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Condoleezza Rice (L) speaks wtih Saudi King Abudllah in 2007. Rice received a set of diamond and ruby jewelry from the Saudi King valued at 165,000 dollars, according to a list of official gifts released this week by the US State Department.
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Protocol may put George W. Bush at the top of the US government, but when foreign leaders lavished gifts on members of his administration, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice drew most of the attention.
The elegant chief diplomat notably received a set of diamond and ruby jewelry from Saudi King Abdullah valued at 165,000 dollars, according to a list of official gifts released this week by the US State Department.
Jordan's King Abdullah II gave Rice a diamond and emerald set of jewelry, including a necklace, bracelet, earings and a ring, worth 147,000 dollars, said the report which covered presents received by US officials in 2007.
Bush's wife Laura, for her part, also received a set of diamond and saphire jewelry from the Saudi monarch, but hers was worth just half that given to Rice -- 85,000 dollars.
Some of the gifts received by President Bush reflected his stated penchant for simple pleasures like cross-country biking and cutting brush on his Texas ranch.
In that vein, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrick Reinfeldt honored the US leader with a made-in-Sweden power saw equipped "with comfort grip handles".
All the official gifts remain public property, since US law forbids administration officials from accepting presents from foreign governments.
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尽管从理论上说布什应该是美国政府最重要的人物，但若论收到的外国首脑馈赠的礼品，他可不及国务卿康多莉扎•赖斯。
据美国国务院本周公布的官方收礼清单显示，美国优雅的第一外交官赖斯去年获赠沙特国王阿卜杜拉送的一套价值16.5万美元的钻石和红宝石首饰。
根据这份2007年度收礼清单，去年约旦国王阿卜杜拉二世送给赖斯一套价值14.7万美元的钻石和祖母绿首饰，其中包括一条项链、一个手镯、一对耳环和一枚戒指。
去年沙特国王还送给第一夫人劳拉一套钻石和蓝宝石首饰，价值8.5万美元，仅为赖斯那套的一半。
布什总统收到的一些礼物则反映出他的一些小爱好，比如越野自行车、在得克萨斯的农场割草。
瑞典首相弗雷德里克•赖因费尔特投其所好，送给布什一套本国制造的“有着舒适把柄”的割草机。
美国法律规定，政府官员不得收受外国政府馈赠的礼品，因此所有这些礼品都是公共财产。
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