Muammar Gaddafi encouraged a policy.
Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi ( [ ˈmoʊ.əmɑr _ ɡəˈdɑːfi ] ; 20 October 2011 ) , commonly known as Colonel Gaddafi , was a Libyan revolutionary , politician , and political theorist . From 1999 , Gaddafi rejected Arab socialism and encouraged economic privatisation , rapprochement with Western nations , and Pan-Africanism ; he was Chairperson of the African Union from 2009 -- 10 . The situation descended into civil war , in which NATO intervened militarily on the side of the anti-Gaddafist National Transitional Council ( NTC ) .