You would think, for example, that before deciding to give Bush a £150 box of Charbonnel et Walker chocolates, Gordon Brown would have borne in mind that the American secret service requires the destruction of all food gifts to the president. However, Brown was not alone in this idiocy. The prime minister of Qatar gave Bush a large tin of “chocolates, fruits and cookies” worth £650, and the Iraqi president gave an “assortment of nut pastries”, but these, too, in the words of the state department, were “handled pursuant to secret service policy” (ie destroyed). The same sad fate befell the £3 worth of “live shamrocks” given to Bush by the then Irish prime minister, Bertie Ahern, on St Patrick’s Day.
Bush would have been allowed to keep another of Brown’s gifts – a “green, beige and red plaid lambswool blanket” – because it is worth so little; but it has ended up all the same in a government warehouse, as has a present from Tony Blair (a Wedgwood bowl inscribed with the words “Am I not a man and a brother?”, the slogan of the 19th-century British anti-slavery movement). If it is difficult to imagine what either British prime minister intended with these gifts, it is even harder to guess what was in the mind of Vladimir Putin when he gave Bush a book of “English Sonnets, 16th to 19th century”, which he obviously would never read, and utterly mystifying why the president of Vietnam gave him an electric harp, which he most definitely would never play.
I clearly still have a great deal to learn about the workings of international diplomacy.
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Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/30/comment-is-free
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See also:
At Noon on Jan. 20, Lots of Things Turned to Pumpkins
As George W. Bush learned, there’s an upside to being president: He amassed a dazzling array of gifts from foreign dignitaries.
But there’s a downside, too: He can’t keep them.
Foreign leaders lavished Bush with presents during his White House tenure, but law requires the president to turn over high-value gifts to government archives. In 2007, according to newly released federal records, Bush accumulated a spectacular treasure trove from a long list of His Excellencies.
From his BFF John Howard, the distinguished former prime minister of Australia (and our favorite Blair House guest), Bush received a riding coat, a cattleman’s hat and a messenger bag, as well as a Montblanc pen ($495), a Tournament Shortstroker fishing rod ($852) and a collection of three paintings ($2,250).
French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave Bush a $5,000 bronze statue of a horse, in a leather box. Turkmenistan’s president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, offered a burgundy rug with blue, green, orange and cream accents, a $1,896 value. But former KGB thug and Russian president Vladimir Putin was decidedly less generous, giving Bush hardcover books of English sonnets, one copy in English and one in Russian, and a copper-and-brass samovar (a Russian urn used to boil water for tea).
Speaking of tea, Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet offered a gold-plated tea set with images of dragons (teapot, six teacups, sugar bowl and cream pitcher). Triet also gave Bush a $4,500 electric harp with speakerphone. (We didn’t know Bush played.)
Bush collected a dozen Moser crystal champagne flutes, valued at $3,060, from Czech President Vaclav Klaus. He also gathered a heap of neckties from Italian leaders, including 12 E. Marinella silk ties from Silvio Berlusconi and six Salvatore Ferragamo silk ties from Romano Prodi. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, meanwhile, gave Bush a white traditional Afghan pantsuit and a black-and-gold traditional Afghan vest. (Excellent for clearing brush.)
Bush gathered a few weapons, too, including an antique silver pistol from the mayor of Fushe-Kruje, Albania, and a 25-inch silver sword with elaborate detailing and carnelian stones from the president of Yemen.
As expected, the Santa Claus of the bunch turned out to be King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud. The Saudi monarch bestowed upon Bush a sapphire-and-diamond necklace, bracelet, earrings and ring — a jewelry set valued at a whopping $85,000. Not to be outdone, he also gave Bush a $10,000 piece of artwork depicting a desert scene with Bedouins, camels and a tent made of gold.
The law allows the leader of the free world to keep only those gifts valued at less than $335.
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Full article : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/25/AR2009012502104.html
