US Ambassador to Finland Goes Great Guns

US diplomacy in Finland has never been stronger.

At least if the bulging biceps of the US Ambassador to Finland are anything to go by.

Bruce Oreck, former attorney and former Obama fundraiser, took up his post in 2009. That last name might be familiar; he’s the son of David Oreck, the vacuum cleaner manufacturer.

As a diplomat, Bruce Oreck’s focused heavily on environmental issues.

And, for Christmas, the nearly 60-year-old Oreck posted this on YouTube…seated alongside his wife, Cody.

Friends like to say that Oreck’s big personality is matched only by his arms.

You see, he’s also a former professional body-builder. ProBody Magazine, a Finnish body-building monthly, got Oreck to pose for its latest issue.

Talk about “gun”-boat diplomacy…

A spokesman for the US Embassy in Helsinki assured The Washington Post that no photo-shopping was involved at all.

The Ambassador, the spokesman told the Post, “places tremendous emphasis on staying in shape.”

Not prone to shyness, the Ambassador also used one of the muscle-shots in a holiday gag card to close friends.

Oh, and we should also note that this isn’t the first time Oreck’s flexed his muscles for the Finnish media.

A while back he posed completely shirtless for another Finnish magazine.

The title of that photo shoot?

Mr. Amerikka.

As Frederick the Great, the former King of Prussia, once quipped:

“Diplomacy without arms is like music without instruments.”

If that’s the case, it’s fair to say that Bruce Oreck is nothing less than a symphony.