The Staggers

The New Statesman’s rolling politics blog

Gaddafi and friends: in pictures

World leaders may now be condemning the Libyan leader for his use of violence, but it hasn’t always been this way.

By Samira Shackle Published 23 February 2011 11:04

The photograph above, of Tony Blair embracing Gaddafi during a trip to Libya in 2007, is now notorious. Peter Popham argues today that "throwing down the welcome mat to this monster is one of the scandals of the age".

brown

Above, Gordon Brown shakes hands with Gaddafi at the G8 summit in 2009.

berlusconi

Gaddafi embraces the Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi. Their countries signed a controversial friendship pact in 2008. The two men reportedly spoke on the phone earlier this week.

obama

Also at the G8 summit in 2009, Gaddafi shakes hands with the US president, Barack Obama.

mandela

Here, Gaddafi shares a stage with Nelson Mandela.

putin

Vladimir Putin is pictured with Gaddafi during a 2008 trip to Libya to rebuild Russian-Libyan relations.

zapatero

With Spain's Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, pictured in 2007, when the Libyan leader travelled to Madrid to sign a series of lucrative deals with political and business leaders.

chirac

Above, the former French president Jacques Chirac is shown during a 2004 trip during which he pledged to build a "true partnership" with Libya.

ben-ali

And, finally. one friend that Gaddafi would rather forget. He is pictured here talking to the Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali back in 2000. The other two are Morocco's King Mohammed VI and the Algerian president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, still in office today after nearly 12 years.

Tags: Libya

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19 comments

Wed, 2011-02-23 15:36 — James (not verified)

Conspiricy theorists?

Blair, Brown, Zapatero and Obama (the latter two both slashing spending on the poor to pay for the bankers' crisis) "Left-leaning"?

Lol.

"What is your point?"

My point is where are Chavez, Castro and Morales? I see there are a couple of token non-Western leaders, but the point seems very much a partisan one - i.e. look at the hypocritical Western leaders. A fair point. But what about the Latin American "leftists" who are celebrated by many who read this magazine> Why are the pictures of them with Gaddafi (and there are plenty of them -

http://bloodworthweb.blogspot.com/2011/02/pathetic-admiration-of-latin-a...) missing.

No conspiracy to ask why the exclusion of every Latin American "leftist" from this gallery.

Mon, 2011-02-28 00:01 — thomas vesely

gaddafi,corporate interests.lockerbie.
hang him straight after bush and blair.

Wed, 2011-02-23 15:59 — Mike Thomas (not verified)

So what's your point, that a bunch of left leaning politicans were happy to do business with a murderous despot?

I bet the SAS are delighted that they've trained these Libyan snipers to put down this inconvenient business.

And the Libyan Government do have some other leverage besides massive gas and oil contracts; they've clearly found a cure for prostate cancer.

Wed, 2011-02-23 17:14 — John Thacker (not verified)

Gaddafi still has some friends, though, in addition to Castro and Chavez, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua is still steadfast in support- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/22/AR201102...

Sat, 2011-10-22 08:01 — Barny

'Obama, Brown, Blair, Zapatero, and Mandela are ALL mainstream left-leaning politicians. What is your point?'

ha ha ha ha ha

Wed, 2011-02-23 23:28 — Notexactlyshakespe (not verified)

I remember a little the self-righteous criticism of Tony Blair when he implemented a foreign policy which involved going beyond doing a deal with a murderous dictator in Iraq.

Fri, 2011-03-04 22:36 — john korinko (not verified)

what are the friends doing,and did have common people friends?

Wed, 2011-02-23 23:32 — Notexactlyshakespe (not verified)

I remember a little self-righteous criticism of Tony Blair when he implemented a foreign policy which involved going beyond doing a deal with a murderous dictator.

Sat, 2011-10-22 18:54 — Martin Horan (not verified)

Who needs enemies with friends like them? Yet we had them as politicians. I'll bet when Blair and Brown were cuddling up to Gaddafi they didn't give a you-know-what about the thoughts of Yvonne Fletcher's parents. But can someone remind me of who it was that was our PM when that young, defenceless police-woman was assassinated in cold blood and her murderer was allowed to toddle of Scot free? My blood boils yet to think of that injustice.

Thu, 2011-02-24 03:08 — pierre labois (not verified)

The politicians of any country do not breath the same air or eat the same food as ordinary people. They never meet a camera they don't like, unless they are with little boys or underage girls. A pox on them all.

Sat, 2011-10-22 23:21 — david fuchs (not verified)

There is nothing that can justify the wanton murder of innocent men women and children by the US and nato. The barbaric butchering of Gaddafi who for all his misdeeds gave his people a better standard of living than any other arab or muslim country.Surely the US and Nato should stand before the courts of human rights. Judges judge not murders and pillagers. The arming and using of the uncontrollable mobs should be judged and punished.

Fah-fah and the Fox Hunting Set's picture

Thu, 2011-02-24 12:27 — Fah-fah and the Fox Hunting Set (not verified)

Go on Tony give him a Kiss!

Gordon Brown looks the most serious stateman in these collection of photos.

Fri, 2011-02-25 20:09 — thewordwarrior

All leaders who hobnobbed with Gaddafi had it in mind to seek oil from him and to help him keep his citizens from flooding over into Europe as freedom seekers. All of them are complices of Gaddafi, and very much too bad for all of us that we have stepped for so long on the tail of 1,000,000,000 Africans.

Wed, 2011-02-23 11:15 — simplynonna (not verified)

u forgot a pic of Italy Berlusconi kissing his ring ;)

Wed, 2011-02-23 12:25 — James (not verified)

Where are Chavez and Castro?

Oh, sorry, forgot you had an agenda.

Fri, 2011-10-21 19:12 — Luddite (not verified)

Didn't Chávez himself praise Gaddafi and echoed directly the views on the Libyan revolution offered by Fidel Castro. Castro has also counselled caution and patience, warning that since the US media was consistently reporting on the insurrection and denouncing Gaddafi's brutal repression it must clearly be suspect. Didn't Daniel Ortega, the left-wing president of Nicaragua, rushed to present himself to the press as a fervent supporter of the Libyan leader. Didn't Nelson Mandela name one of this nephews Gaddafi..

Wed, 2011-02-23 14:00 — Luca (not verified)

@James - God you right-wing conspiracy theorists are tedious!

Obama, Brown, Blair, Zapatero, and Mandela are ALL mainstream left-leaning politicians. What is your point?

Sat, 2011-02-26 00:09 — sonoferis (not verified)

What we in the west need is a third world war. A total war that reduces global population and gets people back into employment through a global war effort. Only then can a sense of unity be had. Destruction, death, and the manufacture of the machinery of war is the way forward. I am sad to have missed the other 2, but optimistik I will get a job and wage in the third. Happy days ahead in this consumer fetish world of false needs and constructed greed.