List of state dinners in the United States

It is hosted by the President of the United States and is usually held in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C.[1] Other formal dinners for important people of other nations, such as a prince or princess, are called official dinners, the difference being that the federal government does not pay for them.

The first state dinner was held on December 22, 1874, by President Ulysses S. Grant to welcome King Kalākaua of the Kingdom of Hawai'i.

[2][3][4] United States state dinners include a variety of dining events across the world, including conferences and summits.

State dinners today have a lot more political significance than formerly, and are notably attended by prime ministers and presidents accompanied by politicians, entertainment and security services.

United Kingdom Clement Attlee Canada Denmark France Iceland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Portugal United Kingdom Lester B. Pearson, Humphrey Hume Wrong Gustav Rasmussen, Henrik Kauffmann Robert Schuman, Henri Bonnet Bjarni Benediktsson, Thor Thors Carlo Sforza, Alberto Tarchiani Joseph Bech, Hugues Le Gallais Dirk Stikker, Eelco van Kleffens Jose Caeiro da Mata, Pedro Teotónio Pereira Ernest Bevin, (Baron) Oliver Franks Dominican Republic Bolivia Chile Costa Rica Venezuela Guatemala Colombia Honduras Peru Ecuador Argentina Uruguay El Salvador Canada Panama Jamaica Bahamas Grenada Brazil Guyana Haiti Nicaragua Mexico Trinidad and Tobago Suriname Barbados Joaquin Balaguer Hugo Banzer Suarez Augusto Pinochet Ugarte Daniel Oduber Quiros Carlos Andres Perez Kjell Eugenio Laugerud Garcia Alfonso Lopez Michelsen Juan Alberto Melgar Castro Francisco Morales Bermudez Alfredo Poveda Burbano Jorge Rafael Videla Aparicio Mendez Carlos Humberto Romero Pierre Elliott Trudeau Omar Torrijos Herrera Michael Norman Manley Lynden O. Pindling Eric Gairy Adalberto Pereira dos Santos Ptolemy A. Reid Edner Brutus Cornelio Hueck Santiago Garcia Victor C. McIntyre Roel F. Karamat Oliver H. Jackman

Illustration of the first state dinner at the White House. David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii meeting with President Ulysses S. Grant.
President Harry S. Truman and First Lady Bess Truman with Brazilian President Eurico Gaspar Dutra and other dignitaries at a state dinner (1949)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (far right), Nikita Khrushchev , and their wives at a state dinner (1959)
President Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia and President John F. Kennedy with their wives and General Chester Victor Clifton Jr. at the state dinner in 1961.
Lyndon B. Johnson , Levi Eshkol , and their wives enter a state dinner (1964)
Richard Nixon , Pat Nixon , and Leonid Brezhnev at a state dinner (1973)
Queen Sofia , First Lady Betty Ford , King Juan Carlos I , and President Gerald Ford greeting guests at a state dinner (1976)
Jimmy Carter toasts Carlos Andres Perez , the President of Venezuela, during a state dinner (1977)
The Reagans with President João Figueiredo of Brazil and his wife Dulce (1982)
President Reagan with Brazilian President José Sarney and Pelé at a state dinner (1986)
Ronald Reagan , Mikhail Gorbachev , and their wives arrive at a state dinner (1987)
President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush host President Abdou Diouf and First Lady Elizabeth Diouf of Senegal
President Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela deliver remarks before their state dinner.
President George W. Bush toasts Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during the state dinner in her honor at the White House. (2007)
Xi Jinping and Barack Obama make a mutual toast at a state dinner (2015)
President Donald Trump listens to remarks by Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison during the State Dinner in the Rose Garden of the White House. (2019)
Before the state dinner: French First Lady Brigitte Macron and President Emmanuel Macron , President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden (2022)