diplomatic career under Henry VIII. In Europe, his charm won many admirers, including Margaret of Austria, daughter of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. During this period, Margaret ruled the Netherlands on her nephew Charles's behalf and was so impressed with Boleyn that she offered his daughter Anne a place in her household. Ordinarily, a girl had to be 12 years old to have such an honour, but Anne may have been younger, as Margaret affectionately called her . Anne made a good impression in the Netherlands with her manners and studiousness; Margaret reported that she was well spoken and pleasant for her young age, and told Thomas that his daughter was "so presentable and so pleasant, considering her youthful age, that I am more beholden to you for sending her to me, than you to me" (E. W. Ives, op.cit.). Anne stayed at the Court of Savoy in Mechelen from spring 1513 until her father arranged for her to attend Henry VIII's sister Mary, who was about to marry Louis XII of France in October 1514.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: In France, Anne was a maid of honour to Queen Mary, and then to Mary's 15-year-old stepdaughter Queen Claude, with whom she stayed nearly seven years. In the Queen's household, she completed her study of French and developed interests in art, fashion, illuminated manuscripts, literature, music, poetry and religious philosophy. She also acquired knowledge of French culture, dance, etiquette, literature, music and poetry; and gained experience in flirtation and courtly love. Though all knowledge of Anne's experiences in the French court is conjecture, even Ives suggests that she was likely to have made the acquaintance of King Francis I's sister, Marguerite de Navarre, a patron of humanists and reformers. Marguerite de Navarre was also an author in her own right, and her works include elements of Christian mysticism and reform that verged on heresy, though she was protected by her status as the French king's beloved sister. She or her circle may have encouraged Anne's interest in religious reform, as well as in poetry and literature. Anne's education in France proved itself in later years, inspiring many new trends among the ladies and courtiers of England. It may have been instrumental in pressing their King toward the culture-shattering contretemps with the Papacy. William Forrest, author of a contemporary poem about Catherine of Aragon, complimented Anne's "passing excellent" skill as a dancer. "Here", he wrote, "was [a] fresh young damsel, that could trip and go."


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Anne was recalled to marry her Irish cousin, James Butler, a young man several years older than she who was living at the English court. The marriage was intended to settle a dispute over the title and estates of the Earldom of Ormond. The 7th Earl of Ormond died in 1515, leaving his daughters, Margaret Boleyn and Anne St Leger, as co-heiresses. In Ireland, the great-great-grandson of the third earl, Sir Piers Butler, contested the will and claimed the earldom himself. He was already in possession of Kilkenny Castle, the earls' ancestral seat. Sir Thomas Boleyn, being the son of the eldest daughter, believed the title properly belonged to him and protested to his brother-in-law, the Duke of Norfolk, who spoke to Henry about the matter. Henry, fearful the dispute could ignite civil war in Ireland, sought to resolve the matter by arranging an alliance between Piers's son, James and Anne Boleyn. She would bring her Ormond inheritance as dowry and thus end the dispute. The plan ended in failure, perhaps because Sir Thomas hoped for a grander marriage for his daughter or because he himself coveted the titles. Whatever the reason, the marriage negotiations came to a complete halt. James Butler later married Lady Joan Fitzgerald, daughter and heiress of James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond and Amy O'Brien.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's older sister, had been recalled from France in late 1519, ostensibly to end her affairs with the French king and his courtiers. She married William Carey, a minor noble, in February 1520, at Greenwich, with Henry VIII in attendance. Soon after, Mary became the English King's mistress. Historians dispute Henry VIII's paternity of one or both of Mary Boleyn's children born during this marriage. "Henry VIII: The King and His Court", by Alison Weir, questions the paternity of Henry Carey; Dr. G.W. Bernard ("The King's Reformation") and Joanna Denny ("Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England's Tragic Queen") argue that Henry VIII was their father. Henry did not acknowledge either child, but he did recognize his son Henry Fitzroy, his illegitimate son by Elizabeth Blount, Lady Talboys.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Anne made her début at the "Château Vert" (Green Castle) pageant in honour of the imperial ambassadors on 4 March 1522, playing "Perseverance" (one of the characters in the play). There she took part in an elaborate dance accompanying Henry's younger sister Mary, several other ladies of the court and her sister. All wore gowns of white satin embroidered with gold thread. She quickly established herself as one of the most stylish and accomplished women at the court, and soon a number of young men were competing for her.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Warnicke writes that Anne was "the perfect woman courtier... her carriage was graceful and her French clothes were pleasing and stylish; she danced with ease, had a pleasant singing voice, played the lute and several other musical instruments well, and spoke French fluently... A remarkable, intelligent, quick-witted young noblewoman... that first drew people into conversation with her and then amused and entertained them. In short, her energy and vitality made her the center of attention in any social gathering." Henry VIII's biographer J. J. Scarisbrick adds that Anne "revelled in" the attention she received from her admirers.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: During this time, Anne was courted by Henry Percy, son of the Earl of Northumberland, and entered into a secret betrothal with him. Thomas Wolsey's gentleman usher, George Cavendish, maintained the two had not been lovers. The romance was broken off when Percy's father refused to support their engagement. Wolsey refused the match for several conjectured reasons. According to Cavendish, Anne was sent from court to her family's countryside estates, but it is not known for how long. Upon her return to court, she again entered the service of Catherine of Aragon. Percy was married to Lady Mary Talbot, to whom he had been betrothed since adolescence.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Before marrying Henry VIII, Anne had befriended Sir Thomas Wyatt, one of the greatest poets of the Tudor period. In 1520, Wyatt married Elizabeth Cobham, who by many accounts was not a wife of his choosing. In 1525, Wyatt charged his wife with adultery and separated from her; coincidentally, historians believe that it was also the year when his interest in Anne intensified. In 1532, Wyatt accompanied the royal couple to Calais.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: In 1526, Henry VIII became enamoured of Anne and began his pursuit. Anne was a skilful player at the game of courtly love, which was often played in the antechambers. This may have been how she caught the eye of Henry, who was also an experienced player. Some say that Anne resisted Henry's attempts to seduce her, refusing to become his mistress, and often leaving court for the seclusion of Hever Castle. But within a year, he proposed marriage to her, and she accepted. Both assumed an annulment could be obtained within months. There is no evidence to suggest that they engaged in a sexual relationship until very shortly before their marriage; Henry's love letters to Anne suggest that their love affair remained unconsummated for much of their seven-year courtship.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: It is probable that Henry had thought of the idea of annulment (not divorce as commonly assumed) much earlier than this as he strongly desired a male heir to secure the Tudor claim to the crown. Before Henry VII ascended the throne, England was beset by civil warfare over rival claims to the crown, and Henry VIII wanted to avoid similar uncertainty over the succession. He and Catherine had no living sons: all Catherine's children except Mary died in infancy. Catherine had first come to England to be bride to Henry's brother Arthur, who died soon after their marriage. Since Spain and England still wanted an alliance, Pope Julius II granted a dispensation for their marriage on the grounds that Catherine was still a virgin.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Catherine and Henry married in 1509 but eventually, he became dubious about the marriage's validity, claiming that Catherine's inability to provide an heir was a sign of God's displeasure. His feelings for Anne, and her refusals to become his mistress, probably contributed to Henry's decision that no Pope had a right to overrule the Bible. This meant that he had been living in sin with Catherine all these years, though Catherine hotly contested this and refused to concede that her marriage to Arthur had been consummated. It also meant that his daughter Mary was a bastard, and that the new pope (Clement VII) would have to admit the previous pope's mistake and annul the marriage. Henry's quest for an annulment became euphemistically known as the "King's Great Matter".


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Anne saw an opportunity in Henry's infatuation and the convenient moral quandary. She determined that she would yield to his embraces only as his acknowledged queen. She began to take her place at his side in policy and in state, but not yet in his bed.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Scholars and historians hold various opinions as to how deep Anne's commitment to the Reformation was, how much she was perhaps only personally ambitious, and how much she had to do with Henry's defiance of papal power. There is anecdotal evidence, related to biographer George Wyatt by her former lady-in-waiting Anne Gainsford, that Anne brought to Henry's attention a heretical pamphlet, perhaps Tyndale's "The Obedience of a Christian Man" or one by Simon Fish called "A Supplication for the Beggars", which cried out to monarchs to rein in the evil excesses of the Catholic Church. She was sympathetic to those seeking further reformation of the Church, and actively protected scholars working on English translations of the scriptures. According to Maria Dowling, "Anne tried to educate her waiting-women in scriptural piety" and is believed to have reproved her cousin, Mary Shelton, for "having 'idle poesies' written in her prayer book." If Cavendish is to be believed, Anne's outrage at Wolsey may have personalised whatever philosophical defiance she brought with her from France. Further, the most recent edition of Ives's biography admits that Anne may very well have had a personal spiritual awakening in her youth that spurred her on, not just as a catalyst but expediter for Henry's Reformation, though the process took years.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: In 1528, sweating sickness broke out with great severity. In London, the mortality rate was great and the court was dispersed. Henry left London, frequently changing his residence; Anne Boleyn retreated to the Boleyn residence at Hever Castle, but contracted the illness; her brother-in-law, William Carey, died. Henry sent his own physician to Hever Castle to care for Anne, and shortly afterwards, she recovered.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Henry was soon absorbed in securing an annulment from Catherine. He set his hopes upon a direct appeal to the Holy See, acting independently of Wolsey, to whom he at first communicated nothing of his plans related to Anne. In 1527 William Knight, the king's secretary, was sent to Pope Clement VII to sue for the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine, on the grounds that the dispensing bull of Julius II permitting him to marry his brother's widow, Catherine, had been obtained under false pretences. Henry also petitioned, in the event of his becoming free, a dispensation to contract a new marriage with any woman even in the first degree of affinity, whether the affinity was contracted by lawful or unlawful connection. This clearly referred to Anne.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: As Clement was at that time a prisoner of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, as a result of the Sack of Rome in May 1527, Knight had some difficulty obtaining access. In the end he had to return with a conditional dispensation, which Wolsey insisted was technically insufficient. Henry then had no choice but to put his great matter into Wolsey's hands, who did all he could to secure a decision in Henry's favour, even going so far as to convene an ecclesiastical court in England, with a special emissary, Lorenzo Campeggio, from Clement to decide the matter. But Clement had not empowered his deputy to make a decision. He was still Charles V's hostage, and Charles V was loyal to his aunt Catherine. The pope forbade Henry to contract a new marriage until a decision was reached in Rome, not in England. Convinced that Wolsey's loyalties lay with the pope, not England, Anne, as well as Wolsey's many enemies, ensured his dismissal from public office in 1529. Cavendish, Wolsey's chamberlain, records that the servants who waited on the king and Anne at dinner in 1529 in Grafton heard her say that the dishonour Wolsey had brought upon the realm would have cost any other Englishman his head. Henry replied, "Why then I perceive...you are not the Cardinal's friend." Henry finally agreed to Wolsey's arrest on grounds of "praemunire". Had it not been for his death from illness in 1530, Wolsey might have been executed for treason. In 1531 (two years before Henry's marriage to Anne), Catherine was banished from court and her rooms given to Anne.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Public support remained with Catherine. One evening, in the autumn of 1531, Anne was dining at a manor house on the River Thames and was almost seized by a crowd of angry women. Anne just managed to escape by boat.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: When Archbishop of Canterbury William Warham died in 1532, the Boleyn family chaplain, Thomas Cranmer, was appointed, with papal approval.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: In 1532, Thomas Cromwell brought before Parliament a number of acts, including the Supplication against the Ordinaries and Submission of the Clergy, which recognised royal supremacy over the church, thus finalising the break with Rome. Following these acts, Thomas More resigned as Chancellor, leaving Cromwell as Henry's chief minister.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Even before her marriage, Anne Boleyn was able to grant petitions, receive diplomats and give patronage, and had an influence over Henry to plead the cause of foreign diplomats.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: During this period, Anne played an important role in England's international position by solidifying an alliance with France. She established an excellent rapport with the French ambassador, Gilles de la Pommeraie. Anne and Henry attended a meeting with the French king at Calais in winter 1532, at which Henry hoped to enlist the support of Francis I of France for his intended marriage. On 1 September 1532, Henry granted her the Marquessate of Pembroke, an appropriate peerage for a future queen; as such she became a rich and important woman: the three dukes and two marquesses who existed in 1532 were Henry's brother-in-law, Henry's illegitimate son and other descendants of royalty; she ranked above all other peeresses. The Pembroke lands and the title of Earl of Pembroke had been held by Henry's great-uncle, and Henry performed the investiture himself.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Anne's family also profited from the relationship. Her father, already Viscount Rochford, was created Earl of Wiltshire. Henry also came to an arrangement with Anne's Irish cousin and created him Earl of Ormond. At the magnificent banquet to celebrate her father's elevation, Anne took precedence over the Duchesses of Suffolk and Norfolk, seated in the place of honour beside the king that was usually occupied by the queen. Thanks to Anne's intervention, her widowed sister Mary received an annual pension of £100, and Mary's son, Henry Carey, was educated at a prestigious Cistercian monastery.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: The conference at Calais was something of a political triumph, but even though the French government gave implicit support for Henry's remarriage and Francis I had a private conference with Anne, the French king maintained alliances with the Pope that he could not explicitly defy.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Soon after returning to Dover, Henry and Anne married in a secret ceremony on 14 November 1532. She soon became pregnant and, to legalise the first wedding considered to be unlawful at the time, there was a second wedding service, also private in accordance with The Royal Book, in London on 25 January 1533. Events now began to move at a quick pace. On 23 May 1533, Cranmer (who had been hastened, with the Pope's assent, into the position of Archbishop of Canterbury recently vacated by the death of Warham) sat in judgement at a special court convened at Dunstable Priory to rule on the validity of Henry's marriage to Catherine. He declared it null and void. Five days later, on 28 May 1533, Cranmer declared the marriage of Henry and Anne good and valid.


title: Anne Boleyn

text: Catherine was formally stripped of her title as queen and Anne was consequently crowned queen consort on 1 June 1533 in a magnificent ceremony at Westminster Abbey with a banquet afterwards. She was the last queen consort of England to be crowned separately from her husband. Unlike any other queen consort, Anne was crowned with St Edward's Crown, which had previously been used to crown only monarchs. Historian Alice Hunt suggests that this was done because Anne's pregnancy was visible by then and the child was presumed to be male. On the previous day, Anne had taken part in an elaborate procession through the streets of London seated in a litter of "white cloth of gold" that rested on two palfreys clothed to the ground in white damask, while the barons of the Cinque Ports held a canopy of cloth of gold over her head. In accordance with tradition, she wore white, and on her head, a gold coronet beneath which her long dark hair hung down freely. The public's response to her appearance was lukewarm.