Posted: 2:10 am ET
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In a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) Chairman Bob Corker and Ranking Member Ben Cardin, released publicly on October 30, the American Academy of Diplomacy (AAD) requests that the senators oppose the nomination of Stephen Akard to be Director General of the Foreign Service:
The American Academy of Diplomacy requests that you oppose the nomination of Stephen Akard to serve as Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources at the State Department. We have concluded that voicing our concerns with Mr. Akard’s nomination is required if the Academy is to meet its most important mission: to promote and protect America’s interests in a dangerous world by supporting an effective American diplomacy based on a strong Foreign Service and a strong Civil Service.
It looks like the AAD requested to meet with the nominee but had not been successful. The letter authored by former senior diplomats Ambassadors Tom Pickering and Ronald Neumann on behalf of the group says about Mr. Akard, “We hold no personal animus toward him.” But added that ” … we have concluded that Mr. Akard lacks the necessary professional background to be the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources at the State Department. His confirmation would be contrary to Congress’s long standing intent and desire to create a professional American diplomatic service based on merit.”
The letter further adds: “While Mr. Akard is technically eligible for the position, to confirm someone who had less than a decade in the Foreign Service would be like making a former Army Captain the Chief of Staff of the Army, the equivalent of a four-star general.”
The full letter is available to read here (pdf).
AAD urges @SenatorCardin & @SenBobCorker to oppose nomination of Steven Akard to Director General of Foreign Service https://t.co/kndWlRnmeC
— Academy of Diplomacy (@AcadofDiplomacy) October 30, 2017
We’ve previously blogged about the Akard appointment on October 17 (see Trump’s Pick For @StateDept Personnel Chief Gets the Ultimate “Stretch” Assignment).
With the exception of noting this nomination on Twitter, and separately urging FS members “to embrace their roles as stewards of the institution”, we have not seen any public position on this nomination by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the professional association and labor union of the Foreign Service since 1924.
Nominated: Political appointee Stephen Akard to be Director General of the Foreign Service.
— AFSA (@afsatweets) October 17, 2017
Amb. Barbara Stephenson reminds Foreign Service members to embrace their role as stewards of the institution. #FSJ https://t.co/BLMs3PuPhY
— AFSA (@afsatweets) October 18, 2017
As a dues-paying member,I hope AFSA officially opposes.@StateDept has never needed an experienced DG more. Any response @afsatweets? https://t.co/nsd5Seesn3
— Laura Kennedy (@AmbKennedy_ret) October 30, 2017
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