About President Obama’s appearance in the international arena has been spoken quit a lot in the past years. Reason enough to shed some light on the protocol and etiquette that is in place for meetings with the president of the United States. What does the diplomatic protocol subscribe for Obama? What the president does and does not do when visiting foreign states is monitored with eagle eyes. Here are some examples of what might go wrong.

TEXT: Laura Kox
PHOTO: Pete Souza/White House

A lot of (online) media pay attention to the acting of the president in foreign countries. For instance when Obama met King Abdullah in April 2009 at a G20 meeting, there was a controversy because the president seemed to have bowed to deeply for the king. This is supposed to be highly inappropriate for the stature of a president of the United States. When Obama met with King Abdullah in a later meeting, they embraced and had cheek to cheek touch.

Another controversial bow was made towards Emperor Akihito during his visit to Japan in 2009. No other US leader is supposed to have ever done that before. But what is exactly controversial about it is debated, since the emperor has no political status in Japan.

In the UK, the president of the United States has to mention the importance of the relationship between UK and the US. And he is supposed to always refer to ‘United Kingdom’ and not ‘England’, which the president did once in his first visit to London, a slip of the tongue probably. This month the president is expected to head of to Ireland, and here again protocol comes into play. When the president wants to visit Northern Ireland he has to head to London first, since protocol demands that when seeking out other areas of the UK, London should be visited first.

Not only is the president himself being scrutinised for diplomatic mistakes. First Lady Michelle Obama came in the news in autumn last year, because she had shaken the hand of an Indonesian leader, who because of his religion is only allowed to touch family-related women. He shook her hand anyway, though he claimed that she forced the much-discussed handshake upon him.

Etiquette is not only expected from the president. What is allowed, shaking hands, hugging or kissing? And can you take the president for a game of football? Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard for instance, played football with the president during his visit. In the quite unlikely case that you will visit the American president anytime soon: on the website of the US Department of State the protocol for behavioural rules regarding presidential visits is more closely defined. Including FAQ’s for dealing with the president.