National Review [link|http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-taheri010203.asp|Talking to Muammar Kaddafi's son]
has a fascinating interview with Kaddafi's son, where among other things he says the following:
"To start with my father does not have any official position in the Libyan state. He is not a king or a president or a prime minister and thus does not have a job to transfer to anyone. He is the Guide of the Revolution; that means a man of ideas, a philosopher, and a leader who traces the broad philosophical outlines of our national endeavor. ...
This is one of the points that Mandela was able to hammer into the heads of the Americans and the British during the dispute over Lockerbie. They wanted to implicate the Libyan government and then my father as responsible for the Libyan government. Mandela persuaded them that my father is, in fact, a private citizen whose philosophical ideals guide the Libyan government....
Taheri: So how do things work in Libya, how are decisions made? How can your father, who has no position whatsoever, pick up the phone and tell any official to do anything?
Kaddafi: In Libya we have a system called the Jamahiriyah for which there is no adequate word in any of the Western languages. It didn't even exist in Arabic and was coined by my father to denote direct rule by the people. In this system, nobody orders anybody to do anything. Matters are discussed at all levels and decisions are made collectively. Of course, when my father expresses his views on any subject people listen because they have confidence in his wisdom."

I guess this is why nothing actually gets done in Libya and the economy is in shambles. To anyone who believes Kaddafi is a private citizen I have a bridge to sell you.