A state dinner in the United States is a formal dinner held in honor of a foreign head of state, such as a king, queen, president, or any head of government. 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. 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. Nowadays these dinners are more often black tie rather than white tie (see formal wear).
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.
United States state dinners include a variety of dining events across the world, including conferences and summits. They influence many nations and their dining events. 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.
Ulysses S. Grant DateVisiting CountryGuest(s) of HonorSocial SecretaryDecember 22, 1874Kalākaua of Hawai'i
Herbert Hoover DateVisiting CountryGuest(s) of HonorSocial SecretaryApril 29, 1931Prajadhipok of ThailandMary RandolphOctober 22, 1931Pierre Laval
Franklin D. Roosevelt DateVisiting CountryGuest(s) of HonorSocial SecretaryOctober 10, 1933Harmodio Arias MadridEdith Benham HelmJune 8, 1939George VI of the United KingdomFebruary 12, 1941Charlotte, Grand Duchess of LuxembourgJuly 7, 1942Alfonso López PumarejoDecember 8, 1942Fulgencio BatistaJune 9, 1943Higinio MoríñigoOctober 14, 1943Élie LescotJanuary 19, 1944Isaías Medina AngaritaJune 7, 1944Stanisław MikołajczykAugust 24, 1944Sveinn BjörnssonMarch 23, 1945Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone
Harry S. Truman
DateVisiting CountryGuest(s) of HonorSocial SecretaryAugust 22, 1945Charles de GaulleEdith Benham HelmNovember 10, 1945William Lyon Mackenzie KingClement AttleeApril 29, 1947Miguel Alemán ValdésApril 4, 1949Paul-Henri Spaak, Lester B. Pearson, Humphrey Hume WrongGustav Rasmussen, Henrik KauffmannRobert Schuman, Henri BonnetBjarni Benediktsson, Thor ThorsCarlo Sforza, Alberto TarchianiJoseph Bech, Hugues Le GallaisDirk Stikker, Eelco van KleffensJose Caeiro da Mata, Pedro Teotónio PereiraErnest Bevin, (Baron) Oliver FranksMay 18, 1949Eurico Gaspar DutraAugust 8, 1949Elpidio QuirinoNovember 16, 1949Mohammad Reza PahlaviMarch 28, 1951Vincent AuriolJune 20, 1951Galo PlazaApril 2, 1952Juliana of the Netherlands
Dwight D. Eisenhower
DateVisiting CountryGuest(s) of HonorSocial SecretaryOctober 28, 1953Paul of GreeceMary Jane McCaffreyJanuary 27, 1954Celâl BayarMay 26, 1954Haile Selassie of EthiopiaJuly 26, 1954Syngman RheeOctober 18, 1954William TubmanJanuary 26, 1955Paul MagloireMay 8, 1957Ngo Dinh DiemOctober 17, 1957Elizabeth II of CanadaJune 4, 1958Theodor HeussJune 17, 1958Carlos P. GarciaJanuary 20, 1959Arturo FrondiziMarch 10, 1959José María LemusMarch 17, 1959Seán T. O'KellyMay 11, 1959Baudouin of BelgiumSeptember 15, 1959Nikita KhrushchevOctober 9, 1959Adolfo López MateosOctober 26, 1959Ahmed Sékou TouréApril 5, 1960Alberto Lleras CamargoApril 22, 1960Charles de GaulleApril 27, 1960Mahendra of NepalJune 3, 1960John DiefenbakerJune 28, 1960 Bhumibol Adulyadej of ThailandSeptember 27, 1960Prince AkihitoOctober 11, 1960Frederik IX of Denmark
John F. Kennedy
DateVisiting CountryGuest(s) of HonorSocial SecretaryEntertainmentMay 3, 1961Habib BourguibaLetitia BaldrigeJuly 11, 1961Ayub KhanNational Symphony OrchestraSeptember 19, 1961Manuel Prado UgartecheRoberta Peters, Jerome HinesOctober 4, 1961Ibrahim AbboudAmerican Shakespeare TheatreNovember 7, 1961Jawaharlal NehruFebruary 13, 1962Saud of Saudi ArabiaApril 11, 1962Mohammad Reza PahlaviBallets: U.S.A., Jerome RobbinsMay 22, 1962Félix Houphouët-BoignyAmerican Ballet TheatreFebruary 19, 1963Rómulo BetancourtMarch 27, 1963Hassan II of MoroccoNew York City Center Light Opera CompanyApril 30, 1963Charlotte, Grand Duchess of LuxembourgBasil Rathbone, Consort PlayersJune 3, 1963Sarvepalli RadhakrishnanWashington National OperaSeptember 5, 1963Mohammed Zahir ShahMilitary bandsOctober 1, 1963Haile Selassie of EthiopiaJoffrey BalletOctober 15, 1963Seán Lemass
Lyndon B. Johnson
DateVisiting CountryGuest(s) of HonorLocation of DinnerSocial SecretaryEntertainmentDecember 29, 1963Ludwig ErhardLBJ RanchPianist Van CliburnJanuary 14, 1964Antonio SegniWhite HouseBess AbellRobert Merrill and The New Christy MinstrelsJune 1, 1964Levi EshkolOctober 5, 1964Diosdado MacapagalHarkness BalletMarch 29, 1965Maurice YaméogoDancers from the American Institute of Indian ArtMay 17, 1965Park Chung-heeWalter TramplerDecember 14, 1965Ayub KhanJune 21, 1966Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al SaudFireworksSeptember 8, 1966Ne WinSeptember 14, 1966Ferdinand MarcosNew York City Center Light Opera CompanySeptember 28, 1966Leopold Sedar SenghorFebruary 14, 1967Haile SelassieSingers Richard Tucker and Nedda CaseiApril 3, 1967Cevdet SunayOpera Company of BostonJune 27, 1967Bhumibol Adulydej of ThailandOctober 26, 1967Gustavo Diaz-OrdazHerb Alpert and the Tijuana BrassNovember 1, 1967King MahendraCharlie ByrdMarch 20, 1968General Alfredo StroessnerApril 25, 1968Olav VJeoffrey BalletMay 15, 1968Habib BourguibaGeoffrey Holder and Carmen de LavalladeDecember 11, 1968Sabah al-Salim al-SabahRobert Merrill and The New Christy Minstrels
Richard Nixon
DateVisiting CountryGuest(s) of HonorSocial SecretaryMarch 24, 1969Pierre TrudeauLucy A. WinchesterApril 8, 1969King HusseinMay 6, 1969John GortonMay 19, 1969Siaka StevensMay 27, 1969Petrus de JongJune 12, 1969Carlos Lleras RestrepoJuly 8, 1969Emperor Haile SelassieAugust 8, 1969Kurt-Georg KiesingerSeptember 16, 1969Keith HolyoakeSeptember 25, 1969Golda MeirOctober 7, 1969Souvanna PhoumaOctober 21, 1969Mohammad Reza PahlaviNovember 20, 1969Eisaku SatōJanuary 27, 1970Harold WilsonFebruary 24, 1970Georges PompidouApril 10, 1970Willy BrandtApril 14, 1970Hilmar BaunsgaardMay 27, 1970SoehartoJune 2, 1970Rafael Caldera RodriguezJuly 23, 1970Urho KekkonenAugust 4, 1970Joseph-Désiré MobutuDecember 17, 1970Edward HeathFebruary 18, 1971Emilio ColomboMay 27, 1971Faisal of Saudi ArabiaOctober 28, 1971Josip Broz TitoNovember 4, 1971Indira GandhiDecember 7, 1971Emílio MédiciMarch 21, 1972Nihat ErimJune 15, 1972Luis EcheverriaFebruary 1, 1973Edward HeathApril 10, 1973Lee Kuan YewApril 18, 1973Giulio AndreottiMay 2, 1973Willy BrandtMay 15, 1973Haile SelassieJune 18, 1973Leonid BrezhnevJuly 26, 1973Mohammad Reza PahlaviAugust 1, 1973Kakuei TanakaSeptember 20, 1973Zulfikar Ali BhuttoSeptember 29, 1973Norman KirkOctober 11, 1973Felix Houphouet-BoignyDecember 4, 1973Nicolae CeausescuMarch 12, 1974 Hussein of Jordan
Gerald Ford
DateVisiting CountryGuest(s) of HonorSocial SecretaryAugust 16, 1974Hussein of JordanMaria DownsSeptember 12, 1974Yitzhak Rabin September 25, 1974 Giovanni Leone October 8, 1974 Edward GierekNovember 12, 1974Bruno KreiskyDecember 4, 1974Pierre Trudeau December 5, 1974Helmut SchmidtFebruary 5, 1975 Zulfikar Ali BhuttoJanuary 30, 1975Harold WilsonApril 19, 1975 Kenneth Kaunda April 29, 1975King Hussein of JordanMay 1, 1975Hedi NouiraMay 8, 1975Lee Kuan YewMay 14, 1975Joop den UylMay 15, 1975 Mohammad Reza PahlaviJune 11, 1975Yitzhak RabinJune 16, 1975 Walter ScheelAugust 5, 1975Takeo MikiSeptember 25, 1975Alfonso Lopez MichelsenOctober 2, 1975Emperor HirohitoOctober 27, 1975Anwar SadatNovember 12, 1975Gaston Thorn January 27, 1976Yitzhak Rabin March 17, 1976 Liam CosgraveMarch 30, 1976King Hussein of JordanMay 17, 1976Valery Giscard d'Estaing June 2, 1976King Juan CarlosJuly 7, 1976Queen Elizabeth IIJuly 15, 1976Helmut Schmidt July 27, 1976Malcolm FraserAugust 3, 1976Urho KekkonenSeptember 21, 1976William Tolbert December 6, 1976Giulio Andreotti
Jimmy Carter
Date Visiting Country Guest(s) of Honor Social Secretary EntertainmentFebruary 14, 1977José López PortilloGretchen PostonRudolf SerkinFebruary 21, 1977Pierre TrudeauThe Young ColumbiansMarch 7, 1977Yitzhak RabinThe Alexandria QuartetMarch 10, 1977James CallaghanRobert WhiteMarch 21, 1977Takeo FukudaThe Tokyo String QuartetApril 4, 1977Anwar Al-SadatApril 25, 1977King Hussein of JordanWind Quartet from the Richmond SymphonyMay 24, 1977Fahd of Saudi ArabiaJune 22, 1977Malcolm FraserJune 28, 1977Carlos Andrés PérezCynthia Gregory and Ted KivittJuly 13, 1977Helmut SchmidtMembers of the Metropolitan Opera CompanyJuly 19, 1977Menachem BeginJuly 26, 1977Giulio AndreottiShirley VerrettAugust 4, 1977Mwalimu Julius K. NeyereThe Richard QuintetSeptember 7, 1977(Dinner held in connection with the signing of the Torrijos–Carter Treaties regarding the transfer of the Panama Canal)Alfredo Stroessner
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. JackmanMartina Arroyo, Isaac Stern and Andre PrevinSeptember 9, 1977Raymond BarreElizabeth MateskyOctober 11, 1977Olusegun ObasanjoSusan StarrOctober 19, 1977Leo TindemansNovember 15, 1977Mohammad Reza PahlaviMarch 7, 1978Josip Broz TitoApril 12, 1978Nicolae CeaușescuGeorge Shearing, Clamma DaleMay 3, 1978Takeo FukudaMay 17, 1978Kenneth KaundaMel DownsJune 13, 1978Morarji DesaiJames WeaverNovember 14, 1978Hassan II of MoroccoAlvin AileyJanuary 29, 1979Deng XiaopingFebruary 6, 1979Kriangsak ChomananThe American Dance MachineMarch 26, 1979Anwar Al-SadatMenachem BeginOmar Khorshid and Gamal Abdel-RahimItzhak Perlman and Pinchas ZukermanLeontyne Price May 2, 1979Masayoshi ŌhiraBobby ShortSeptember 28, 1979José López PortilloChamber Music Society of Lincoln CenterNovember 8, 1979Jack LynchWashington OperaDecember 17, 1979Margaret ThatcherJanuary 24, 1980Francesco CossigaTom T. HallFebruary 20, 1980Daniel arap MoiDelphin & RomainMarch 5, 1980Helmut SchmidtThe New York Jazz Repertory CompanyApril 8, 1980Anwar Al-SadatThe Statler BrothersApril 15, 1980Menachem BeginThe Guarneri String QuartetApril 22, 1980Baudouin of BelgiumNew York Harp EnsembleJune 17, 1980King Hussein of JordanAndre WattsOctober 7, 1980Shehu ShagariCicely Tyson
Ronald Reagan