Col Gaddafi killed: Condoleezza Rice recounts his 'eerie obsession' with her

Col Gaddafi killed: Condoleezza Rice recounts his 'eerie obsession' with her: Col Gaddafi killed: Condoleezza Rice recounts his 'eerie obsession' with her

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had a "slightly eerie obsession" with Condoleezza Rice, describing her as his "African Princess," the ex-US secretary of state said in an excerpt from her memoirs published on Thursday.

12:53AM BST 21 Oct 2011

The late Libyan leader met Ms Rice in the oil-rich north African country in September 2008, a historic meeting that signalled the once pariah state's return to the diplomatic table after decades of isolation.

Ms Rice, unlike ex-British prime minister Tony Blair, declined to meet Gaddafi in his infamous tent, opting instead to hold talks in his residence.

"Obviously, the first visit by a US secretary of state since 1953 would be a major milestone on the country's path to international acceptability," wrote Ms Rice in her book, "No Higher Honor," published online by The Daily Beast.

"But Gaddafi also had a slightly eerie fascination with me personally, asking visitors why his 'African princess,' wouldn't visit him."

Ms Rice, who served under President George W. Bush, said she had been warned ahead of the meeting to ignore the Libyan leader's "crazy" behaviour as he would eventually "get back on track."

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...