I met Panamanian President Ernesto Perez Balladares once while he was president. I also had lunch with Ricardo Arias Calderon, Vice President in the administration previous to Perez Balladares.
I’ve been within 10 feet of two other presidents of Panama, Mireya Moscoso and Martin Torrijos, at events but not actually met them. I do know any number of government officials and others who have worked with them.
Panama’s a pretty small place.
I also met Al Gore once, before he was Vice President.
My sister-in-law (but not me, dont know if it counts) is an events organiser for Breast Cancer Care, and she does a lot of work with Cherie Blair, so she’s been to Chequers and met the man himself a few times. Apparently it’s nice there.
I realize that this thread is old, but my father met Barack Obama in 2009 or 2010, which makes me 2 degrees separated from him.
My grandfather argued a civil litigation case where Dean Acheson was representing the other side, and they wound up spending a couple of evenings together while working out a settlement. That of course puts him at two degrees of separation with FDR, Truman, JFK, and LBJ. He also met Tom Dewey (as in ‘Dewey Beats Truman’ - that Dewey) which put him at two degrees of separation with Eisenhower and Nixon. (Probably Gerald Ford, too, but I can’t say that for sure.) So I’m at three degrees of separation with every President from FDR to Tricky Dick.
I’m also at three degrees of separation (and possibly two) from Obama: I was recently in a meeting where Bob Groves, the Census director, had some questions that I did my best to answer. Groves’s boss is the Secretary of Commerce, whose boss is the President. (I have no idea whether Groves has met Obama personally, but it’s possible. So definitely three, and possibly two.)
I’m surprised I forgot this one when we originally posted: Our former nanny used to work for someone high-ranking in the Bush (senior) administration. So Nanny / former employer / Bush.
And some time after that original posting, Typo Knig and **Dweezil ** went to a rally where a (potential) candidate was stumping. Dweezil got to shake his hand. So that puts me 2 steps away from the fellow currently living on Pennsylvania Avenue :).
My great-grandfather (who died long before I was born) was a stable-hand for Tsar Nicholas. The royal family told all of their workers to flee to America when it became apparent the Bolsheviks were going to win.
My step-brother worked directly for George HW Bush after his presidency and knows him very well. He’s even spent a few weekends at his house.
A friend from college worked as a low end staffer in the Clinton White House and met with him a few times.
Princess Margaret, sister to Queen Elizabeth II borrowed and wore my rubber boots as well as put her lips to a cup of coffee I brewed for her on a bunsen burner.
I met and talked with David Onley, the current Lieutenant-Governor of the province of Ontario, many times. Mind, this was thirty or so years ago, long before be became well-known to Toronto radio and television audiences as an on-air personality.
As L-G. he’s not really a head of state, except to Ontario. But when he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor, he had to meet Queen Elizabeth. So I guess I’m two degrees away from the Queen, who is a head of state.
An old boss of mine met the Queen (and they spoke) when she visited here.
An old university friend of mine is an Australian Senator (we still catch up occasionally). He knows the current and previous two Prime Ministers at least, who have dealt with any number of Heads of State and/or Government.
Zombie Heads-of-State!
I’m 2 degrees from Obama, and that makes me 3/4 degrees from every other head of state in the world. My mother knows Jerry Lewis (the corrupt congressman, not the comedian), who knows Obama (and Bush, and Clinton, and Bush, and Reagan). Plus, I’ve met Arnold, so that gets me some following other paths.
A fellow I worked with (well, for) was, in his younger days, apparently a close personal friend of Newt Gingrich. Not quite head of state, but, hey, not too far off.
A classmate in my religious studies class used to work for (and met) Afghan president Hamid Karzai (but he was very low-ranking in that administration).
I used to have an elderly German friend who, as a child, went on a class trip to a meet-&-greet with then-Chancellor Adolph Hitler. (FWIW, this is not something in which I take pleasure talking about. It makes my skin crawl every time I think about how my friend was face-to-face with Evil.)
My brother ran into John Howard (PM of Australia at the time) in a Canberra 7-11.
He asked my brother if he knew where to find the biscuits*. My brother pointed them out, JH thanked him and purchased some Arnott’s Scotch Fingers.
*What Americans call “cookies”.
I was awarded my degree by Graça Machel (she is Chancellor of my alma mater) and she is married to Nelson Mandela and was previouly married to Samora Machel, President of Mozambique. And with Mandela at two degrees of separation, I have all the other contemporary world leaders at three degrees.
I’ve led a rather tame low-class life, yet still have a few 3-degree and even 2-degree connections I know of. I’d guess most of us do, perhaps unknowingly.
3-degree:
My mother exchanged gifts with a future CIA Director.
My drinking buddy once served as a sort of chaperone for the future King of Denmark.
Once upon a time as Bangkok bachelor I got therapeutic massages by masseuses who claimed to have performed therapy on Cabinet ministers.
2-degree:
I demonstrated a computer system to the then-head of Nepal’s House of Rana, closely connected to the then-King via politics and marriage.
I worked closely with a guy who was pinned with the Order of the White Elephant by Thailand’s King. (He must not have been a royal intimate since he said he was trembling when it happened.)
My father ate lunch with Nikita Kruschev. (But this doesn’t count; he got the lunch via some lottery and probably didn’t dine at Nikita’s table.)
I’ve shaken hands and chatted briefly with Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, so that’s one away from Her Majesty.
I can get one away from Her Majesty by a different route: I’ve met and chatted with Ray Hnatyshyn (pronounced like a sneeze :), for anyone who’s wondering), who at the time was Her Majesty’s GovGen of Canada.
Oh, and one away from Her Majesty by a third route: I once shook hands with Prime Minister Chrètien when he was glad-handing on a street in Regina.
I lived with a woman (she was in her 70s) whose father was the governor of Indonesia when it was a Dutch colony. So she has met many heads of state you hear about in history books.
My husbands company does work with other presidents of large multinational engineering companies who have meetings with heads of state to do infrastructure projects.
My sister works for government on the political side and knows many Canadian leaders.
My other sister worked for the UN headquarters in Kenya who also knows many people who report to heads of state wrt the United Nations.
I don’t mind zombies when I miss them the first time. For someone who knows almost nobody, I have a lot of ones and zeros from all over the place.
I’m one degree of separation from Obama–tygre met him and Michelle in 1999 at an Illinois State Senate event.
I saw Monica Lewinsky at an event at Oxford, hur hur.
My college advisor Niall Ferguson has consulted with a number of world leaders, notably George W. Bush and Tony Blair.
Half the old-timers I knew at Jesus College in Oxford had a personal story about Harold Wilson. Some of the people I knew at Somerville had stories about Thatcher, too.
I met Vernon Bogdanor at a history event at Oxford; he was David Cameron’s advisor.
I have met the current acting prime minister of Somalia.
Governor Scott Walker’s Father in Law frequents a bar that I go to. My dad knows him fairly well (from being a regular there) and I’ve met him quite a handful of times as well. That’s the only one I can think of off the top of my head.