What 12 world leaders' desks around the world look like
- Most world leaders' desks feature detailed woodwork.
- Many are surrounded by art.
- The Resolute Desk inside the US Oval Office is made out of wood from an abandoned ship.
- Justin Trudeau uses the desk that his father, Pierre Trudeau, used when he was prime minister.
A desk symbolizes a leader's presence and executive power. It's where history-making phone calls happen and where legislation becomes official. Most are nothing like ordinary office furniture.
Here are the desks where 12 world leaders work. It's worth noting that the photos of these desks are the most recently available but they may have changed since and many have more than one desk:
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The Resolute Desk inside the US Oval Office is made out of wood from an abandoned ship.
According to The White House Museum, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom commissioned the desk from wood that came off an abandoned British ship called the HMS Resolute, which US sailors found and returned to England. Victoria gave it to President Rutherford Hayes in 1880.
Argentina's presidential desk has an elegant, gold-tinted top.
Argentina's President Mauricio Macri's desk is located inside the Casa Rosada, or the Pink House, government building in Buenos Aires.
In the photo above, President Macri carried his daughter Antonia away from the desk. Behind him, you can see the chair behind his desk is also ornate, trimmed with gold and covered in blue velvet. It appears to be fairly bare on top of the desk, with a small phone off to the side.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's desk has family history.
Justin Trudeau's desk has sentimental meaning: he uses the desk that his father, Pierre Trudeau, used when he was prime minister from 1968–1979 and 1980–1984, according to the CBC.
The switch reportedly happened when the younger Trudeau asked for a smaller desk than the one his predecessor Stephen Harper had used. Harper's desk was placed in storage.
Trudeau's desk was built sometime around 1880, according to the CBC, and was used by former prime ministers Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Lester B. Pearson, Jean Chrétien, and Paul Martin, as well as both Trudeaus.
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