Dinner is Served

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a State Dinner

Nikita Khrushchev, Dwight Eisenhower, their wives, service members (© Bob Schutz/AP)

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and his wife pose with their hosts, President Dwight Eisenhower and Mamie Eisenhower September 15, 1959, before dinner. (© Bob Schutz/AP)

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and his wife pose with their hosts, President Dwight Eisenhower and Mamie Eisenhower September 15, 1959, before dinner. (© Bob Schutz/AP)

A black business suit

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev between President Dwight Eisenhower and Khrushchev's wife (© Bob Schutz/AP)

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev glances toward photographers before a dinner September 15, 1959. (© Bob Schutz/AP)

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev glances toward photographers before a dinner September 15, 1959. (© Bob Schutz/AP)

Be yourself! During the Cold War years, President Dwight Eisenhower hosted Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The visit brought “minor but endless matters involving protocol,” Eisenhower writes in the Washington Post  (9/30/1965). Kruschchev declined to wear formal attire. Eisenhower said he could wear “anything he desired,” so Khrushchev donned a business suit pinned with military medals for dinner. 

This site is managed by the Bureau of Global Public Affairs within the U.S. Department of State. External links to other internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.