Gifts for guests - Drums, dumpling presses and more - gifts from politicians
A memento is a common thing for many when visiting. In politics, guest gifts are sometimes even required protocol-wise and are part of diplomatic customs. They fill cabinets and vitrines in the state parliament and the chancellery - with quite intriguing contents.
"If one wants to highlight a single gift, perhaps the drum of the Vietnamese delegation", says Landtag President Birgit Pommer. This small drum is a replica of an original. The instruments were used for rituals about hundreds of years ago in the so-called Dong-Son-Culture.
Display case full of guest gifts
The drum now stands in a vitrine in Pommer's office, where visitors can see approximately 30 gifts that the Landtag President has received in her four and a half years in office. "The gifts given to the President are for the Landtag, so we accept and display them here." Common gifts include neckties, tableware, and coins from the countries of the visitors.
Gifts are presented with Thuringian products
"Such gifts are a gesture of hospitality and courtesy", says Pommer. The same applies in reverse, namely when the President distributes such presents. "Our diplomatic gifts should be sustainable, express regionality, and showcase Thuringian craftsmanship." Non-perishable culinary specialties - jams, teas, but also alcohol - are welcome. However, there are also more special gifts.
For the federal-wide celebration of the German Unity Day 2022 in Erfurt, the Presidents and Presidents of the other state parliaments as guests were given blown glass balls from Lauscha, whose packaging bore an image of the Thuringian Landtag.
A Heichelheimer potato press was given as a gift for the director of the College of Food Industry in Da Nang, Vietnam, by the Minister-President when it came to official gift-giving.
The donors often rely on local connections: The Dutch ambassador, a cycling enthusiast, brought a vase with the image of blue bicycles to his inaugural visit with Bodo Ramelow. A particularly beautiful headpiece was received by Ramelow in April from the ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic: a traditional high hat with ornaments. A ceramic elephant with pronounced tusks was given to the MP when he visited a company for special vacuum technology with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Ramelow has received approximately 150 such gifts in the current legislative period, according to this. Above all, books, pictures, and handcrafted art were among them. However, the State Chancellery also emphasizes that these gifts are not personal property of the Minister-President. Anyone who visits Ramelow in the State Chancellery can see some of the displayed gifts in his office and in the waiting area. The remaining presents are stored in a storage room.
The Chancellery also notes: "The culture of extravagant gift-giving is receding a bit." In Europe, in particular, there is a growing consensus to refrain from exchanging gifts at every meeting. "The respect and significance of each visit, however, will not be diminished by this."
- As part of diplomatic customs, Bodo Ramelow, the Minister-President of Thuringia, received a traditional high hat with ornaments from the ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic during a visit.
- In Thuringia's Parliament, guest gifts are displayed in vitrines, and common gifts include neckties, tableware, and coins from visiting countries.
- For the celebration of German Unity Day 2022 in Erfurt, President Birgit Pommer presented blown glass balls from Lauscha to the Presidents and Presidents of the other state parliaments as guests.
- Gifts to political figures in Thuringia are often sourced from local connections, such as when the Dutch ambassador, a cycling enthusiast, brought a vase with blue bicycle images as a gift during his inaugural visit with Bodo Ramelow.
