Obama $7,750 golf bag, President Barack Obama received a Hermes golf bag valued at $7,750 (£5,000) from former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and rug with an eagle and US flag embroidered on it from Prime Minister David Cameron.
The US State Department released a list of presents given to Obama by foreign governments or dignitaries in 2011, revealing an Aladdin’s cave of gifts, ranging from the modest to the lavish. Reported
Several items reflected Obama’s fondness for golf.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy gave Obama a Hermes golf accessory bag valued at $7,750 (£5,000), as well as Baccarat crystal statuettes depicting golfers at play. In all, the Sarkozys gave the Obamas $41,675.71 in gifts that year alone.
German chancellor Angela Merkel’s gifts to Obama included a golf putter as well as a training console.....
Mr and Mrs Cameron’s rug gift was valued at $1,400. The Prime Minister and his wife also gave the Obama family two “silver Links Sweetie Bracelet” – one with an “M” charm and one with an “S”, presumably for Malia and Sasha, Mr and Mrs Obama’s daughters.
When Mr Cameron visited Mr Obama in Washington last year, he gave the president a table tennis table. Downing Street had insisted that the “truly British” product was a fitting gift in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics.
Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper tapped into Obama’s interest in hoops, giving him a basketball signed by members of the Toronto Raptors team.
Australian prime minister Julia Gillard’s gifts included a specially designed red, white and blue Australian rules shirt with “USA Revolution” on the front.
Other gifts to Obama were more formal, including a 48-inch bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln by the artist Yuan Xikun given by former Chinese president Hu Jintao, valued at $9,800.
All federal employees in the United States must declare gifts from foreign governments or organisations with gifts to the president or the first family turned over to the National Archives.
9 years ago
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