President Obama will be joined by former presidents George W. Bush (‘Bush 43’), Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter in South Africa for what is shaping up to be an unprecedented gathering of foreign heads of state and world leaders in the wake of the death of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.
Bush and former first lady Laura Bush accepted Obama’s invitation to travel on Air Force One with the president and first lady Michelle Obama to attend the Dec. 10 memorial service scheduled to be held in a soccer stadium in Johannesburg, a Bush spokesman said.
Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton are also attending the memorial service, along with Carter, a member of The Elders, an organization of former heads of state formed by Mandela, a spokesman for both ex-presidents said. It has not been disclosed if the Clintons or Carter are part of the Air Force One manifest.
The list of attendees at the Dec. 15 funeral, a smaller and more private event, has not been disclosed.
A spokesman for ailing former president George H.W. Bush said he is not traveling to South Africa for either the memorial or the funeral.
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