Top 10 Most Embarrassing Diplomatic Blunders

Even the most powerful people in the world make a mistake now and then. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 embarrassing diplomatic mistakes.

For this list, we’re looking at any faux pas committed by or allowed to slip by a diplomat or government official that ended up offending another country. Be it a lowly ambassador or the U.S. President, any big time blunder could make the list.

The French love to let loose, but their president should be careful about indulging that tendency. At a 2007 G8 Summit press conference, French President Nicolas Sarkozy sauntered out and started babbling like a buffoon. At one point, he got so mixed up that he actually asked the reporters what he should be doing. Sorry Sarkozy, world leaders don’t get to phone a friend. According to BBC News, a Belgian presenter theorized that Sarkozy was drunk, with the news conference video going on to earn thousands of views – despite the fact that Sarkozy had previously said he doesn’t drink alcohol. Whether or not he was intoxicated, the incident was reminiscent of one 2 years later at the G7 Summit, where Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa was also rumored to be smashed. Nakagawa slurred his speech and even fell asleep at a certain point, but at least he never asked his audience for help.

With their name-calling and immature comebacks, Spain’s King Juan Carlos I and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez turned the 2007 Ibero-American Summit into a game of playground insults. During the event, ever-loving Marxist Chávez, kept calling former Spanish Prime Minister Jose María Aznar a “fascist” and “less human than snakes.” Chávez wouldn’t let a word in edgewise, leading Juan Carlos to lash out with “Why don’t you just shut up?” All in Spanish, of course. King Juan Carlos had a perfectly noble reputation for bringing democracy to Spain, and he had never reacted with such rage in public before. According to the Associated Press, it made such an impression on people that the comeback eventually became a very popular Spanish ringtone.

At the 2011 G20 Summit, President Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy were said to have been gossiping more than two 8th grade girls at a sleepover. Unbeknownst to them, the two world leaders’ live mics allowed their true feelings for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be overheard by many journalists. According to Reuters, Sarkozy told Obama he couldn’t stand Netanyahu and that the man was a liar. Obama implicitly agreed with the sentiment, with his words roughly translated to something along the lines of “You’re fed up with him. I have to deal with him more often than you.” Ouch! Looks like Netanyahu will have to find somewhere else to sit in the cafeteria.

Placing his foot directly into his mouth, bombastic Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rattled off a whole string of compliments towards Obama to reporters at a news conference with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. These included saying that he was “young, beautiful, and tanned.” Yikes! Obama made no mention of the comment and has met with the horribly mistaken Prime Minister many times since. But Berlusconi wouldn’t let this tan comment fade away. As stated in The New York Times, he bashed his critics, saying it was only a compliment. Two weeks later after his original comment, he doubled down on his ignorance, saying “We’d all like to be tanned like Naomi Campbell and Obama.” Never resting, Berlusconi told the press he saw the Obamas at the beach getting some sun a year later.

Australia’s indigenous people, the Aboriginals, have struggled against institutional oppression, crippling poverty, and to top it all off, Prince Philip of the United Kingdom’s big mouth. On a visit to Australia, Prince Philip was treated to a traditional dance performance of Aboriginal hunting customs. After the culturally enlightening show, Prince Philip had this to add: “Do you still throw spears at each other?” William Brim, the founder of an Aboriginal culture park, answered “No. We don’t do that anymore.” Imagine being asked if you still make cave paintings. The crown has a history of treating Indigenous Australians poorly, but Buckingham Palace assured everyone that the comment was light-hearted. According to The Telegraph, when watching the Aboriginal fire-making ceremony, Prince Philip continued the good fun saying “It’s like being in the Scouts.”

“Oh George W. Bush, what soft hands you have,” said no one ever. This five-second clip of U.S. President George W. Bush groping the shoulders of German Chancellor Angela Merkel went viral in a flash. It was the massage felt ‘round the world. Bush creepily ambushes Merkel from behind and she reacts accordingly. The German Chancellor jolts up like she’s just been grazed by the chilling fingers of the Cryptkeeper. Although Germany didn’t explode in outrage, American journalists called Bush out for this stunning, sexist display of sexual harassment.

The long road of U.S. history is paved with timeless love stories: George and Martha Washington, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and of course, Jimmy Carter and the country of Poland. On a visit to Poland, still under Communist control, President Carter made a speech, which his translator, Steven Seymour, inadvertently took several liberties communicating. As described in TIME Magazine, Jimmy Carter said he was happy to be there and wanted to learn about Poland’s desires for the future. Seymour used words that implied Carter was abandoning the United States and that he desired the Poles in a carnal fashion. While this wasn’t a mistake on Carter’s part, the results still humiliated his government, especially since Seymour didn’t even realize the error of his ways until a journalist informed him 2 days later. Talk about lost in translation!

In 1994, Russian President Boris Yeltsin traveled to Berlin to watch as the last of the Soviet troops from World War II finally exited Germany. It was a historic moment, ushering in a new age of peace between the two nations, and Yeltsin thought the best way to celebrate was by getting drunker than a freshman rushing a fraternity. To the dismay of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Yeltsin completely wrecked the civilized atmosphere by shoving the maestro aside to hijack the orchestra. Yeltsin would later admit to being inebriated in his memoir, and, according to ABC News, it wasn’t the only incident when he used alcohol to “quickly get rid of stress.”

A German politician strolling through a Holocaust memorial is already on thin ice, but German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder shattered even the lowest of expectations. While visiting the Yad Vashem Memorial in Israel, where an eternal flame burns to honor the Jewish victims of Nazi Germany, Schröder completely put out their fire. Talk about making a bad situation worse. Dignitaries are invited to turn a handle to make the flame rise, but Schröder’s turn accidentally snuffed out the symbol commemorating those lost for a brief moment, as confirmed by several news organizations such as ABC News. The next time you attempt to make reparations for your country, remember - righty tighty, lefty loosey.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Hillary Clinton’s Misspelled Russian Gift (2009)
- George H. W. Bush Unintentionally Insults Australians with the “Two-Fingered Salute” (1992)
- Reagan’s Off-Air Jokes About Bombing Russia Leaked to Public (1984)

You know that feeling when your stomach gets all queasy and you’re in a room with 135 diplomats? No? George Bush Sr. does. In 1992, the former U.S. President became violently ill at a dinner hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, ultimately throwing up in the lap of Mr. Miyazawa himself and then losing consciousness. A storm of ridicule from entertainers and politicians followed. People were so concerned about the president’s health that, according to the LA Times, CNN almost reported that Bush Sr. had died. That night not only lives in infamy as one of the biggest public meltdowns ever but also inspired the Japanese word “Bushu-suru” a.k.a “to do the Bush thing.”

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite embarrassing diplomatic mistake? For more cringe-worthy Top 10s every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.