Libyan dictator, Muammar Qaddafi / Gaddafi defended the Taliban and said he wished Obama could be "President for life."
Libyan Leader Colonel Moammar Gaddafi Attacks UN Security Council, Calling It 'Terror Council'
He said the body had allowed too many wars to take place since its inception in 1945 and should be reformed.
In his first appearance at the UN in New York, Colonel Gaddafi tossed aside a copy of the UN Charter and also said the West should pay $7.77 trillion (about £4.6trn) to Africa in compensation for colonisation.
Senior US figures, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and American ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, had left the chamber before his speech.
But Prime Minister Gordon Brown re-wrote the opening of his speech - delayed by two hours by Mr Gaddafi's appearance - to defend the founding principles of the UN.
"I stand here to reaffirm the United Nations Charter, not to tear it up. I call on every nation here to support its universal principles," Mr Brown said.
Relatives of victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, in which 270 people died, protested outside the UN building at Mr Gaddafi's appearance.
They were joined by those affected by the September 11 attacks in New York and family members of victims of IRA violence in Northern Ireland.
Sporting a sand-hued tribal robe with an oversized lapel pin in the shape of Africa, Mr Gaddafi defied orders by the General Assembly chairman - a fellow Libyan - to speak for 15 minutes.
Instead, he gave a rambling speech that lasted more than an hour.
Protests against Colonel Gaddafi at UN
He demanded fundamental changes to the United Nations, likening the General Assembly to Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park where anyone is free to air their views.
He denounced the Security Council - where five nations, including the UK, have veto power - for its monopoly on the right to declare when matters pose a threat to international security, saying it amounted to "terrorism".
He said: "Superpowers have interests and they use the power of the United Nations to protect their interests. The third world is terrified and being terrorised and living in fear."
Mr Gaddafi told the assembly he was speaking "in the name of 1,000 African kingdoms" and said the $7.77trn figure was what Africa deserved.
He warned: "The Africans will call for that and if you don't give that amount - $7.77trn - the Africans will go to where you have taken these trillions. They have the right and they will bring the money back."
He praised US President Barack Obama, saying he wished he could be president for life.
And he defended the Taliban, saying that if it wanted to establish a religious state in Afghanistan it should be allowed to, adding: "Does the Vatican constitute a danger against us? No."
President Barack Obama at the General Assembly
Mr Gaddafi has been reconciling with the West since renouncing Libya's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction in 2003.
Earlier, Mr Obama - making his own first appearance at the UN General Assembly - urged the 120 world leaders in the room to work together to solve the world's most pressing problems.
"Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone," he said.
"Because the time has come for the world to move in a new direction. We must embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect and our work must begin now."
