President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that the ambassador would return, telling Libyans: ''This is your chance. And today the world is saying, with one unmistakable voice, we will stand with you.''— Photo by Reuters

TRIPOLI: The US ambassador to Libya has returned to Tripoli to lead a newly reopened American Embassy in a post-Moammar Gadhafi era.

Ambassador Gene Cretz arrived in Tripoli Wednesday, a day before plans to raise the US flag over the embassy building in the Libyan capital.

Cretz left for consultations in Washington in January after WikiLeaks posted his assessments of Gadhafi's personal life and habits in a classified 2009 diplomatic cable.

He returns to a country much changed since revolutionary forces seized control of Tripoli and forced the longtime leader into hiding.

President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that the ambassador would return, telling Libyans: ''This is your chance. And today the world is saying, with one unmistakable voice, we will stand with you.''