The casual setting in a small kitchen on the compound bombed by US warplanes in 1986 was unusual for the first trip by a US secretary of state in 55 years that was aimed at kicking off a new chapter in relations.

But it also underlined Gaddafi’s attempt to bring a more personal touch — including gifts of jewelry and a mandolin — to start a better relationship with the United States.

Rice’s eight-hour visit had been expected to produce surprises from the unpredictable Libyan leader once referred to by President Ronald Reagan as the “mad dog” of West Asia.

The drama was tipped to unfold in a tent on the sprawling, fortified compound in Tripoli but Gaddafi opted for a deliberately low-key approach with the top US diplomat he refers to as “Leezza” and “my darling black African woman” in media interviews.

The first recorded public encounter was in a bland reception room, unadorned by flags or any other diplomatic trappings and where the chaos came from jostling photographers and journalists trying to record the awkward moment as Rice’s staff scrambled over furniture to get into the room.

Gaddafi’s appearance was regal rather than military and he wore a crisp, white robe with a green brooch in the shape of Africa, shedding his trademark dark glasses. The female bodyguards he sometimes surrounds himself with were not there.

In the public eye, he chose small talk about the weather and inquired over Rice’s health. But after the cameras had left, Rice said the two immediately got down to business, talking about a wide range of issues from Sudan to the West Asia.

Rice, who later visited Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, described her meeting with Gaddafi as a “fairly normal diplomatic exchange” that had got off to a good start but that the relationship was still in its infancy.