A look at the roles and relationships of the Libyan leader's closest family, amid ongoing protests and violence across the country.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi
Age: 68. In power 41 years, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has been the longest-serving leader in both Africa and the Arab world since he toppled King Idris I in a bloodless coup at the age of 27. Born in the desert near Sirte in 1942, he is known for his flamboyant dress-sense and gun-toting female bodyguards. His political philosophy, laid out in his Green Book, is a homemade alternative to both socialism and capitalism, combined with aspects of Islam. In 1977 he invented a system called the "Jamahiriya" or "state of the masses", in which power is meant to be held by thousands of "people's committees". In reality Gadaffi has retained absolute, authoritarian control.
Safia al-Gaddafi
Reported to be in Algeria. Safia is Gaddafi's second wife and mother of seven of his biological children. The couple also adopted a son and daughter, Milad and Hanna. Hanna was killed in the American bombing of Tripoli in 1986 at the age of four.
Fatiha
Gaddafi's first wife was a schoolteacher. The couple are reported not to have met before they married. They had one son, Muhammad, but separated after six months.
Muhammad al-Gaddafi
Following their push into Tripoli, Libyan rebels claimed to have captured Muhammad al-Gaddafi but he is now reported to be in Algeria. Born to Gaddafi's first wife, he heads the Libyan Olympic committee, which has its headquarters in Tripoli. He is also the chairman of the General Post and Telecom Company which owns and operates mobile phone and satellite communications.
Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi
Libyan rebels had claimed to have captured Saif al-Islam at his home during their push into Tripoli, but he has since made public appearances calling for continued resistance against the rebels. A fluent English speaker with a PhD from the London School of Economics, Saif al-Islam is widely seen as belonging to a camp that aims to open Libya's economy. He appeared on Libyan TV at the height of the protests to warn of civil war. In 2006 he left Libya after criticising his father's regime, but later returned to the country. He is regarded as the modern face of Libya, but in 2008 declared he had no interest in "inheriting" power from his father.
Saadi Gaddafi
Libyan rebels claim to have captured Saadi Gaddafi. A son of Gaddafi's second wife, Saadi is is married to the daughter of a military commander. A former footballer who had a very brief career in Italy's Serie A, he now runs the Libyan Football Federation after being national team captain. Since retiring from football, he has become involved in the film industry, apparently investing $100m in a film fund whose first production was set to be a remake of a German thriller called The Experiment.
Mutassim Gaddaf
Age: Unknown. A lieutenant colonel in the Libyan army, he fled to Egypt after allegedly masterminding a coup attempt against his father, but was later forgiven and allowed to return. He is now national security advisor to his father and heads his own unit in the army.
Hannibal Gaddafi
Hannibal Gaddafi is reported to be in Algeria. Used to work for Libya's General National Maritime Transport Company, a company that specialises in oil exports. He has reportedly been involved in a number of violent incidents. In 2005 he was accused of beating his pregnant girlfriend in Paris and in 2008 was arrested in a Geneva hotel after two of his servants accused him of assault. Although later freed on bail, the incident prompted the Libyan government to boycott Swiss goods, expel Swiss companies and recall diplomats from the capital Bern. Hannibal has described Switzerland as a "world mafia" which should be split up.
Saif al-Arab Gaddafi
The Libyan government reported Saif al-Arab as killed in a Nato air strike on the Gaddafi compound on 30 April 2011, along with three of the Libyan leader's grandchildren. Very little is known about Saif al-Arab, who was one of Gaddafi youngest sons. In 2008 his Ferrari was impounded by German police because of a noisy exhaust, according to a report in the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper. He was said to be a student in Munich at the time.
Khamis Gaddafi
Khamis is a police officer and operates his own special forces unit having received military training in Russia. He is said to have been in charge of the suppression of protests in Benghazi. The barracks of Khamis's 32nd Brigade, which are located just outside Tripoli, have now been overrun by the Libyan rebels.
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