Barack Obama gifts received from foreign governments in 2011 revealed
The US state department has revealed the annual list of gifts received by President Barack Obama from foreign governments in 2011.
Among the gifts from the British Royal Family and UK PM David Cameron to President Barack Obama were a china tea set, an eagle tapestry and a dog toy.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave the Obamas an array of luxury goods valued at $41,676.
Following US custom, the First Family and other US public officials seldom keep gifts from foreign leaders.
They are instead deposited with the US National Archives.
The US state department has revealed the annual list of gifts received by President Barack Obama from foreign governments in 2011
The gifts were reported in an annual filing by the US state department’s protocol office.
Queen Elizabeth II gave Barack Obama a red leather-bound volume entitled A Selection of Papers From the Royal Archives 1834-1897, signed photos of herself to several senior White House aides, and a brooch with gold leaves and coral flowers to First Lady Michelle Obama.
Prince Charles gave the Obamas a 15-piece china tea set.
British PM David Cameron gave the family a large tapestry with an eagle and American flag design by the Rug Company, silver bracelets for daughters Sasha and Malia, and a “bone-shaped chew toy with United Kingdom flag”, presumably for Bo, the family’s four-year-old dog.
The gifts from the Royal Family and David Cameron total about $7,137.
Canadian PM Stephen Harper gave Barack Obama a ball signed by the 2011 Toronto Raptors professional basketball team, as well as a “golden-framed 19th Century antique map of North America, surrounded by drawings of North American Indians, beavers”.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented the Obama family with an array of gifts on several occasions in 2011, among them a glass sculpture of Bucephalus, Alexander the Great’s horse, several Hermes bags, a 200 euro souvenir coin and a reusable grocery tote.