Here's an interesting tidbit about the new junior Senator from New York, Kirsten Gillibrand. According to this article in the New York Times. Apparently, she speaks a little Mandarin, even if it is a bit rusty:

Ms. Gillibrand is no ordinary politician when it comes to linguistic and cultural comfort: as an Asian studies major at Dartmouth, she studied for six months in China and Taiwan, becoming proficient enough to absorb stories in Chinese newspapers, and later spent four months in Hong Kong as a corporate lawyer.

Apparently, her language skills were good enough to impress the Chinese language media as well as key community leaders.