An Auckland man was given the opportunity of a lifetime, meeting former US President Barack Obama while visiting Australia last week.
Manakau local board member Fale Andrew Lesā travelled to Sydney and Melbourne last week, joining an elite group of politicians listening to Obama speak.
Lesā was at a cocktail function before Obama’s speech in Melbourne when he spoke to the former President in an interaction he called “overwhelming”.
“I could lie and say we talked for an hour, and we talked about the farms in New Zealand, and god knows what else.
“But the reality is we got a couple of minutes at most.”
During their small talk, Lesā said he was from Samoa, and the pair connected while talking about the Pacific Islands.
He said: “Obviously, we had that connection because he grew up in Hawaii, and he still has a sister there, so we had that in common.
“Obama went to school with some Polynesians, who he said were hilarious, good-natured, loved food, loved dance and entertainment.”
They carried on talking about life after the presidency before he was moved on to the next guest.
“I could tell he’s much more relaxed now that he’s not president.”
While it’s not every day people get to meet a president, it’s happened to Lesā twice now. He met Bill Clinton at the international AIDS conference in Melbourne back in 2014.
“I’ve met two presidents, both in Melbourne, which is some kind of strange coincidence.”
When asked what interaction was the most memorable, he said meeting Obama takes the prize.
He said:“For Clinton, it was just a photo op, so there was a whole line of us waiting to get a picture. He stood there, we shook his hand, posed for a photo and then walked out.
“It was nowhere as personal as meeting [Obama]; this tops Clinton by far."
Among a sea of high-ranking Australian politicians, including the Attorney General and various MPs, Lesa said he was the lone Kiwi.
“It was an honour to represent New Zealand,” he said. "I still haven’t washed my hand.”
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