State Dinners at the White House: A Photo Essay

The occasion of an official state visit by the leader of another nation is always an important event in the time that a president spends in the White House. Acting as the representative of the United States and hosting the acting head of another nations carries with it lots of rules and words of polite courtesy It also provides an pportunity for diplomatic negotiations on things like economics, trade policies, military alliances, and the daily choices of running a country.

But it can also provide time for fun and fancy food.

As we saw from the recent visit of France’s president, Francois Hollande, there is food, dancing, and a chance to get really dressed up. It also provides an interesting opportunity to see a different way that the White House operates. Official White House photographer Pete Souza posted some of his photos taken during the visit on the White House blog. And you can follow this link to learn more about the behind-the-scenes preparations made by the kitchen staff and to see the menu of the dinner.

Other State Dinners

Because President Obama is running the White House during the digital age, there are many, many ways to publicize the event. Past presidents didn’t have this luxury. Still, below there are some photos that give a glimpse of past State Dinners held by recent White House residents.

President Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson hosted Indira Gandhi, the prime minister of India during a state visit in 1966. This was soon after Gandhi became the first and only female prime minister in India’s history. She was voted “Woman of the Millennium” by a BBC poll in 1999. This photo was taken at the North Entrance to the White House.

In June 1973 President Richard Nixon and the First Lady Pat Nixon hosted the leader of the Soviet Union, Premier Leonid Brezhnev. The Cold War tensions between the United States and the U.S.S.R. was still a dominant factor in world politics, but the leaders could put aside differences for the sake of diplomacy, the press, and a nice dinner. Brezhnev and Nixon developed a policy of detente that helped begin a thawing of the Cold War. In fact, it was during the 18 years of Brezhnev’s leadership of the Soviet Union that the famous “red telephone” was installed as a hotline between Washington D.C. and Moscow.

British Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip visited President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush in 1991. The diplomatic and historical ties between the United States and Great Britain have always been very strong. But the Queen has not made many visits to “the Colonies.” She did, however, visit again during the presidency of the Bush’s son, George W. Bush in 2007.

It’s not all polite smiles and protocol. During another visit by the British in 1985, during Ronald Reagan’s time as president, two famous people stole the spotlight from the heads of state. American actor John Travolta cut a rug with Princess Diana, then wife of Prince Charles. This star-studded scene made headlines in the press after the dinner. According to a magazine interview that Travolta gave afterwards, Princess Diana has been dancing calmly with the president, but told Travolta that she “would adore to dance with you.” Who could say no to dancing with a princess?