Category Archives: Ambassadors

Presidential Casting: Heather Nauert to the UN

December 11, 2018 By in Ambassadors, Appointments, international organizations, Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, Trends, Trump, U.S. Missions, UN, US Presidents Tags: , , Leave a comment

On December 7, President Trump announced via tweet his intent to nominate State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert to be the next Ambassador to the United Nations.  Ms. Nauert was previously a news correspondent and a Fox & Friends presenter prior to her appointment in Foggy Bottom. If confirmed, Ms. Nauert would replace Ambassador Nikki Haley who is expected to step down at the end of 2018. There is word that this position will once more be downgraded to a non-cabinet post after Haley’s departure. 

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations was formally established by E.O. 9844 of April 28, 1947. The Chief of Mission has the title of Representative of the U.S.A. to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and Representative of the U.S.A. in the Security Council of the United Nations. 

The first U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations was the 48th Secretary of State Edward Reilly Stettinius Jr. (1945-1946). According to history.state.gov:

As Secretary of State, Stettinius accompanied President Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in February of 1945, where they met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin to discuss issues such as the Pacific War with Japan, the future political status of Eastern Europe, and what should be done with Germany following its surrender. Stettinius also chaired the United States delegation to the United Nations Conference, held in San Francisco from April 25 to June 26, 1945, which brought together delegates from 50 Allied nations to create the United Nations. He resigned his position as Secretary of State on June 27, 1945, to become the first U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, a post which he held until resigning in June 1946 over what he saw as President Truman’s refusal to use the United Nations forum to resolve growing Soviet-American tensions.

Prior appointees to this position include Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (1953–1960), a former senator and nominee for Vice President. He went on to four ambassadorial appointments and as personal representative of the president to the Holy See after his UN tenure. Former President George Herbert Walker Bush served as Representative of the U.S.A. to the United Nations from 1971 to 1973.

Career diplomat Charles Woodruff Yost (1969–1971) was a three-time ambassador with a personal rank of Career Ambassador prior to his UN appointment. Career diplomat Thomas Reeve Pickering (1989–1992) was a four-time ambassador, and assistant secretary of state with a personal rank of Career Ambassador prior to his appointment to the UN. John Dimitri Negroponte (2001–2004), a career diplomat served as an assistant secretary and was confirmed three times previously as ambassador prior to his appointment to the UN.

Madeleine Korbel Albright (1993–1997), the first woman Secretary of State previously served as chief legislative assistant to Senator Edmund Muskie (D-Me) from 1976 to 1978. From 1978 to 1981, she served as a staff member in the White House under President Jimmy Carter and on the National Security Council under National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke (1999–2001) served twice as assistant secretary of state and was an ambassador prior to his UN appointment. 

Folks are up in arms with this appointment for good reasons.  Sometimes — when the U.S. Senate actually takes seriously its exclusive right under Article II, Section 2 “to provide advice and consent” to the president on nominations — things do work out for the best and save us some embarrassment (remember the “tråkket i salaten”?). Other times, it doesn’t, unfortunately. But here’s the thing: this nominee is from presidential central casting; unless Trump changes his mind, this nomination is going forward. Also come January, there is an an enlarged Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.  It is likely that that she will get some hot grilling in the Senate from the Democratic side and the GOP will attempt to show some …um, equal fire in the process.  But it would take GOP senators to sink this nomination. And that’s probably not going to happen. 

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US Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher Angers Poles

November 28, 2018 By in Ambassadors, Controversies, EUR|Europe, Foreign Affairs, Media, Social Media, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , ,

 

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27 Hours Later, Pompeo Says “The United States Condemns This Aggressive Russian Action” #Ukraine

November 27, 2018 By in Ambassadors, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Hotspots, Mike Pompeo, Pompeo, Secretary of State, Spectacular, State Department, Trends, Trump, U.S. Missions, UN Tags: , , , , , , ,

A follow-up to Russia-Ukraine Tensions Escalate in Sea of Azov, U.S. Issues Forceful Response: ZZZzzz, late November 26, the State Department finally released a statement from Secretary Pompeo condemning the “aggressive Russian action” in the Kerch Strait. Earlier, he had an opportunity to address the incident during his joint press appearance with Kosovo’s president but declined to do so.

Pompeo Swears-In @JTIP_State Ambassador-at-Large John C. Richmond #HumanTrafficking

November 15, 2018 By in Ambassadors, Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, State Department, Top Ranks Tags: , , , ,

 

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Career Diplomat Matthew Tueller to be U.S. Ambassador to Iraq

November 9, 2018 By in Ambassadors, FSOs, Nominations, Officially In, Trump, U.S. Missions Tags: , ,

 

On November 7, the White House announced the president’s intent to nominate Ambassador Matthew H. Tueller to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Iraq. The WH released the following  brief bio:

Matthew H. Tueller of Utah, to be to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Iraq.

Ambassador Tueller, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, rank of Minister-Counselor, is currently United States Ambassador to Yemen. Previously, he served as United States Ambassador to Kuwait, Deputy Chief of Mission at  United States Embassy Cairo, Political Minister Counselor at United States  Embassy Baghdad, Deputy Chief of Mission at  United States Embassy Kuwait, Counselor for Political Affairs at  United States Embassy Riyadh, and Deputy Director for the Office of Northern Gulf Affairs in the Department of State.  Ambassador Tueller received his B.A. from Brigham Young University and his M.P.P. from Harvard University. He is the recipient of the CIA Director’s Seal Award, two Presidential Meritorious Honor Awards, and the Department of State’s Baker-Wilkins Award for Outstanding Deputy Chief of Mission.  Ambassador Tueller is fluent in Arabic.

Related posts:

Bureau of Swagger Affairs: Truly Swaggerific (FAM Citation, Please)

November 2, 2018 By in Ambassadors, Foreign Service, State Department, Trends, U.S. Missions, UN Tags: , , , , , ,

Via State Mag (PDF) |Brian Aggeler | September 2018:

Real life example taken from the Swagger Tenets cleared by the Bureau of Swagger Affairs(insert FAM citation when available):

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Presentations of Credentials: U.S. Ambassadors to Nepal, Trinidad & Tobago, Poland, UNVIE

October 30, 2018 By in Ambassadors, Diplomatic Life, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , , , , ,

 

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Pompeo Appoints Amb. Dan Smith as New Director of the Foreign Service Institute

October 29, 2018 By in Ambassadors, Appointments, Foreign Service, FSOs, Learning, Mike Pompeo, Pompeo, Realities of the FS, Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State, Staffing the FS, State Department, Trends Tags: , , ,

 

On October 23, Secretary Pompeo appointed Career Ambassador Daniel Smith as the new Director of the Foreign Service Institute. He was recently the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research (INR). This past summer, he was one of four career diplomats nominated by Trump and subsequently confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the personal rank of Career Ambassador. This FSI appointment does not require a Senate confirmation.

In the waning days of Tillerson’s Redesign Project, Ambassador Smith was also assigned as the lead of the “Impact Initiative.” He was widely rumored as the next Director General of the Foreign Service but in late July, the WH announced the president’s intent to nominate career diplomat Carol Z. Perez of Virginia, to be the next Director General of the Foreign Service.

Below is a brief bio of Ambassador Smith (via state.gov):

Daniel B. Smith was appointed as Director of the Foreign Service Institute on October 23, 2018. In this capacity, he serves as the Chief Learning Officer for the Department of State and the federal foreign affairs community.

A member of the Senior Foreign Service, Ambassador Smith holds the Department’s highest diplomatic rank of Career Ambassador. Ambassador Smith served most recently as Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research from 2013 to 2018 and as Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic from 2010 to 2013. Previously, he served as Executive Secretary of the State Department, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, and Deputy Executive Secretary. In addition to Greece, his overseas service includes tours in Bern, Istanbul, Ottawa, and Stockholm. He also taught Political Science at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Ambassador Smith is a recipient of the Arnold L. Raphel Memorial Award, the Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award, a Presidential Distinguished Service Award, and several Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards.

Ambassador Smith received his Ph.D. and M.A. from Stanford University, and his B.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder. His foreign languages are German, Turkish, and Swedish.

As of this writing, the highest ranking officers of the Foreign Service with the exception of David Hale (P) are out of Foggy Bottom (Goldberg in Cuba, Sison in Haiti, and Smith at FSI). With one of only four Foreign Service’s equivalent to a four-star general heading to FSI, one wonders if Pompeo is out to elevate FSI and training to the same level as the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) headed by  Army four-star Gen Stephen J. Townsend. If yes, that’s great. If not, then not so great because you know what that means.

For now, nothing in Ambassador’s Smith’s blogpost Up To the Task of Preparing Our Foreign Affairs Professionals indicate forthcoming changes in Foreign Service training.

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U/S David Hale Swears-In New U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka & Maldives Alaina Teplitz

October 23, 2018 By in Ambassadors, Foreign Service, FSOs, Staffing the FS, Top Ranks, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , ,

 

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Trump to Nominate Career Diplomat Mary Catherine Phee to be Ambassador to Qatar

October 18, 2018 By in Ambassadors, FSOs, Nominations, Officially In, Trump Tags: , , ,

On October 17, the WH announced the President’s intent to nominate career diplomat and former ambassador to South Sudan Mary Catherine Phee as the next U.S. Ambassador to Qatar. The WH released the following brief bio:

Mary Catherine Phee of Illinois, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the State of Qatar.

Ms. Phee, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as the Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation at the Department of State. Previously, she served as Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, and Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Additionally, she served on the National Security Council as Director for Iraq and was the Senior Civilian Representative of the Coalition Provisional Authority to Maysan Province, al-Amarah, Iraq. Ms. Phee earned her B.A. from Indiana University and M.A.L.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She is the recipient the State Department’s Robert C. Frasure Memorial Award and the Baker-Wilkins Award for Outstanding Deputy Chief of Mission. She also received the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award and the Order of the British Empire. Ms. Phee speaks Arabic.

If confirmed, this would be Ambassador Phee’s second ambassadorial appointment. She was appointed and confirmed U.S. Ambassador to South Sudan in 2015.  She would succeed career diplomat Dana Shell Smith (1970–) who served as chief of mission to the US Embassy in Doha from 2014-2017.

Since 1960 when AFSA started tracking ambassadorial appointments, the U.S. Ambassador to Qatar appointees have been largely career diplomats. Only two appointees (Joseph Ghougassian (1944–) and Chase Untermeyer (1946–)) were political appointees.

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