U.S. ambassador becomes first diplomatic WikiLeaks casualty after revealing Colonel Gaddafi's fondness for flamenco dancing and 'voluptuous blonde nurse'

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE
Updated: 12:03 EST, 6 January 2011

It was arguably the most embarrassing leak of a personal nature of all the WikiLeaks.

Colonel Gaddafi was revealed to hate flying over water and distrusted staying on upper floors of buildings.

He was also fond of flamenco dancing and the 'voluptuous Ukrainian blonde nurse' who followed him everywhere he went.

But the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Gene Cretz, has paid the price for revealing the tyrant's personality traits - he has lost his job.

U.S. ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz was severely compromised by his rather undiplomatic revelations about President Gaddafi's fondness for flamenco dancing and dislike of flying over water

The veteran diplomat, 60, has been recalled to Washington following the publication of his cables exposing Gaddafi's habits, U.S. State Deparment sources said..

In a cable titled A Glimpse Into Libyan Leader Gaddafi’s Eccentricities, Cretz wrote that Gaddafi relies heavily on his long-time Ukrainian nurse, Galyna who has been described as a ‘voluptuous blonde’.

Cretz wrote in the 2009 despatch that Gaddafi never travelled anywhere without the shapely blonde by his side.

He also said the Libyan leader has a fear of staying on upper floors and does not like to fly over water.

Cretz also told State Department officials rather less shocking news that Gaddafi enjoys horse racing and flamenco dancing.

The disclosures were part of the thousands of cables obtained by the Wikileaks site run by Julian Assange.

They were part of 250,000 cables sent by U.S. diplomats to Washington as part of their assessment of the country they were based in.

The Old Town in Tripoli, Libya, where Cretz took up his posting in late 2008 in the last weeks of the Bush presidency

Senior State Department officials said Cretz’s descriptions of Gaddafi's health and personal habits could make it difficult for him to work with the Libyan government.

'It’s a complicated relationship, and WikiLeaks just added to that complication,' the official said.

Cretz took up his post in late 2008, in the last weeks of the administration of president George W. Bush.

His predecessor left Tripoli on November 7, 1972 as Washington accused Libya of supporting international terrorism.

Cretz was named ambassador after the United States and Libya cleared the last hurdle to a full normalization of ties with Tripoli compensating US victims of terrorist attacks in the 1980s.

Relations between Libya and the United States have see-sawed repeatedly over 30 years.

Diplomatic relations were broken in 1981 and only restored in 2004 after Libya renounced its quest for weapons of mass destruction.