In recent years, first ladies have begun to take a more active
role in promoting diplomatic relations as they accompany their husbands on state
visits.
Naturally, the fashion styles and demeanor of these prominent
ladies have garnered much media and public attention, with some even attaining
the status of minor celebrities.
Hillary Clinton: The Most Active First
Lady
From 1992 to 2000, Hillary Clinton was the First Lady of the
United States, alongside her husband, then-President Bill Clinton. During that
period, she gained worldwide attention and laid the foundation for her own
future political career. She frequently accompanied her husband on his state
visits or traveled alone.
In July 1993, she accompanied her husband to attend the Group
of Seven Summit (G7 Summit) in Tokyo, capital of Japan. In 1994, she served as
head of the U.S. delegation to attend the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympic Games
in Norway and in 1995, she and then-U.S. Vice President Al Gore attended the
inauguration ceremony of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa.
Clinton has said that she often acted on her own to send out
the message that a nation's prosperity is associated with women's education and
happiness.
In her autobiography Living History, Clinton explained that
state affairs largely depend on personal relations between state leaders, but
that the relations require continual cultivation and various informal
dialogues.
Glenn P. Hastedt and Anthony J. Eksterowicz, two professors
from the Political Science Department of James Madison University, jointly wrote
an essay titled First Lady Diplomacy: The Foreign Policy Activism of First Lady
Clinton, and concluded that "Former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was one of
the most active first ladies in modern memory".
Carla Bruni: A Fashion Icon
Ex-model and singer Carla Bruni, wife of Nicolas Sarkozy who
held the office as French President from 2007 to 2012, became famous as one of
the best dressed and most poised first ladies around.
When she visited Britain with Sarkozy in 2008, the former model
wore a grey hat and a grey turtle neck dress as well as a pair of black gloves
to see Queen Elizabeth II. Her appearance won her a compliment from Harpers
& Queen, a British fashion magazine, who described her attire as elegant and
reminiscent of the late Princess Diana.
At the welcome banquet later that day, Bruni turned up in a
gorgeous evening dress, occasioning a later comment from one British celebrity,
who said that Bruni was the only topic of the night and no one talked about
bilateral ties.
Britain's Daily Mail pointed out that Bruni had made the smart
move of wearing all-British designers on her trip.
Bruni was selected as the ambassador for the Global Fund to
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on December 1, 2008, which was also World
Cancer Day. Since then, she has visited several African countries and raised
money for AIDS patients.
Political analysts have said that although she was not as
politically influential as Hillary Clinton, Bruni went a long way towards
enhancing Sarkozy's presidential image.
Miyuki Hatoyama and Kim Yoon-ok: The Most Approachable
First Ladies
Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of then-Prime Minister of Japan Yukio
Hatayama, and Kim Yoon-ok, wife of then-President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak,
were well-known in their time for being two of the most approachable first
ladies around.
When Hatoyama accompanied her husband to visit South Korea in
2009, Kim invited her to a Korean traditional cuisine institute, where she
showed Hatoyama how to make Korean kimchi. Hatoyama used her bare hands to
practice making the kimchi and when Kim told her that most modern Korean women
wear gloves because they do not want the strong smell to stay on their hands,
Hatoyama said that she would like to experience the making of kimchi with bare
hands.
Kim had previously learned that Hatoyama had published many
cookbooks, which is why she took the latter to a cuisine institute.
Although the two first ladies did not take part in diplomatic
activities on their state visits, their charm and approachability made them very
popular among the media and public.
First Lady Diplomacy
First lady diplomacy now makes up an important part of modern
diplomacy. State leaders' wives are influential in enhancing the effectiveness
of a country's public diplomacy and augmenting its soft power.
In some countries, first ladies have begun to undertake
diplomatic duties. For example, it has become a fixed arrangement for the U.S.
First Lady to host the families of foreign politicians at Camp David, the
president's country residence.
Professor Zhang Xiaojin from the Beijing-based Tsinghua
University says that first lady diplomacy can enhance transparency with regards
to the first family's activities.
Depending on their backgrounds and interests, some first ladies
may visit hospitals or schools on state visits or restaurants and museums to
show respect for the host country's culture.
Nowadays, summit diplomacy usually has dual functions in public
diplomacy and diplomatic protocol and thus, first lady diplomacy is an integral
part of modern diplomacy, says Professor Zhang.
http://www.womenofchina.cn/html/womenofchina/report/151585-1.htm
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