family photo

n. a pre-arranged group photograph of world leaders. Subjects: English, Politics, Slang

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Citations: 1970 Don Cook @ Paris Los Angeles Times (May 13) “Common Mart Sets Membership Talks” p. D13: The Luxembourg meeting will be primarily a “family photo” affair with the four applicants for membership. 1984 Michael Dobbs @ Utah Beach, France Washington Post (June 7) “French Leader Urges Ex-Allies To Heal Split”: The western leaders have used the D-Day ceremonies to underscore the unity of the western alliance in the face of Soviet attempts to drive a political wedge between the United States and Western Europe—and this was undoubtedly the message they wanted to send to the world as they posed for a “family photo” on Utah Beach after the ceremony. 1985 Kevin Costelloe (Associated Press) (May 3) “Some Summit Talk Will Never Make History”: British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher spoke of the high cost of maintaining British manor houses. President Reagan recalled his cavalry service. Italian Premier Bettino Craxi almost missed the “family photo” of summit leaders. 1998 Jude Webber @ Rome (Reuters) (May 3) “Italian problems await Prodi on triumphant return”: But judging by the pensive look on his face as he posed for a summit “family photo” beside British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Prodi knows another battle is just beginning. 1999 Patrick Wintour, Ian Traynor, Ed Vulliamy Observer (United Kingdom) (June 6) “Why Milosevic blinked first”: The Foreign Office immediately rang the mobiles of Kim Darroch, the Foreign Office head of news, and Alistair Campbell, Blair’s press secretary. The politicians were just heading off for an EU family photo session. Blair took the news calmly but, a naturally suspicious character, he refused to celebrate. 2000 Xinhua News Agency (Mar. 23) “Finally a ‘Family Photo’ of EU Leaders” (in Lisbon, Portugal): A family photo of EU heads of state and government is usual for any of the union’s special summits. But one had been deemed so difficult for the Lisbon version of the special council in that Austria’s 14 EU partners have been boycotting the country politically. 2001 Mikhail Kalmykov (ITAR Tass: Comtex) (July 19) “Putin to leave for G-8 summit in Genoa”: In the evening, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will give dinner in honor of the summiteers. The final meeting of the summit will open on Sunday. After an hour-long discussion and approval of the final documents, the summiteers will gather for a family photo. This will end the official part of the summit. 2007 Guardian (United Kingdom) (June 7) “Notebook: Bush Is Nostalgic Over Blair” (in Heiligendamm, Germany): What, for instance, had Russian President Vladimir Putin so engaged on his cell phone as the leaders strode onto the resort’s lush lawn overlooking the sea for what’s known as the “family photo?” The same for France’s new president, Nicolas Sarkozy. (Bush, by the way, does not carry a cell phone; an aide does that for him.)

Posted 8 Jun 07 | Permalink | Tell a Friend