Rebels Inside Muammar Muhammad Al-Gaddafi Villas, Libya

Political and cultural public image
Gaddafi has frequently been portrayed as erratic, conceited, and mercurial in nature. During the Reagan administration, America regarded him as "public enemy number one" and Reagan dubbed him the "mad dog of the Middle East". Western media have since speculated that Gaddafi suffers from manic depression, schizophrenia, and megalomania. Among those who worked with Gaddafi, Anwar Sadat called him "unbalanced and immature" and "a vicious criminal." Gaafar Nimeiry called him an "evil" person, and Yasser Arafat, who aligned himself with Gaddafi for much of his career, said Gaddafi was the "knight of revolutionary phrases". Fidel Castro said he was "reckless". During a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, he was said to be highly curious, asking a lot of questions and being especially interested in Malaysia's economic success. The attacks on Gaddafi's image became less common as his relations with the West improved. He modeled many of his Arab nationalist and socialist ideals from Gamal Abdul Nasser and Mao Zedong.
By his own estimation, Gaddafi considers himself an intellectual and philosopher. He is known for a flamboyant dress sense, with a strong taste for safari suits and sunglasses. He changes his clothing several times each day, and according to his former nurses, "enjoys surrounding himself with beautiful things and people." He hired several nurses to care for his health, all of whom were beautiful young Ukrainian women. Since the 1980s he has traveled with his Amazonian Guard, which is all-female, and reportedly is sworn to a life of celibacy. In 2009, it was revealed that he does not travel without his trusted Ukrainian nurse Halyna Kolotnytska, noted as a "voluptuous blonde". Halyna's daughter denied the suggestion that the relationship is anything but professional. Gaddafi frequently made sexual advances on female journalists, and successfully bedded a few in exchange for interviews. Gaddafi's former aides have said he is "obsessive" about his image. He gave gold watches with images of his face to his staff as gifts. In 2011, a Brazilian doctor told the Associated Press that he performed plastic surgery on Gaddafi in 1995 to avoid appearing old to the Libyan people.