The curious history of diplomatic gifts

In 757, Constantine V – later referred to as Copronymus, or “Dung-named”, because he allegedly defecated during his baptism – gifted Pippin III, King of the Francs, a mechanical organ. The rather pungent Constantine thought it would put short Pippin in his place, showing the superiority of Byzantine technology over the Luddites of Nuestria. It is not documented how Charlemagne’s father reacted. 

Fast-forward 1,200 years and leaders of tribes are still doing the same thing. Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted his pal, Kim Jong Un a flashy new car. Copronymus may be an appropriate Latin nickname for Putin, and Kim is short like Pippin, but one gathers this is not a flex of Russian superiority but instead a friendly gesture. Apparently, Putin gave the car to Kim “because he liked it”. Pictures of a smiling Kim seated in a lovely new Aurus Senat limousine at Vostochny Cosmodrome in September 2023 testify to that. 

This whole show got me thinking: what other eccentric gifts have Kings, Queens, leaders and envoys given each other? 

In January 2014, a month before Russia annexed Crimea, then US Secretary of State John Kerry gave Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov two famous Idaho potatoes. If only we could go back to the days of photo-ops and tatties. Admittedly, it doesn’t quite have the ring of wine and roses.  

Sticking with US-Russian token gestures, in 2009 then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave the perennial Lavrov a big red button. In English below the button was the word “reset”. Gauche, yes, but on-message. In Russian, above the button, was the word “peregruzka”, meaning “overload”. Definitely not on-message. “Perezagruzka”, is, of course, the word for “reset”. Not to worry – Clinton and Lavrov laughed about the misunderstanding and pressed the button at the same time. 

An excellent and humble gift that is sure to please a foreign counterpart is a book about yourself, as President Abdullah Gul of Turkey knew only too well. We can be sure Barack Obama received it kindly and chewed through the biography on holiday. 

But Obama could give as good as he got. Who could forget that hamper of classic American film culture that he bequeathed to Gordon Brown? Some 25 DVDs ranging from Vertigo to Star Wars – no doubt Brown still cycles through them regularly.

President Gul’s self-righteous gift was much in keeping with his Byzantine, as seen in Constantine V above, and Ottoman forbears. And it seemed they received gifts in much the same way, as James Porter, British Minister to the Ottoman Empire from 1747–1762 pointed out in his memoirs: “Whoever is acquainted with the Oriental practice, and knows the ostentation, pride, and haughtiness of the Turkish government, must know that they look upon, and consider such presents as actual tributes.”

Elsewhere in the annals of peculiar prezzies, Mali offered Francios Hollande a camel for ridding the country of militant Islamists. The camel didn’t quite fit in at the Elysee and it ended up in the care of a Malian family who swiftly put it in a hearty stew. 

All of which is to say, while not a Ferrari, Kim’s new Russian car is a rather nice gift. And since Kim allegedly learned to drive at the age of three, no doubt he’ll get the most out of it. 

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