Literature

He had no political party, no royal office, no government commission. He possessed no personal fortune, nor was he backed by any state or corporate interest.

Yet he met personally with dozens of heads of state: prime ministers, presidents, kings, emperors, princes and princesses—as well as legislators, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, first ladies, governors, mayors, generals, chief executives, judges and other leaders of government and industry.

Flying across the globe in his plane like a shuttle diplomat, this private citizen met with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, King Leopold of Belgium, American First Lady Nancy Reagan, Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, Jordan’s King Hussein, Egyptian presidents Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, and the emperor, crown prince and seven successive prime ministers of Japan. In between, he met the presidents, prime ministers, and/or kings of Spain, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Bangladesh, South Africa, Kenya and Chile—and ambassadors from dozens more countries. Oftentimes at banquets and meetings between such luminaries and himself, it was the latter who was the keynote speaker or the guest of honor.

Most of these leaders knew his work and his message, many met with him as an equal, and some even poured out their hearts to him.