A state dinner in the United States is a formal dinner held in honor of a foreign head of state, such as a king, queen, president, or any head of government. It is hosted by the President of the United States and is usually held in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C.[1] Other formal dinners for important people of other nations, such as a prince or princess, are called official dinners, the difference being that the federal government does not pay for them. Nowadays these dinners are more often black tie rather than white tie (see formal wear).
The first state dinner was held on December 22, 1874, by President Ulysses S. Grant to welcome King Kalākaua of the Kingdom of Hawai'i.[2][3][4]
United States state dinners include a variety of dining events across the world, including conferences and summits. They influence many nations and their dining events. State dinners today have a lot more political significance than formerly, and are notably attended by prime ministers and presidents accompanied by politicians, entertainment and security services.
Date | Visiting Country | Guest(s) of Honor | Social Secretary |
---|---|---|---|
December 22, 1874[2] | Hawaii | Kalākaua of Hawai'i |
Date | Visiting Country | Guest(s) of Honor | Social Secretary |
---|---|---|---|
April 29, 1931[5] | Thailand | Prajadhipok of Thailand | Mary Randolph |
October 22, 1931[6] | France | Pierre Laval |
Date | Visiting Country | Guest(s) of Honor | Social Secretary |
---|---|---|---|
October 10, 1933[7] | Panama | Harmodio Arias Madrid | Edith Benham Helm |
June 8, 1939[8] | United Kingdom | George VI of the United Kingdom | |
February 12, 1941[9] | Luxembourg | Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg | |
July 7, 1942[10] | Colombia | Alfonso López Pumarejo | |
December 8, 1942[11] | Cuba | Fulgencio Batista | |
June 9, 1943[12] | Paraguay | Higinio Moríñigo | |
October 14, 1943[13] | Haiti | Élie Lescot | |
January 19, 1944[14] | Venezuela | Isaías Medina Angarita | |
June 7, 1944[15] | Poland | Stanisław Mikołajczyk | |
August 24, 1944[16] | Iceland | Sveinn Björnsson | |
March 23, 1945[17] | Canada | Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone |
Date | Visiting Country | Guest(s) of Honor | Social Secretary |
---|---|---|---|
August 22, 1945[6] | France | Charles de Gaulle | |
November 10, 1945 | Canada | William Lyon Mackenzie King | Edith Benham Helm |
April 29, 1947[18] | Mexico | Miguel Alemán Valdés | |
April 4, 1949[19][20] | Belgium | Paul-Henri Spaak, Robert Silvercruys
Lester B. Pearson, Humphrey Hume Wrong Gustav Rasmussen, Henrik Kauffmann Bjarni Benediktsson, Thor Thors Carlo Sforza, Alberto Tarchiani Joseph Bech, Hugues Le Gallais Dirk Stikker, Eelco van Kleffens | |
May 18, 1949[21] | Brazil | Eurico Gaspar Dutra | |
August 8, 1949[22] | Philippines | Elpidio Quirino | |
November 16, 1949[23] | Iran | Mohammad Reza Pahlavi | |
March 28, 1951[6][24] | France | Vincent Auriol | |
June 20, 1951[25] | Ecuador | Galo Plaza | |
April 2, 1952[26] | Netherlands | Juliana of the Netherlands |
Date | Visiting Country | Guest(s) of Honor | Social Secretary | Entertainment |
---|---|---|---|---|
April 24, 2018[115] | France | Emmanuel Macron | Rickie Niceta | Washington National Opera |
September 20, 2019 | Australia | Scott Morrison | U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines Bands[116] |
Date | Visiting Country | Guest(s) of Honor | Social Secretary | Entertainment |
---|---|---|---|---|
December 1, 2022[117] | France | Emmanuel Macron | Carlos Elizondo | Jon Batiste[118] |
April 26, 2023 [119] | South Korea | Yoon Suk-yeol | Norm Lewis, Jessica Vosk, Lea Salonga, Yoon Suk-yeol [a][124] | |
June 22, 2023 | India | Narendra Modi | Joshua Bell[125] | |
October 25, 2023 | Australia | Anthony Albanese | U.S. Marine Band[126] | |
April 10, 2024 | Japan | Fumio Kishida | Paul Simon[127] | |
May 23, 2024 | Kenya | William Ruto | Brad Paisley, Gospel Choir of Howard University[128] |