The crazed compulsions of Gaddafi - every bit the Bond villain

From his all-female bodyguards to his eccentric outfits to his golden gun, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was every bit the James Bond villain.

But in the late 1960s, before he embarked on his 42-year rule, Gaddafi was seen as a hero - a charismatic man who would lead his country towards freedom and democracy.

Born in 1942 to a Bedouin family in Sirte, Gaddafi, like many village boys, joined the army.

An admirer of Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser and his pan-Arabist ideas, Gaddafi - at just 27 - led a group of military officers in a bloodless coup that toppled British-supported King Idris.

He became a symbol of defiance against the West, but, as the years passed, he cemented his grip on power, promoted himself to Colonel and called himself "Brother Leader", while killing and jailing his opponents.

Here are some stories that characterised his reign:

Fear of flying over water

Gaddafi had an "intense dislike or fear of staying on upper floors, reportedly prefers not to fly over water, and seems to enjoy horse racing and flamenco dancing", Gene Cretz, the US ambassador to Tripoli, wrote in 2009, according to cables released by WikiLeaks.

He "could not climb more than 35 steps", must stay on the first floor of any facility that was rented for him" and "cannot fly more than eight hours", Mr Cretz said.

Plastic surgery

Gaddafi reportedly underwent a four-hour procedure in Brazil in 1995 where fat from his belly was removed and injected into his face to make him look younger, Dr Liacyr Ribeiro told The Associated Press.

Gaddafi also got hair plugs.

"He told me that he had been in power for 25 years at that time, and that he did not want the young people of his nation to see him as an old man. I recommended a facelift, but he refused," Dr Ribeiro said.

Halfway through the procedure, Gaddafi, who was only under local anaesthesia, stopped to have a burger.

Bizarre rules

Gaddafi was known for the bizarre rules he imposed on his people.

"At night, Muammar dreams; by day, he implements," Libyans would say.

Among the rules were:

- he demanded all store-front doors be painted green, his regime's signature colour.

- he renamed January "Ayn al-Nar", which is Arabic for "Where is the Fire".

Broke wind during interview

Gaddafi once farted his way through a BBC interview, veteran reporter John Simpson said.

Simpson, who had interviewed the Libyan dictator numerous times over the past few decades, wrote in his 2001 book A Mad World, My Masters: "That evening, as I began to write my account of the interview, Bob knocked on my door. I know him well, and love him dearly, and could see that something was up.

"'There's something funny about the interview,' he said. He'd been watching it on the portable monitor in his room. Oh Christ, I thought: he means there's tape damage, or electronic interference. I remembered an interview I once did in a military base in Iraq, which was so crackling with electronic gadgets of different kinds that the material we shot was unusable.

"'Nothing like that,' Bob said. 'Gaddafi was making noises, that's all.'

"'Whatever are you on about? What kind of noises?'

"'Kind of personal ones.' He looked away.

"As I say, I know Bob. He is a very modest man, especially where bodily functions are concerned.

"'What, stomach rumblings?' Borborygmi can be a nuisance in a television interview.

"'No, worse than that.'

"'What, farting?'

"Now I'd embarrassed him. He nodded, wordlessly.

"'Look, that's absolutely stupid, Bob. I was sitting opposite him. If he'd been farting I'd have heard it. You're imagining it.'

"'Well, listen to the tape.'

"I listened. There was absolutely no doubt about it. The personal microphone which Bob had pinned on [Gaddafi] had picked it up very clearly. The wind passage lasted for about ten minutes of our half-hour interview. [Gaddafi] would rise up a little in his seat, the thunder would roll for fifteen or twenty seconds at a time, and then he would sink back into his seat with a pleased expression on his face. It may have happened to me before without my knowledge, but never, I think, in so concentrated and elaborate a fashion."

The Green Book

He published The Green Book, a 82-page tome that all Libyan children had to learn from, Time magazine reported.

Quotes from The Green Book were placed all over the country - from schools to bridges to post offices.

Author Amir Taheri wrote in 2009 that Gaddafi's book echoed "Mao Zedong's Little Red Book, full of gems that would make even the Chinese Communist despot sound profound", The Guardian reported.

He was "a caricature of the Renaissance man – a pseudo-poet, pseudo-philosopher and pseudo-soldier. Without having seen a single battle he has collected more medals than generals in an operetta. He has published verse that would make a 12-year-old blush", Taheri added.

The 'Great Man-made River'

Gaddafi started building a $US20 billion "Great Man-made River" (that he also called the Eighth Wonder of the World) in 1983. The project supplied water from desert aquifers to Libya's major coastal cities. The wells and pumps were reportedly shut off by pro-Gaddafi loyalists in August as the rebels took control of Tripoli.

No rank above Colonel

The highest military rank in Libya is colonel. Why? Gaddafi, a colonel himself, abolished all ranks above him as he was fearful of a coup. He instead called himself "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution".

Entourage he travelled with

Gaddafi was just as renowned for the entourage he travelled with on international trips. In 1989, when he visited Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia, for a non-aligned summit, he arrived with two horses and six camels. He pitched his Bedouin tent in front of a hotel, where his camels also grazed. But officials stopped him from riding one of his horses to the summit.

In 2002, for an African Union summit, he brought "a personal jet, two Antonov transport aircraft, a container ship loaded with buses, goat carcasses and prayer mats, a mobile hospital, jamming equipment that disrupted local networks, $US6 million in petty cash, and 400 security guards with associated rocket launchers, armoured cars and other hardware, who nearly provoked a shoot-out with South Africa's security forces", London's Daily Telegraph reported.

Designed world's 'safest car'

On the 30th anniversary of his reign in 2009, Gaddafi unveiled a "rocket car" that he had personally designed. The "Saroukh el-Jamahiriya", which translates as "Libyan rocket", was a sedan that carried five passengers. Not surprisingly, it was green. It was packed full of air bags, an in-built electronic defence system, and a collapsible bumper, the BBC reported.

"The leader spent so many hours of his valuable time thinking of an effective solution. It is the safest car produced anywhere. The invention of the safest car in the world is proof that the Libyan revolution is built on the happiness of man," a Libyan official said at that time.

'Abolish Switzerland'

Gaddafi called for the abolition of Switzerland in 2009, after his son Hannibal and wife were arrested in July 2008 for beating two servants at a hotel. He retaliated by detaining two Swiss businessmen for two years, called the European country "a world mafia and not a state" at a G8 summit and closed some Libyan subsidiaries of Swiss companies.

'Obsession' with Condi Rice

Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said Gaddafi had a "slightly eerie obsession" with her, describing the American as his "African Princess", according to excerpts from her memoir. The pair met in 2008 - with Dr Rice saying that she had been warned about his "crazy behaviour".

He suddenly stopped speaking and began rolling his head back and forth. "Tell President Bush to stop talking about a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine!"

Dr Rice recalled Gaddafi saying: "'It should be one state! Israeltine!' he said.

"Perhaps he didn't like what I said next. In a sudden fit, he fired two translators in the room.

"'OK,' I thought. 'This is Gaddafi.'"