International heads of state, former government officials, and other dignitaries are scheduled to be in attendance for the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
All five living American presidents will attend the ceremony, including President Obama, and former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter.
First lady Michelle Obama, as well as former first ladies Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush, and Rosalynn Carter, are also scheduled to attend.
Additional Bush family members including George W. Bush's daughters, Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Bush, brother Jeb Bush and his family, including son George P. Bush, will also be present.
The list of confirmed invitees also includes dozens of high profile public servants, including former Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, former Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, Former Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales, and former Education Secretary Rod Paige.
International heads of state scheduled to attend include:
- Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (NATO)
- President Mikheil Saakashvilli and Mrs. Sandra E. Roelofs (Georgia)
- President Josè Marìa Aznar (Spain)
- Prime Minister and Mrs. Ehud Olmert (Israel)
- Prime Minister and Mrs. John Howard (Australia)
- President Lee Myung-bak and Mrs. Yoon-ok Kim (Korea)
- Prime Minister Tony Blair and Mrs. Cherie Blair (United Kingdom)
- President John Kufuor (Ghana)
- President Francisco Flores Perèz and Mrs. Lourdes Maria Rodriguez de Flores (El Salvador)
- Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (Italy)
One of the 1,000 guests attending the ceremony will be Colorado filmmaker David Basinger.
According to the Loveland Reporter-Herald, Balsiger received an invitation to the small ceremony because of a documentary he worked on about the former president in 2004, which looked at Bush's faith and its role in his life.
Photo Credit: AP