WikiLeaks cables: Muammar Gaddafi and the 'voluptuous blonde'

 

Secret dispatch ahead of UN trip details Libyan leader's inner circle and 'eccentricities'

• David Leigh
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 7 December 2010 21.30 GMT
• Article history



Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi 'cannot travel' without his Ukrainian nurse, a cable released by WikiLeaks details. Photograph: Rick Gershon/Getty Images Under the title "A glimpse into Libyan leader Gaddafi's eccentricities", a dispatch classified "secret – no foreign" of 29 September 2009 disclosed the dictator's reliance on a "voluptuous blonde" Ukrainian nurse. The cable was from Gene Cretz, the US ambassador to Libya, and read: "Recent first-hand experiences with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his staff, primarily in preparation for his UN [general assembly] trip, provided rare insights into Gaddafi's inner circle and personal proclivities … "Gaddafi relies heavily on his long-time Ukrainian nurse, Galyna Kolotnytska, who has been described as a 'voluptuous blonde' … Libyan protocol staff emphasised to multiple Emboffs [embassy officials] that Gaddafi cannot travel without Kolotnytska, as she alone 'knows his routine' … "Some embassy contacts have claimed that Gaddafi and the 38-year-old Kolotnytska have a romantic relationship. While he did not comment on such rumours, a Ukrainian political officer recently confirmed that the Ukrainian nurses 'travel everywhere with the leader.'" The ambassador concludes: "While it is tempting to dismiss his many eccentricities as signs of instability, Gaddafi is a complicated individual who has managed to stay in power for 40 years through a skillful balancing of interests and realpolitik methods. Continued engagement with Gaddafi and his inner circle is important … "