Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Rice reveals Gaddafi had 'bizarre crush' on her

Updated at 5:34 am on 5 November 2011

Former United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, says the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had a "bizarre crush" on her.

After Tripoli fell to the rebel forces, photograph albums filled with pictures of Dr Rice were found in one of Colonel Gaddafi's private homes.

In a US television interview, Dr Rice described an encounter with Colonel Gaddafi in which he revealed the extent of his fascination with her, giving her a DVD.

"It was kinda creepy. I had heard about (the crush) from two foreign minister colleagues so when I went there, I thought, whatever his bizarre crush is, your job is to represent the United States, get a supply route through Libya for humanitarian supplies into Sudan, and get out," she said.

"We went through the diplomatic exhange, which was eerily normal, then Gaddafi said, 'I have a video for you'.

"I thought 'oh no, what in the world is this?' It was actually just scene after scene of me with Vladimir Putin, Hu Jintao, but then there was a song, Black Flower in the White House that he had written by Libya's best composer, he said. So I was glad to get on the plane for Algeria."

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