P A P U A | N E W | G U I N E A :: Rabbie Namaliu ::
Click each to view: Letter | Auto | Photo | Envelope
In Office: ??.??.1988 - ??.??.1992
Wiki: Prime Minister Sir Rabbie Langanai Namaliu
Comments: I'd say it's a safe bet that Rabbie Namaliu didn't receive much fan mail once he left his post as Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. Consequently, I'm confident he was undeniably excited to receive my unexpected letter. He was definitely the first person to sign the rear of a photo, instead of the photo itself. The heading on the letter - Office of the Member for Kokopo Open - seems relatively odd. Further, I was struck by the mysteriously existential address on the letter and envelope - "United State of America." Brilliant.
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B A H A M A S :: Hubert Alexander Ingraham ::
Click each to view: Letter | Envelope
In Office: 08.21.1992 - Present
Wiki: Prime Minister Hubert Alexander Ingraham
Comments: Charming letter from the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, locale for two of my debaucherous college spring break excursions. Ingraham, a former fireman and lawyer, served as Prime Minister twice, nonconsecutively - let's just call him the Bahamian Grover Cleveland.
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C A N A D A :: Martin Brian Mulroney ::
Click each to view: Letter | Autograph
In Office: 09.17.1984 - 06.25.1993
Wiki: Prime Minister Martin Brian Mulroney
Comments: Few responses have made me feel warm and fuzzy as Mulroney's concise, yet inspirational words,"The concern you have shown reassures me that, in future generations, our world will be left in caring hands." Yes, indeed. Mulroney's run as the most famous member of his family was short-lived, as his son Ben, a Duke grad, is the popular host of Canadian Idol.
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N E W | Z E A L A N D :: James Brendan Bolger ::
Click each to view: Letter | Autograph | Envelope
In Office: 11.02.1990 - 12.08.1997
Wiki: Prime Minister James Brendan Bolger
Comments: Jim Bolger, son of Irish immigrants and born in Opunake, Taranaki, formerly owned a sheep and beef farm on New Zealand's beautiful North Island. Bolger disapproved of his nickname "Spud" (the PM's Boeing 727 call sign was "Spud One") and once asserted that his "life was full of ironies."
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A U S T R A L I A :: Robert James Lee Hawke ::
Click each to view: Letter | Envelope
In Office: 03.11.1983 - 12.20.1991
Wiki: Prime Minister Robert James Lee Hawke
Comments: Hawke provided a thoughtful response to my letter, touching on my dual ambitions of becoming a U.S. Senator and also attending the Australian Open. Hawke attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar following his undergrad work at the University of Western Australia. His most impressive feat, however, was setting the world speed record for beer drinking out of a yard glass (11 seconds).
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U N I T E D | K I N G D O M :: Sir John Major ::
Click each to view: Letter | Political | Envelope
In Office: 11.28.1990 - 05.02.1997
Wiki: Prime Minister Sir John Major
Comments: Major's office provided me with some fantastic British political swag, although I doubt the stickers emblazoned in French slogans went over well with the British electorate. His legacy as one of Britain's most important political leaders in the 20th century almost never happened; in 1967, Major was nearly killed in a Nigerian car crash.
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D E N M A R K :: Poul Nyrup Rasmussen ::
Click each to view: Autograph | Envelope
In Office: 09.10.1982 - 01.25.1993
Wiki: Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
Comments: Although my name was butchered on the envelope, I'm a big fan of Denmark and the envy-inducing Danes. However, I never understood the insane fascination with that ridiculous Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen. I saw it in person, and I still don't get it.
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G E R M A N Y :: Helmut Josef Michael Kohl ::
Click each to view: Letter | Autograph | Envelope
In Office: 10.01.1982 - 10.27.1998
Wiki: Chancellor Helmut Josef Michael Kohl
Comments: I have to wonder if Helmut ever secretly wished to change his name, although, I suppose that being one of the most influential politicians in European history renders perplexing German naming conventions frivolous.
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I R E L A N D :: Albert Reynolds ::
Click each to view: Letter | Autograph | Envelope
In Office: 02.11.1992 - 12.15.1994
Wiki: Taoiseach Albert Reynolds
Comments: I can't think of any cooler title than "Taoiseach," the Irish equivalent of a Prime Minister. This former teetototaler/dance hall owner built an empire selling pet food, exporting fish, and producing bacon (no joke) before ascending the Irish political ladder. After his resignation as Taioseach in 1994, Reynolds forged an unusual relationship with Pakistan's General Pervez Musharraf.
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C A N A D A :: Avril Phaedra "Kim" Campbell ::
Click each to view: Letter | Envelope
In Office: 06.25.1993 - 11.04.1993
Wiki: Prime Minister Avril Phaedra "Kim" Campbell
Comments: The first and only female Prime Minister of Canada, Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, PC, CC, QC (really?) held Canada's highest office for a whopping 132 days. Despite being ranked 20th (out of 20 Canadian Prime Ministers) by a survey of Canadian historians, Campbell has enjoyed a productive post-PM period, publishing an autobiography, teaching at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, serving on numerous boards, and permanently ditching America's hat for the gastronomic heaven yet intoxicating snobbery of Paris.
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A U S T R A L I A :: Paul John Keating ::
Click each to view: Letter | Photograph | Envelope
In Office: 02.11.1992 - 12.15.1994
Wiki: Prime Minister Paul John Keating
Comments: Long before his ascension to the pinnacle of Australian politics, Keating dropped out of school at 15 and famously managed "The Ramrods," a Sydney rock band. Keating would eventually note that he took the Ramrods "from nowhere to obscurity." His music taste later evolved and he now claims to be a fervent admirer of Austrian heartthrob Gustav Mahler. Did I mention that he also collects antique French clocks?
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