What to give a president

2007-12-11 20:25

Washington - In 2006, gift-minded world leaders made sure that US President George Bush could listen to all of Mozart while smoking a cigar and reflecting on Gandhi's Seven Social Sins, according to a US government list.

But both US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney received presents whose cost dwarfed Bush's priciest trinket, an $11 000 watch, the US State Department reported.

An Indian lawmaker, Nirmal Deshpande, gave the US president perhaps the least expensive present of his time in office: a yellow linen scroll with Gandhi's warnings, worth an estimated $7 - or $1 per sin.

They are "politics without principle", "wealth without work", "pleasure without conscience", "knowledge without character", "commerce without morality", "science without humanity", and "worship without sacrifice".

At the other end of the spectrum, Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra gave Bush an $11 000 Cartier Santos Dumont watch in April 2006. The Thai military toppled Thaksin's government in September 2006.

Cheney's big watch

But oil-rich Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev trumped that, giving Cheney a Breguet watch estimated at $25 300, while Saudi King Abdullah gave Rice a white gold and diamond set - necklace, earrings, bracelet and ring - valued at $20 000.

The Saudi king gave Cheney the most expensive present on the list, which the US State Department is required to make public under US law - a $55 000, 18-carat white gold, ruby and diamond jewellery set.

As is common practice, Bush did not keep most of the gifts - except for Gandhi's autobiography and a book about him, both from Nirmal Deshpande - but passed most along to the US National Archives or other US government offices.

Bush received athletic equipment from several leaders, including a leather horse saddle from Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and black leather Huszar riding boots from Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany.

Cycling tights

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt gave Bush - an avid bicyclist - two grey and navy blue cycling jerseys and tights, embossed with "a patriotic stripe" and the president's name.

Not to be outdone, Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who is Dutch, provided a royal blue biking shirt, while Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen presented Bush with a red and white cycling jersey.

Junichiro Koizumi, the former Japanese prime minister numbered among Bush's closest friends on the world scene, gave the president an electric-power assisted bicycle, as well as a collection of Elvis Presley works.

Junichiro Koizumi Presents: My Favourite Elvis Songs opens with I Want You, I Need You, I Love You and closes with Hawaiian Wedding Song. Bush took Koizumi to the late King of Rock and Roll's Graceland in June 2006.

In a more classical vein, Austrian President Heinz Fischer gave his US counterpart the Mozart Complete Edition - a massive set valued at $1 276.

A presidential palace

Representations of the US first family were popular: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev gave Bush a hand-woven rug featuring Bush, US First Lady Laura Bush, the US presidential seal, the US capitol, the New York City skyline, the Statue of Liberty, the White House, and his own presidential palace.

The chief of protocol of Vietnam's foreign ministry presented Bush with a portrait of the US president made with rubies and various gemstones, held in an ornate gold-leaf frame, according to the list.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya gave Bush 75 cigars and an engraved humidor. Binoculars were among German Chancellor Angela Merkel's gifts.

- AFP