His rule saw him go from revolutionary hero to international pariah, to valued strategic partner and back to pariah again. Gaddafi developed his own political philosophy, writing a book so influential – in the eyes of its author, at least – that it eclipsed anything dreamt up by Plato, Locke or Marx. He made countless show-stopping appearances at Arab and international gatherings, standing out not just with his outlandish clothing, but also his blunt speeches and unconventional behaviour. He spent his life reinventing himself and his revolution: one Arab commentator called him the “Picasso of Middle East politics”, although instead of Blue, Rose or Cubist periods, he had his pan-Arab period, his Islamist period, his pan-African period, and so on.
