Feb 14, 2006 11:27 am US/Eastern
Conan O'Brien Meets With Finnish Leader
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) ―
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Talk show host Conan O'Brien next to Finnish President Tarja Halonen
AP
Conan O'Brien, who endorsed the re-election of Tarja Halonen with mock ad campaigns, met the Finnish president Tuesday at the presidential palace in downtown Helsinki.
The "Late Night" host handed the Nordic country's first female president a Valentine's Day present, wrapped in red paper, as they posed for photographers before the closed-door meeting that was expected to last 15 minutes.
O'Brien, who resembles the fair-skinned, red-haired Halonen, had quipped that he wanted a six-hour audience.
Last year, O'Brien caused a political stir when he endorsed the 62-year-old Halonen for a second six-year term — which she won last month — because "she looks like him," using mock ad campaigns that backed her and attacked opponents.
On Saturday, O'Brien joked that he expected to be rewarded for endorsing Halonen with a Cabinet position as inspector of saunas, "mostly women's saunas."
Some 2,000 fans had waited hours in subfreezing temperatures to catch a glimpse of the quirky, self-deprecating talk-show host who is unusually popular in this small, taciturn nation on the northern fringe of Europe.
During the tour, O'Brien visited Arctic Lapland, some 500 miles north of the capital, with his film crew, and appeared on several Finnish TV shows.
Later Tuesday, he was to receive a TV award for being "the most surprising and entertaining TV personality in Finland."
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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