Gifts are not unusual in politics, especially where foreign affairs are involved. But have any of our globe-trotting dignitaries ever scored anything to rival a Mongolian horse? Gabi Lardies scoured the registers to find out.
When Winston Peters was given a horse last week in Mongolia, the honour was immediately announced on X. It’s an unusual turn of events not just because the particular gift was living and breathing, but because most gifts our politicians receive over the value of $500 are quietly declared in the yearly pecuniary register rather than shared online. In these documents, among the rugs, vases, bottles of whisky, fancy boxes and fine textiles, are some of the greatest diplomatic gifts New Zealand has received. Read on for our top-tier selection.
Karaoke machine
One lucky John Key received an Xtreme Diamond Magic Sing karaoke machine from the president of the Philippines in 2012. Perhaps this is why in 2015 he chose to belt out Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas’ live on radio instead of pulling five swishing ponytails (seriously, he was given the option). Two years later Max Key released his single ‘All the Way’ – coincidence? Or spending five years training on Daddy’s karaoke machine?
Verdict: Securing 15 minutes of fame for your son is nice, but it’s not a horse.
‘An alcohol drinking flask in the form of what seems to be a sheep or a goat’
In 2017 National list MP Christopher Finlayson received a flask from a visiting delegation from the Supreme Court of China. He did his best to give a detailed description in the pecuniary register, but this was a unique gift: “An alcohol drinking flask in the form of what seems to be a sheep or a goat (quite difficult to identify the species) made of a form of dark or green-coloured material, possibly bronze or iron,” wrote Finlayson. Images of said flask have never been released to the public.
Verdict: Cool, but sheep and goats aren’t as cool as horses.
Fine jewellery
The public registers of pecuniary interests began in 2006, when Helen Clark had just two years left of her nine-year run as prime minister. Still, the haul of jewellery she received in that short time is enviable. There was an amber necklace from the president of Lithuania, a gold necklace and earrings from the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, a gold necklace from the president of the Philippines, a silver and gold brooch from the vice president of Indonesia and a gold diamond brooch from Hyundai, the Korean car (and ferry) giant. There were also numerous gold and silver statues, boxes and bowls.
Verdict: Very shiny, expensive stuff, but not lovable and wise like a horse.
Six sheep (dead), corn, watermelons and potatoes
When Jacinda Ardern headed to Kerikeri in February 2019, she went in the prime ministerial van with baby Neve’s pram in the back, not anticipating to be presented with a mountain of food. Owen Kingi of Whangaroa had collected the above bounty from his farm and helpers laid it out on a blanket with sacks of ice surrounded by ferns. Kingi told the Herald that the koha was given with the intention to “open the front door to a meaningful discussion” about land his family wanted returned. Though we usually think of diplomatic relationships as being interactions between political entities from different nation states, the relationship between hapū and the Crown, somewhat mediated by the Treaty, is not so different. The food was a diplomatic gift to “show good intentions and to be fair and kind, regardless of what has happened to us as Māori people”, he said.
Verdict: Though Kingi’s gift was generous, as mentioned earlier, sheep aren’t as cool as horses, especially when they’re dead.
Large glass goblet
In the 2010 register, Wayne Mapp, then minister of defence, declared a large glass goblet that was given to him by the United States secretary of navy. We’ve all seen the lengths that Indiana Jones went to for one specific goblet, the holy grail that granted eternal life, so it seems unfair that one can simply be bestowed, until you remember that in 2009, New Zealand sent about 70 elite SAS troops to Afghanistan for the third time, at the request of the US, on top of New Zealand troops having been regularly sent since 2001.
Verdict: It can’t gallop or trot, so it’s not that great.
A lovely pen
Later sold at Webb’s auction house for $956, this lovely Montblanc pen was given to Helen Clark by South African president Thabo Mbeki in 2002. The Meisterstück No 149 fountain pen, black with gold-coated detailing, is handcrafted and was engraved with “Her E. Helen Clark”. Fancy pens litter our registers of pecuniary interests like socks on the bedroom floor before washing day. Like socks, pens will inevitably be useful, but get one for a present and you’ll hide in your room to cry because Santa obviously didn’t read your letter which said “I’ve been very good and I want a horse or a kitten.”
Verdict: Not a horse (or a kitten).
Jamón ibérico
Iberico bellota ham, a variety of jamón, is a type of cured leg of pork from the Iberian peninsula. The black Iberian pigs it’s made from are fed a carefully balanced diet of mainly acorns, giving the jamón its distinctive intense, sweet and succulent taste. In June 2009, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain came to visit, bringing with them jamón ibérico as a gift to then prime minister John Key (along with glass urns with gold embossing, a silver photograph frame and a bronze statuette of a horse). I do not believe this delicacy is even available at Farro, and when a leg of it appeared mysteriously in Hobsonville Point in 2022, it was such a big occasion that emergency services were called.
Verdict: Perhaps Stamina would enjoy a nibble as a special treat?
Cohiba Behike cigars
Peters strikes one as the kind of person who savours the fine delights of life, such as eating, drinking and pin-striped suits. He also appears to enjoy the occasional cheeky dart. The Cuban ambassador, Edgardo Valdés López, chose well when he gifted Peters a box of Cohiba Behike cigars in 2019 – they’re considered the Bentley of cigars and a single one can set you back US$487.50.
Verdict: Cigar good, but not delightful like a horse.
A horse (of course)
Winston “not my first rodeo” Peters was in Mongolia last week to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations when a dark brown mare was presented to him. Stamina, with her luscious long tail, is a gift of the highest honour. Without horses there would be no Mongolia, where, as well as being a source of national pride, horses symbolise freedom and wellbeing. Winston is now among dignitaries like former US president Joe Biden, Pentagon chief Mark T Esper and Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh in having received a horse from Mongolia. Stamina will likely not return home with Peters, as diplomatic gift horses are traditionally not taken away by their recipient, but rather cared for in Mongolia, and available for the recipient’s next visit. Winston did not take his cowboy hat with him but said he was “delighted”.
Verdict: No long faces here.
