Madeleine Albright

The serpent pin, worn to meet Iraqi officials in the 1990s As US ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine Albright criticized Saddam Hussein's government, and his poet-in-residence replied by calling her an "unparalleled serpent". Shortly afterwards, preparing to meet Iraqi officials, she wore a snake pin, though she did not much like snakes, and it drew questions from reporters. From then on pins became part of her diplomatic signature, and she later named her book about them Read My Pins. This is the brooch that started the most famous habit in modern diplomacy, and the intent is beyond doubt because she explained it herself.