The First Lady in the International Spotlight

First Lady Michelle Obama, in her role as international hostess, welcomed the spouses of world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh. She entertained them with a tour of a local working farm followed by a dinner featuring the farm’s fruits and vegetables. Next up were visits to the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) magnet high school and a museum dedicated to Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol, the 20th-century pop artist.

Mrs. Obama addressed the CAPA student body, who study dance, music, acting, and other arts. The distinguished guests visited various classrooms as students rehearsed upcoming productions. They were also treated to performances, both by students and by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and singer Trisha Yearwood. Mrs. Obama later presented her foreign counterparts with gifts of a purple-and-platinum porcelain tea set, a honey vase, and a jar of honey from the White House’s first beehive.

Mrs. Obama then traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, to represent her hometown of Chicago before the International Olympic Committee. IOC officials will vote October 2 to choose a host city for the 2016 Summer Games. The First Lady is leading the U.S. Olympic delegation and will be a key presenter for Chicago.

A wealth of detail on the life of Michelle Obama can be found in the newly released biography by David Colbert, Michelle Obama: An American Story. While providing family background and covering her youth and early years of marriage to Barack Obama, the book also tells interesting anecdotes about life with their daughters, Malia and Sasha, in the White House.

Related Links

• Michelle Obama Is International Hostess at Summit
  This article details the First Lady’s role as hostess to the spouses of world leaders in Pittsburgh for the recent G-20 summit.(Source: The Associated Press, September 24, 2009)
• Michelle Obama Arrives in Copenhagen for IOC Vote
  This article focuses on the role of First Lady Michelle Obama, a native Chicagoan, in lobbying for the Windy City’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games.(Source: The Associated Press, September 30, 2009)
• Michelle Obama: An American Story by David Colbert (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009)
  This Web site provides a look inside the new biography of First Lady Michelle Obama by David Colbert, acclaimed author of the 10 Days biography series and the Eyewitness history series.(Source: amazon.com; accessed September 30, 2009)
• First Lady Michelle Obama
  The official Web site of the Office of the First Lady; includes a slideshow and the transcript of Mrs. Obama’s recent speech to students at Pittsburgh’s CAPA school.(Source: whitehouse.gov; accessed September 30, 2009)