Denmark’s Prime Minister Gifted Indonesia’s President a Metallica Box Set!

Rolex watches. Fancy pens. An item of significant cultural importance. These are the kinds of gifts we typically see leaders of countries exchange when visiting one another.

According to The Jakarta Post, Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has now officially upped the game on his latest visit to Indonesia by surprising President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo — a lifetime fan and vocal supporter of heavy metal — with a box set of Metallica’s Master of Puppets, which the band just reissued with the extra-special deluxe treatment for the album’s 30th anniversary. What’s more, a photo of the event shows that one of the items in the box set was signed by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, who was born in Denmark and moved to the U.S. when he was 16 years old.

The meeting between the two leaders took place this afternoon (November 28th) at the Bogor Palace in Jakarta. Widodo’s return gift to Rasmussen was much more in line with tradition, but no less metal: a rencong, which is a traditional dagger from the Indonesian province of Aceh.

In addition to Ulrich’s heritage connection, Master of Puppets was recorded in Copenhagen in 1985 with producer Flemming Rasmussen (no relation to the Prime Minister, as far as we know).

BEST. GIFT. EVER!

Thanks to MetalSucks reader Justin C. for sending this one in.

Indonesia’s president @jokowi seemed eager to dig into his diplomatic gift from Denmark: A #MasterOfPuppets box signed by #heavymetal fans’ all-time favorit drummer @larsulrich @metallica pic.twitter.com/Epcq2paywh

— Lars Løkke Rasmussen (@larsloekke) November 28, 2017