Shirley Temple in Ghana and Czechoslovakia
The former child star was a rare celebrity who became an official ambassador. Temple retired from films when she was just 22 years old and, 17 years later, jumped into the world of politics by running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as a California Republican. She lost the bid, but was appointed five years later by President Gerald R. Ford to be the U.S. ambassador to Ghana, which she called "the best job I ever had."
She served from December 1974 through mid-1976 and 13 years later was named U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia, where she watched the Velvet Revolution begin from Wenceslas Square in Prague.
CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images
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