Muammar Gaddafi: A life of fashion
Qaddafi, in a lineup of G8 leaders at a 2009 summit this year in L’Aquila, Italy, channels Saturday Night Fever in a white suit under the traditional Arabic bisht, accessorized with a small billboard of medals and, on his right breast, a brooch of Africa.
In August 2009, Vanity Fair wrote this:
Since completing his transition from international pariah to statesman, Colonel Muammar Qaddafi—the longest-serving leader in both Africa and the Arab world—has brought color and his own eccentric panache to the drab circuit of international summits and conferences. Drawing upon the influences of Lacroix, Liberace, Phil Spector (for hair), Snoopy, and Idi Amin, Libya’s leader—now in his 60s—is simply the most unabashed dresser on the world stage. We pay homage to a sartorial genius of our time.
As unrest continues in Libya today — and once again unnerves global stock and commodities markets — here's a photographic look back at a leader in more stable times.