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practical
Charlie Flanagan's gift of choice? A bog oak pen
Politicians do write a lot.
AS MINISTER OF Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan regularly meets foreign dignitaries and heads of state.
During such meetings, it’s customary to exchange gifts.
Flanagan’s present of choice this year was a bog oak pen, with several ministers from various countries receiving the €80 present, including Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.
Other gifts Flanagan gave include a Spanish version of some of Seamus Heaney’s work (worth €23) to the Chilean Foreign Minister, a copy of Elaine Wright’s book Islam: Faith, Art, Culture (worth €20) to the President of Jordan, and some Design Yard artwork to former US Senator George Mitchell and the United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Affairs Minister (ranging in price from €120 to €160).
You can read a breakdown of the gifts given to foreign dignitaries by Flanagan and junior minister Joe McHugh in 2016 here.
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