Daily Archives: October 8, 2014

AFSA Event: Why Ethics Matter in the Foreign Service — Thursday, October 9, 2pm

October 8, 2014 By in Foreign Service, FS Groups Tags: , , , , ,

— Domani Spero
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We’re passing the info below for our friends at AFSA.  This event is sponsored by AFSA’s Committee on the Foreign Service Profession and Ethics ( PEC) currently chaired by FSO (ret) Robert Dry; he succeeded Ambassador Charles Ray, the first PEC chairman.

On October 9, AFSA presents “Why Ethics Matter in the Foreign Service” in which the concept of professional ethics writ large – and how they apply to the Foreign Service in particular – will be examined. Should the Foreign Service have a code of professional ethics? What would that look like? How would one benefit the Foreign Service profession?

Anthony J. Gray is President and Chief Executive Officer at the Institute for Global Ethics (IGE). Previously, he served as Global Compliance Officer at a major U.S. corporation where his innovative leadership significantly improved the global compliance culture within the organization. Gray is a Member of the Bar of three jurisdictions. AFSA and IGE collaborated on the 2013 Foreign Service values survey which can be found on the AFSA website.

This program takes place at AFSA headquarters, 2101 E St NW, and begins at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 9. Please RSVP to events@afsa.org if you have not done so already. The event will be recorded and made available for later online viewing for those unable to attend.

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Secretary Kerry Swears-In John Bass as Ambassador to Turkey

October 8, 2014 By in Ambassadors, Foreign Service, FSOs, John F. Kerry, Obama, Secretary of State, Staffing the FS, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , , ,

— Domani Spero
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President Obama announced his intent to nominate John Bass as the next ambassador to Turkey on  June 3, 2014.  At that time, the WH released the following brief bio:

Ambassador John R. Bass, a career member of the Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, is the Executive Secretary of the Department of State, a position he has held since 2012.  Previously, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Georgia from 2009 to 2012, the Leader of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Baghdad, Iraq from 2008 to 2009, and the Director of the Operations Center at the Department of State from 2005 to 2008.  He served as a Special Advisor to the Vice President from 2004 to 2005, and from 2002 to 2004 he was a Labor Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy. Ambassador Bass served as Chief of Staff and Special Assistant in the Office of the Deputy Secretary at the Department of State from 1998 to 2001.  Before that, he was a NATO Desk Officer and Desk Officer for Belgium and the Netherlands in the Bureau of European Affairs.  He served in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and his overseas assignments include serving at the U.S. Missions in Brussels, Belgium; Antwerp, Belgium; and Ndjamena, Chad. Ambassador Bass received an A.B. from Syracuse University.

— Bass, John – Republic of Turkey – 06-2014

 

Ambassador Bass had his confirmation hearing on July 15, 2015.  He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 17, 2014.  Our previously confirmed ambassador to Ankara, Frank J. Ricciardone, Jr. departed post on July 7, 2014, retired from the Foreign Service, and had since been appointed as vice president and director of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.

Ambassador Bass takes over leadership at Embassy Ankara from retired ambassador Ross Wilson who arrived in Turkey on September 6, 2014 to take up duties as Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim.  He’ll have his hands full.

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Appointments: Trish Maskew Joins State As New Chief of the Adoption Division

October 8, 2014 By in Americans Abroad, Appointments, Functional Bureaus, State Department Tags: , , , ,

— Domani Spero
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On September 24, 2014, CA Bureau’s Office of Children’s Issues announced the appointment of Trish Maskew as the new Chief of the Adoption Division. A quick bio below:

Trish joins the Department of State from the Department of Justice where she worked in the Civil Division for almost six years.  Before joining the U.S. government, she held several positions in the intercountry adoption field: as a program coordinator for an adoption agency; a board member and interim administrator for the Joint Council on International Children’s Services; the founder and President of Ethica, a non-profit organization dedicated to ethical and transparent adoptions; and as an expert consultant to the Hague Conference on Private International Law.  She is the author of “Our Own: Adopting and Parenting the Older Child” and numerous articles on adoption ethics and practice.  She earned her J.D. from American University.

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