State Magazine, July/August 2003

U N I T E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F S T A T E

July–August 2003

StateStateM a g a z i n e

U N I T E D S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T O F S T A T E

Foreign Affairs DayRecognition and Reunion

State Magazine (ISSN 1099–4165) is published monthly, exceptbimonthly in July and August, by the U.S. Department of State,2201 C St., N.W., Washington, DC. Periodicals postage paid atWashington, D.C., and at additional mailing locations. POSTMAS-TER: Send changes of address to State Magazine, HR/ER/SMG,SA-1, Room H-236, Washington, DC 20522-0108. State Magazineis published to facilitate communication between managementand employees at home and abroad and to acquaint employeeswith developments that may affect operations or personnel. The magazine is also available to persons interested in workingfor the Department of State and to the general public.

State Magazine is available by subscription through theSuperintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,Washington, DC 20402 (telephone [202] 512-1800) or on the web athttp://bookstore.gpo.gov.

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Deadlines: July 15 for September issue.Aug. 15 for October issue.

StateStateMagazine

Carl GoodmanEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Paul KoscakWRITER/EDITOR

Dave KreckeWRITER/EDITOR

David L. JohnstonART DIRECTOR

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Florence FultzCHAIR

Jo Ellen PowellEXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Sylvia BazalaCynthia Bunton

Bill HaughBill Hudson

Jim LawrenceJim Trommatter

A Field Day Learning EnglishIn our next issue:

English language students inRangoon enjoy a field day.

9 Post of the Month: SofiaThe U.S.-Bulgaria relationship spans a century.

14 Office of the Month: International Health AffairsHealth is a foreign policy issue.

16 Brother AmbassadorsThey are a rare combination.

18 Remembering IraqChance encounter with authorities leaves lasting memories.

22 Foreign Affairs DayDay brings recognition and reunion.

30 Saving the ChimpsThey didn’t teach this at FSI.

32 Ocean to OceanCanoeists navigate daunting Panama Canal.

35 Right on the MoneyMoney can be dirty—literally.

36 Leadership Seminar Goes OverseasWhen they can’t come here, FSI goes there.

37 Our TownRetiree finds solace in Northern Idaho.

38 Honoring an Early Diplomat in ChinaConsulate pays tribute to first U.S. commissioner.

StateContents

D e p a r t m e n t o f S t a t e • U n i t e d S t a t e s o f A m e r i c a

StateMagazine

July–August 2003No. 470

C O L U M N S

D E P A R T M E N T S

On the CoverOn Foreign Affairs Day, Secretary

Powell lays a wreath at the plaque

honoring six employees who died

in service abroad.

Photo by Paul Koscak

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After paddling for three full days,canoeists sprint to the finish line.

Defense attaché staffwith Secretary Powell onSofia embassy grounds.

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2 From the Secretary

8 Direct from the D.G.

3 Letters to the Editor

4 In the News

40 Medical Report

42 People Like You

44 Appointments

46 Personnel Actions

47 Obituaries

2 State Magazine

FROM THE SECRETARYSECRETARY COLIN L. POWELL

The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Developmenthave one and the same mission: to help shape a more secure, democraticand prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the inter-national community. American diplomacy and development assistance are

powerful forces for political and economic freedom across the globe. If we are toeffectively carry out our shared mission, State and USAID must identify commongoals and coordinate efforts to achieve them.

That’s exactly what our new FY 2004 to 2009 Strategic Plan will help us do. For thefirst time, State and USAID have produced a joint plan. It will ensure that diplomat-ic efforts and development programs are fully aligned to advance President Bush’sNational Security Strategy. The plan will also ensure that State’s and USAID’s activ-ities reinforce one another and that resources match policy priorities. Our combinedstrengths will center on four strategic objectives: achieving peace and security,advancing sustainable development and global interests, promoting internationalunderstanding and strengthening diplomatic and program capabilities.

I asked Deputy Secretary Armitage and USAID Administrator Natsios to lead ourcongressionally mandated strategic planning effort. State’s Bureau of ResourceManagement and Policy Planning Staff and USAID’s Bureau for Policy and ProgramCoordination brainstormed the best approach to take in drafting the planning docu-ment. They solicited contributions from other bureaus, consulted with ambassadorsand mission directors in the field and reached out to former diplomats and devel-opment experts, leaders of other agencies and the private sector. By the end of June,State and USAID had blessed the strategic plan. Soon, we will send it to the WhiteHouse and Congress.

How, exactly, will our plan help State and USAID work together? The very processof developing a joint strategy has forged new working habits that will make us morenimble and accountable. In accordance with the plan, we will, for example, collabo-rate on human resources programs and install state-of-the-art technology. We willcombine financial systems, blend technology support services and better integrateannual performance planning.

The plan also will help us do what Deputy Secretary Armitage calls “lookingaround the corner” to anticipate what’s about to hit our windshield and identify theresources we need to move forward.

For State and USAID employees at headquarters and worldwide, the strategicplan will be an invaluable, accessible, one-stop shop of information about our prior-ities, policies and programs. Everything each of you does should be influenced byour plan. Tether your initiatives and budgets to it. Refer to it often. I know that I willand so will Deputy Secretary Armitage and Administrator Natsios. Remember, it ismeant to be a downloaded, dog-eared document, not a doorstop.

With a copy of the strategic plan at your fingertips, you will have the best guidein decades for how State and USAID are working together to build a safer, freer andbetter world. ■

State and USAIDForge Joint Strategy

July–August 2003 3

May 3 was the big day. I receivedan honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts atthe college commencement. I hadn’tworn a cap and gown since my highschool graduation in 1944. That after-noon, I cut the ribbon dedicating thecollection and the mayor presentedme with the first ever key to the city.

My family was there to enjoyeverything and several friends trav-eled great distances to be present.

I am still walking on cloud nine.

Pat ClarkRetired FSOWAE, U.S. Consulate GeneralFrankfurt

What Price Security?I would never want to see another

disaster like the embassy bombingsin East Africa in 1998. However, howproud should we be that “High Sec-urity DefinesNew Embassiesin East Africa”?The article inthe May issuenotes that “thebuilding is pro-tected by amoat and fittedwith steeldoors.” Soundsmore like amedieval castle than a modernembassy for a country that holdsitself up to be the world’s leadingopen democracy. Is this something tobe proud or ashamed of? Does it rep-resent progress or a truly horriblefailure of foreign policy? If it simplyreflects the state of a more dangerousworld, what responsibility, if any, dowe bear? And how do we get out ofthis mess?

I’d rather see State Magazine head-lines address these issues.

Tom MooreU.S. EmbassyMexico

‘Puff Piece’The nice thing about having tunnel

vision is that it spares the observerfrom having to focus on the big pic-ture. Your recent “puff piece” in the

April issue on coca eradicationin Colombia makes no referenceto the resurgence of coca cultiva-tion in Bolivia and Peru.

As for the DEA statistics oncocaine busts, I long ago con-cluded that U.S. government fig-ures on “progress in the war ondrugs” are about as meaningfulas the Pentagon’s “body counts”during the Vietnam War. We allknow how that war turned out.

Ralph W. RichardsonRetired FSOVenice, Fla.

‘On Cloud Nine’I want to thank you for the won-

derful article in the April issue aboutmy donating art to my hometown.I really appreciated it, as did my fam-ily and friends.

I spent three days in May in IowaFalls for the grand opening of thenew Carnegie Ellsworth Building.When I saw my artwork hangingthere, I almost cried. It looks so dif-ferent in a museum setting.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

From the EditorHomecomings are always spe-

cial. And this year’s ForeignAffairs Day was no exception.More than 500 Department alumniarrived from across town andacross the country to renew friend-ships and familiarity with issuesdriving foreign policy. To be sure,Secretary Powell’s active involve-ment has increased interest andparticipation in the annual event.Coverage begins on page 22.

The recent war in Iraq broughtback memories for two employees

of an event shortly before the warbetween Iran and Iraq. After beingstopped en route to Baghdad in themiddle of the night, the diplomatswere separated, interrogated andaccused of being spies by Iraqiauthorities. To learn their fate, seepage 18.

While cargo ships ply thePanama Canal constantly, dugout-style canoes are a rarity—exceptduring the annual Ocean-to-OceanCayuco Race. Begun more than ahalf century ago, the boat race is

unique and attracts more than200 participants—including U.S.embassy staff. Turn to page 32.

Memorial Day was observedacross the nation, but the day heldspecial meaning for some 20 con-sul employees in south China whohonored an early diplomat at arestored island gravesite in thePearl River. Details start on page 38.

CorrectionsIn our June article on a Baltic summitheld in Helsinki, we misspelled thename of the president of Latvia, VairaVike-Freiberga. We sincerely regretthe error.

The photo caption on page 15 in theMay issue should read: In Dhaka,Abdul Moyeen Kahn, Bangladeshminister of Science and Informationand Communication Technology,exchanges copies of the bilateral sci-ence and technology agreement withChristina Rocca, assistant secretaryfor South Asian Affairs.

4 State Magazine

I N T H E N E W S

Diplotots Child Development Center offers an all-daysummer camp for children ages 5-10 now throughAugust 28.

While the camp is available on a drop-in basis, espe-cially for children of Foreign Service families returningfrom overseas, parents are encouraged to call in advanceabout available slots.

Camp highlights include field trips to the NationalZoo, National Aquarium, Capital Children’s Museum, abowling alley, Wolf Trap Farm Park and other specialevents. The fee is $372 per session or $186 per week. Eachtwo-week session offers different activities and includesmeals. German and Spanish language classes and gym-nastics are also available.

For further information, contact Director CarolReynolds or Assistant Director Christina Smith at (202)663-3555 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Summer CampBeckons Kids

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Ducks and DiplomacyMeg Ravnholt-Hankin from the Bureau of Administration escortsthe Department’s own mother duck and her 13 ducklings fromthe Harry S Truman Building to the Reflecting Pool. The ducklingshatched in a 23rd Street planter before the President and 600guests arrived for a signing ceremony.


I N T H E N E W S

Two new Department of State training facilities wererecently inaugurated in Ft. Lauderdale.

The ribbons were cut May 13 opening the FloridaRegional Center Training Center and the RegionalInformation Management Center Training Center.

Katherine Peterson, director of the Foreign ServiceInstitute, participated in both ribbon cuttings.

“Our worldwide programs include expanded trainingopportunities for foreign affairs professionals from allcones and sectors,” she said.

The successful completion of the centers, she added,resulted from “an effective and strategic partnership”among the Bureaus of Information ResourceManagement and Western Hemisphere Affairs, theSchool of Applied Information Technology and theRegional Information Management Training Center.

The FSI director said the centers were a tribute tointer-bureau cooperation and would provide first-classinstruction for many years.

Roland Bullen, then deputy executive director of theBureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said the openingof the FRC Training Center would provide administra-tive and specialized training, including seminars and

other regional meeting requirements that furtherenhance WHA’s mission of top-quality training withinthe region.

The RIMC training center features a unique instruc-tional layout with a large U-shaped wraparound-seatingarea where students receive the lecture portion of train-ing. Against the wall, directly behind each student arematching computer stations that allow students to slideback and forth between lecture table and terminalsas needed.

Both training centers feature large plasma instruction-al screens complete with multimedia devices and laptopconnections for PowerPoint and other presentationmedia. Both are Inter/Intranet-capable and will be topcandidates for interactive remote video training whenavailable. The RIMC Training Center also includes a fullseven-seat on-site testing center in an adjoining suite.

The FRC Training Center features wireless laptopcomputers in a more traditional training environment.

To schedule possible use of the new training centersplease contact Rita Kijek, (954) 630-1123, for the FloridaRegional Center Training Center, and Craig Specht, (954)630-1212, for the RIMC Training Center.

Left, Katherine Peterson, director of the Foreign Service Institute, cuts the ribbon at the new FRC with Roland Bullen, then deputy executive directorof the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs; and, right, at the new RIMC with Robert Novak, center, dean of the School of Applied InformationTechnology at FSI, and Raymond Norris, director of the RIMC.

Department Opens 2 NewTraining Centers in Florida

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I N T H E N E W S

By Shari Villarosa

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste joined theUnited Nations last September as its 191st member. TheUnited States had opened an embassy in Dili, the capital,the previous May when the country known as East Timorgained its full independence.

The first new nation of the mil-lennium, East Timor begins itsindependence as one of the small-est and poorest nations in Asia.The U.S. effort to establish a newembassy pales in comparison tothe decades-long struggle of theTimorese people to gain their inde-pendence.

Indonesia’s invasion and even-tual incorporation of thePortuguese colony cut short EastTimor’s nine-day effort at inde-pendence in 1975. Indonesia’sinvestments in schools and otherinfrastructure failed to offset thebrutality of foreign occu-pation.Following decades ofarmed struggle, 75 percent ofTimorese voted in September 1999for independence.

Indonesia did not go gently.Instead, the Indonesian militaryembarked on a month-long cam-paign of revenge—burningschools, houses and businessesand forcing 40 percent of the popu-lation into West Timor—alreadypart of Indonesia. The Australians led a multinationalforce in October 1999 to stop the destruction and theUnited Nations began the slow process of reconstructionand training to prepare for East Timor’s independence.

International peacekeeping forces and police ensuredthe restoration of law and order and eventual peace.Bilateral donors and international nongovernmentalorganizations assisted with the rebuilding of East Timor.By independence in May 2002, East Timor had gainedsome experience with democratic elections, holding one toselect a constituent assembly and another to elect a presi-dent. East Timor faced severe shortages of experiencedmanagers, however, to get the new nation up and running.

The small U.S. Embassy staff can identify with difficul-ties starting from the ground up. Dili currently has twoForeign Service officers, 23 Foreign Service Nationalemployees and one local-hire American. Three moreForeign Service officers are being recruited.

While the U.S. Agency for International Developmentwas one of the first agencies to establish operations in

East Timor 12 years ago, U.S.diplomatic representation tothe new East Timor only beganin October 1999—a month afterthe referendum. By July 2000there was a U.S.Representative Office.Operations were begun in arebuilt house that was alsohome to one U.S. employeeand a guard dog. Anotherhouse was leased and rehabili-tated on a large site that willbecome the site of the newchancery and a separateambassador’s residence.Additional housing will beavailable for staff arriving laterthis year.

Housing and office spaceproved the least of U.S. issues.More serious problems arosefrom limited communicationsand the lack of administrativeofficers and local employeeswho traditionally keepembassies functioning. Com-

munications are being upgrad-ed to include connections to the Department’s Intranet.The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta has provided administrativesupport despite its recent ordered departure.

Staff has begun hiring local employees from a largepool of applicants in a country with high unemployment.Despite the presence of security barriers prompted byincreased threats from terrorists, aspiring applicantscrowd the gates in search of jobs.

The people of East Timor are eagerly joining theirAmerican partners in building a new nation. ■

The author recently completed an assignment to Dili aschargé d’affaires.

Starting Up in East Timor

Flag raising at the U.S. Embassy in East Timor.


I N T H E N E W S

As the audience took their seats, the Dean AchesonAuditorium was filled with the strains of a memorialsong recorded inCzechoslovakia in 1945.The scratchy “78”record lent realism tothe Department’s firstHolocaust MemorialProgram.

Holocaust survivors,resistance fighters,Jewish communityleaders and some 200high school studentsattended the April 29program.

In his introductoryremarks, Efraim Cohenof the Office of CivilRights reminded thestudents that theyhad a special respon-sibility. “You have acentral role in thisprogram,” he said.“We are relying onyou to rememberwhat you learn todayand to pass that mem-ory on to future gen-erations as one morelink in the unbrokenchain of remem-brance.”

Storyteller andactress Lisa Lipkin pre-sented a series of vignettes from her own childhoodcalled “What My Mother Never Told Me…Stories of aChild of a Holocaust Survivor.” She captivated the audi-ence with her accounts, demonstrating that theHolocaust had a profound impact not only on those whosuffered through that dark period of history, but on suc-ceeding generations as well.

Under Secretary Marc Grossman noted the special rel-evance of this year’s Holocaust remembrance theme—

“For Your Free-dom andOurs”—as Polish armedforces fought alongsideBritish and Americantroops to liberate the peo-ple of Iraq. He expressedhis pride in being part of aState Department com-mitted to promotinghuman rights and toler-ance around the world.“We have a commitmentto defend those values notjust for ourselves, but forothers.”

Barbara Spyridon Pope,assistant secretary forCivil Rights, read a poemby Jennie AdattoTambulus titled “O MyBrethren.” The poemexpresses the poet’s sad-ness that her lost family ofGreek Jews might be for-gotten because theHolocaust “somehow isalways associated onlywith the Jews of EasternEurope.” Ms. Pope readthe poem in English, andMoisés Behar of the Officeof Civil Rights read it inthe original Ladino, a lan-guage developed by Jews

who settled in Greece, Turkey and the Balkans after beingexpelled from Spain in 1492.

The program was sponsored by the Office of CivilRights, the Office of Holocaust Issues, the Office ofInternational Religious Freedom, the Secretary’s OpenForum and the Foreign Affairs Recreation Association’sState of the Arts.

Rememberingthe Holocaust

Lisa Lipkin, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, performs stories fromher childhood.

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8 State Magazine

DIRECT FROM THE D.G.AMBASSADOR RUTH A. DAVIS

Icame to this job a little over twoyears ago now—admittedly a littlewary of leaving my beloved ForeignService Institute—and what a differ-ence those years have made. For

now I find myself wary of leaving HumanResources. But such is life in the ForeignService.

One of my goals as director general hasbeen to make our work force more reflec-tive of America’s diversity. So to that end,I am leaving my assignment as directorgeneral this summer to help develop theRangel International Affairs Program atHoward University—a program designedto interest more minorities in international affairs.

As I reflect on the accomplishments of my dedicatedHR colleagues, I feel good about the path we are on andthe state of affairs in the Department’s personnel world.

Implementing the Secretary’s Diplomatic ReadinessInitiative has been the cornerstone of my tenure. Theprogress we have made so far, with the Secretary’s unwa-vering commitment, has been phenomenal. By the end ofDRI’s three years in 2004, the Department will have expe-rienced the greatest expansion of its work force in myprofessional life. The hundreds of DRI hires alreadyworking in the United States and abroad are impactingmorale and performance positively.

We have also vastly expanded interest in the StateDepartment as a career. 20,335 people took the ForeignService Written Exam last April—a historic high.Minorities taking the test numbered 6,234—or 31 percent.

Diplomatic Readiness is much more than hiring addi-tional people. It means:

Putting the right people in the right place at the righttime. We are doing a much better job filling hardshipposts earlier in the bidding season. We have strengthenedthe process to make sure we make the right decisionsregarding tenure.

More training and development. We have institutedmandatory leadership training—from junior officer toambassador. FSI’s new leadership and managementclasses are getting great reviews and we expect to havethe target population—more than 7,000 people—trainedby 2006. New junior officers are receiving more languagetraining so they can do their jobs more effectively. We

piloted and then launched Department-wide a new Civil Service mentoring pro-gram that is getting excellent reviews.

Making the Department a betteremployer. We have implemented a stu-dent loan repayment program going intoits second year with 1,000 loan repay-ments on behalf of eligible Civil Serviceand Foreign Service employees. TheSpousal Network Assistance Programhas just expanded to include Geneva,Frankfurt, Almaty, Santiago, Budapest,Berlin, San Jose and Pretoria with all theconsulates in South Africa, bringing thetotal number of participating posts to 16.

Supporting Foreign Service National employees. I amespecially pleased that we have established the FSNDefined Contribution Retirement Plan in those countrieswhere the retirement system is inadequate. When fullyimplemented, FSNs in some 30 countries will benefitfrom this retirement system.

Linking people to resources. We have completely re-engineered our work force planning process, groundingit in objective data using cutting-edge tools such as thedomestic staffing model. This effort not only implementsrequirements of the President’s Management Agenda,the Administration’s effort to improve the way govern-ment functions; it also gives us a firm foundation to jus-tify our requests to Congress for resources.

Community Service. Finally, I am especially proudthat the core precepts for promotion in the ForeignService were amended to recognize community service. Iam a strong advocate of recognizing employees who helpmake this Department a better place to work—throughmentoring, recruiting or serving on promotion and exam-ining panels. And so it is in that spirit that I will be start-ing a new chapter of my career focusing on attractingmore minorities to the Department of State.

It has been a distinct honor serving the Secretary andthe President as director general of the Foreign Serviceand director of Human Resources. It has been a pleasureworking with the management team led by UnderSecretary Green as well as with all the individuals whoare committed to improving the way the Departmenttakes care of its people. I look forward to continuing towork with all of you in my future assignments. ■

We Have AccomplishedMuch Together

Post of the Month:

SofiaBy Keith Hughes

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c. The Rila Monastery in Sofia.

Bulgaria is an ancient country transi-tioning from a totalitarian state to afree and democratic society on thecusp of full NATO membership.

Hampered for many years by memoriesfrom its pro-Soviet past, Bulgaria’s image israpidly changing after its aggressive pur-suit of NATO and EU memberships and itsprominent participation in the recent coali-tion against Saddam Hussein.

Bulgaria’s land and culture are rich withtreasures from its history. Great powers andcivilizations have come and gone:Macedonia, Greece, Rome, Byzantium, theOttoman Empire and the Soviet Union.Thracians left tombs from antiquity filledwith masterworks of gold. Rome left unpar-alleled engineering marvels. Byzantium left

the mystery of Orthodox Christianity andthe Ottomans left their exotic mark onBulgarian architecture, language and cui-sine. The currents of history continue tohave an impact on the nation today.

More recently, Bulgaria has been one ofAmerica’s closest allies, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States in theU.N. Security Council despite heavy

European pressure to break ranks. Bulgariahas also hosted two U.S. Air Force deploy-ments in the past 18 months in the Black Seaport city of Bourgas to support OperationsEnduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Thenation is also providing troops to peace-keeping operations in Afghanistan, Bosniaand Kosovo. A onetime staunch WarsawPact member, Bulgaria has undertaken thedifficult and sometimes painful task oftransforming itself into a nation alignedwith Western values, seeking earnestlyto integrate with the rest of Europeand NATO.

The current U.S. Mission in Sofia num-bers almost 400 U.S. and Bulgarian employ-ees. It supports Bulgaria’s policy of integra-tion and provides assistance through most

of the dozen agencies working in the mis-sion. The U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment, for example, promotes grass-roots democracy, judicial reform and a mar-ket economy. The U.S. Commercial Serviceadvances U.S. investment and trade. TheDepartment of Justice, through the residentlegal adviser, is fighting corruption andreforming the judicial system.

10 State Magazine

A CLO-organized shopping trip for carpets in the Bulgarian countryside.

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The nation’s links with the West were confirmed lastMay when Pope John Paul II visited Sofia and NATO’sparliamentary assembly held its biannual conferencethere. While Bulgaria’s institutions and systems are influ-enced by its ancient heritage, it is clearly remaking itselfinto a modern European nation.

Bulgaria stood at a historical crossroads more than adecade ago when the communist party leadership over-threw the communist dictatorship of Todor Zhivkov. Theroad Bulgaria chose was not easy and in the past 10 yearsthe country has struggled. Despite this, Bulgaria is nowrecognised as an engine of stability in Southeast Europe.

The U.S. Mission in Sofia currently occupies 10 agingand vulnerable buildings throughout the city. To remedythis situation, ground was broken in June 2002 to makeway for a new chancery building. The new facility willhelp the mission in Sofia nuture a strong bilateral rela-tionship with Bulgaria more efficiently and effectively.

BELOW: Mike Seidenstricker, public affairs officer, discusses SecretaryPowell’s visit last May with FSNs Raissa Yordanova and Mlada Todorova.

ABOVE: Secretary Powell speaks to U.S. Embassy families. LEFT: A typical ski run on Mt. Vitosha.

The project will also be the first U.S.-constructed buildingin Bulgaria.

The new mission compound will occupy nearly 10acres and have a state-of-the-art perimeter security sys-tem. The chancery will occupy 136,000 square feet andwill include a warehouse and housing for Marines. Thenew office building is expected to be completed inAugust 2004. It represents a significant financial invest-ment that will yield benefits for the local economy.During construction, approximately 350 local workers

12 State Magazine

TOP: An artist’s rendering of the new U.S. Embassy in Sofia.ABOVE: Officials break ground for the new chancery scheduledfor occupancy in August 2004.

will be employed and construction materials such as con-crete, steel and gravel will be purchased locally.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria was officially invited to joinNATO during the Prague Summit last November and theUnited States Senate voted 90 to 0 to ratify its accessioninto the organization this past May. The mission will con-tinue to work with Bulgaria to finalize the remainingaspects of the accession process.

Militarily, Bulgaria has proved that it stands with theUnited States in the struggle against terrorism andweapons of mass destruction. Shortly after OperationIraqi Freedom began, Bulgaria provided flyover rights toU.S. military planes operating in the region. In addition,Sarafovo airport in Bourgas was used for refueling oper-ations over the Black Sea—involving six KC-10 tankersand more than 300 U.S. military personnel.

To educate Bulgarian journalists covering NATOissues, the public affairs section sponsored journalists toBrussels for tours and briefings at NATO and SHAPE,created a lecture series with a local nongovernmentalorganization and arranged digital video conferences withState Department officials.

Grappling with NATO accession issues, promotingtrade, crafting programs to help Bulgaria fight corruptionand building a new chancery would seem to commandemployees’ total attention, but there is some time forleisure. To help with the transition is the mission’sCommunity Liaison Office. The CLO offers newcomers amore relaxed view of life in Sofia and acquaints them

with the quality academics at the American College ofSofia and the Anglo-American School.

The number and variety of restaurants is mushroom-ing in Sofia andprices have re-mained reason-able by Westerns t a n d a r d s .Bulgaria boastssome of the fresh-est and highest-quality fruits andvegetables in theregion. Nestled inthe valley betweenVitosha Mountainand the Balkanrange, Sofia is ashort drive fromseveral renowedsites of stunningbeauty and histor-ical significance.Rila Monastery,for example, embodies the rich heritage of OrthodoxChristianity while the Boyana Church harbors rare fres-coes of unsurpassed power and charm.

The Balkan winter and the nearby mountains makeBulgaria a skier’s heaven, while in the summer themountains are an inviting place to hike or picnic. Tourgroups offer everything from sightseeing excursions tolong journeys on horseback to extreme sports. While notalways up to Western standards, a stop at one of the

many hot spring resorts that dot the country will berewarding. Of course, every Bulgarian will wax eloquentabout the wonders of the Black Sea coast and no trip to

Bulgaria is trulycomplete withouta pilgrimagethere. What’smore, Turkey andGreece are withina day’s drive ofSofia. Turkeyoffers all the exot-ic enticements ofthe Orient andGreece will hostnext summer’sOlympics.

Bulgaria offersthe best of twoworlds for ad i p l o m a t .Politically andeconomically the

challenges Bulgariafaces and has set for itself guarantee that work here forForeign Service officers will be challenging and reward-ing. Since the country is stable and has been throughoutthe years of troubles that have beset the Balkans, thequality of life and the opportunities to explore the coun-try are abundant. ■

The author, currently a student at FSI, is a former publicdiplomacy officer in Sofia.


While there have been peaks and valleys in U.S.-Bulgarian relations over the last century, the U.S.Embassy in Bulgaria is proud to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of diplomatic relations betweenour two countries this year. Secretary Powellaffirmed during his May visit to Sofia that tiesbetween the two countries have never been better.A new invitee to NATO and a staunch U.S. support-er on the U.N. Security Council and in the GlobalWar on Terrorism, Bulgaria has emerged as one ofthe region’s closest U.S. allies.

On Sept. 19, 1903, a court carriage drawn by fourhorses and led by a cavalry escort delivered John B.Jackson, the first U.S. envoy to Bulgaria, to theNational Palace in the center of Sofia. Mr. Jackson’spresentation of credentials to Prince Ferdinand, thegrandfather of Bulgaria’s democratically electedprime minister, launched a sometimes turbulent

relationship that has seen diplomatic intrigue,periodic hostility and, since the collapse ofcommunism in 1989, a close partnership based onshared values.

The Secretary’s visit to Sofia officially kicked offanniversary celebrations that will span severalmonths, culminating in an intense series of eventson and around the Sept. 19 centennial date. Thehighlight of the Secretary’s stay in Sofia was a majorpublic rally in Battenberg Square in front of thepalace where Mr. Jackson first presented his creden-tials. Addressing a crowd of 5,000 cheeringBulgarian citizens, senior government officials andforeign diplomats, Secretary Powell pointed to thetwo enormous Bulgarian and American flagsdominating the square and declared, “I hope thatour two countries will always be as close as thesetwo beautiful flags are today.” John E. Johnson

A Century-Old Relationship

A group ski outing on Mt. Vitosha, only 20 minutes from the city center.

14 State Magazine

Office of the Month:

The Office of International Health Affairs meets, from left: Doris Smoot, Bill Dilday, Sara Allinder, Damon Woods, Tom Gallagher, Gwen Beatty,Bob Blair, Corina Gardner, Judith Kaufmann and Ted Nist.

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New GroupFocuses on Healthas Foreign Policy

I N T E R N AT I O N A L H E A LT H A F FA I R S

By Sara Allinder

A traveler visiting a foreign country becomes sick.The condition worsens and local doctors are baffled.The person is evacuated for care in a neighboring

country. Still, no improvement. What’s more, medicalstaff providing care are now gravely ill. Soon, theunknown disease is Page One news worldwide.

Unfortunately, this is reality in the fight againstinfectious diseases. Look at the latest outbreaks of

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) or WestNile virus to understand that to combat such scourgesyou need a swift, coordinated response.

In a world tightly linked by air, sea and land trans-portation, containing—let alone curing—disease is a

tough call. Even a largely preventable disease such asHIV/AIDS has infected 65 million people worldwideand killed 23 million since the start of the epidemic.Other diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, onceeradicated in the United States, spread rapidly intoday’s mobile world, where some strainsbecome drug resistant and are difficult totreat.

Realizing disease not only kills but candestabilize entire nations, the StateDepartment in 2001 formed the Office ofInternational Health Affairs.

Located in the Bureau of Oceans andInternational Environmental and ScientificAffairs, the office acts as a clearinghouse thatorganizes teams to combat disease and promotehealth awareness anywhere in the world. Whenever anew malady threatens, its small staff stands ready tobring together the right people and resources fromany number of private or government agencies. Theoffice maintains close ties with the White House, theU.S. Agency for International Development, theDepartments of Health and Human Services, Labor,Defense and Homeland Security as well as numeroustechnical agencies and foreign governments.

The office carries out the commitment by thePresident and Secretary Powell to advance internation-al health and to view health as a foreign policy issue.

Health affects national, economic, political andsocial security in every country, according to a 2002National Intelligence Council report.

“New and reemerging infectious diseases will posea rising global threat and will complicate U.S.

and global security over the next 20 years,” thereport warns.

The report also states that “these diseases willendanger U.S. citizens at home and abroad, threatenU.S. armed forces deployed overseas and exacerbate

social and political instability in key countriesand regions where the United States has inter-

ests.” Combating HIV/AIDS is high on the

staff’s agenda. As soon as the office wasformed, for example, it organized a negoti-ating team to establish a global fund to

fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria—allwithin four months. News of the fund

attracted $3.3 billion in worldwide pledges fromindividuals, foundations, corporations and govern-ments, including $1.65 billion from the United States.Of the total fund, $1.5 billion is committed to projectsin nearly 100 countries.

Last December, the office planned and managed theDepartment’s participation in World AIDS Day, host-ed by Secretary Powell and Health and HumanServices Secretary Tommy Thompson.

Health security, including bioterrorism, is amongother issues confronting the office. ■

The author is an officer in the Office of InternationalHealth Affairs.

Bob Blair, left, and Damon Woods coordinate details. Gwen Beatty processes information.


16 State Magazine

By Paul Koscak

Sometimes the State Department is a family affair.Husbands and wives are posted together. Parents with

longevity soon find their children joining the ranks. Scrollthrough the global directory and you’ll find more match-ing names than you can count.

But the Ambassador Brothers, John and Larry Dinger,share a unique spot among family employees:They’re believed to be the first career officerbrother ambassadors.

John, 50, has been theambassador to Mongoliasince October 2000. Larry,56, was sworn in as ambas-sador to the FederatedStates of Micronesia inDecember 2001.

The brothers grew up in middle America—Riceville, Iowa—but theircareers have been anythingbut middle-of-the-road.

John said he enteredthe Foreign Service“by chance.”

“I didn’t know what itwas,” he recalls, when hisfaculty adviser at theUniversity of NorthernIowa suggested a ForeignService career. “It soundedlike fun.”

He was right.John has logged 8,000 miles traveling the rugged

Mongolian outback. His ambitious journey has taken himto all 21 provinces—twice. In doing his part to fight thewar on terrorism, he’s becoming as much a nomad as thenatives he meets.

But that’s nothing new in the Foreign Service. John hasserved as consul general at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyoand in Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro and London.

Although many Americans might be challenged tolocate Mongolia on a map, he said the country looks toAmerica for support, guidance and example.

“That makes Mongolia a good place to build aprosperous, democratic and, above all, stable country,”he said.

Working for the State Department tends to keepthe brothers apart. In January, however, their rolesbrought them to Washington, D.C., for a chiefs-of-mission conference.

“Our guess is it was the first time we’d seen each oth-er in five years,” John recalled. “We then went together toRiceville for a family reunion.”

If there’s any disadvantage to having a sibling coun-terpart it’s a tendency to talk shop, John said.

Larry followed a different route than his brother. Hedidn’t join the Foreign Service until he was 36. After col-

lege, he served as a navalofficer from 1968 to 1972,including a tour inVietnam. He then earnedhis law degree fromHarvard Law School.After that, he pursuedpolitics, working onArizona RepresentativeMo Udall’s presidentialcampaign, then as a leg-islative assistant to IowaSenator John Culver and,finally, as a candidatehimself for the Iowa leg-islature.

Perhaps the inspira-tion to move from politi-cian to diplomat cameduring a five-monthbackpacking tripthrough South America,when Larry visited his

brother, then vice consul in Rio de Janeiro.“I enjoyed associating with his Foreign Service friends,”

Larry explained, “and the State Department had institu-tionalized for him the traveler’s existence, something Ivery much enjoyed. I also realized I had never worked atany one job for longer than two or three years.”

He and his then-girlfriend, a former high school class-mate, both decided to take the Foreign Service test, agree-ing that if one got in, the other would follow. Althoughthey both passed, Larry got the offer. The couple marriedbefore heading to Washington and assignments toMexico, Indonesia, Australia, Fiji and Nepal. After thecouple had children, his wife decided not to pursue aForeign Service career.

Brother AmbassadorsAre a Rare Combination

John and Larry Dinger at home in Riceville, Iowa.

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Experiencing the drama of other lifestyles and loca-tions hasn’t taken the country out of the brothers. Bothstill subscribe to the Riceville Recorder and still considerIowa home. “My family and I have been home nearly

every summer for a few weeks to see the relatives andgive our children roots,” Larry said.

Although he’s been away since 1983, it still takes anhour to cover the four blocks to downtown Riceville—passing the post office, Evenson’s store and the First StateBank—simply because of all the people who stop to sayhello or ask questions about his recent assignments.

As for John, even a globe-trotting career hasn’t damp-ened his enthusiasm for some familiar scenery

“It’s extremely comfortable going back to Riceville,” hesaid. “I love going home.”


The duo’s resemblance sometimes confuses employeeswho know both brothers, particularly in the Bureau ofEast Asian and Pacific Affairs.

“One senior EAP officer jokingly refers to us as ‘thegood Dinger and the evil Dinger,’” Larry said. “Ithink he alternates which is which depending onwho is within earshot.”

Like his brother, Larry is assigned to a nationmany Americans might have difficulty findingon a map. The Federated States of Micronesia is acollection of more than 600 Pacific islands withstrong American ties. After World War II, theUnited States became a U.N. trustee untilMicronesia’s independence in 1979.

Micronesia is one of the strongest supportersof U.S. policy at the United Nations. The UnitedStates provides for the island’s defense andits troops serve in the U.S. military, most recentlyin Iraq.

The United States has invested heavily inMicronesia. Economic assistance during the past17 years has totaled more than $2 billion, includ-ing subsidies to five island governments, Larryexplained. Its citizens can enter the United Statesfreely and stay indefinitely. Domestic programsfrom 20 U.S. government agencies offer every-thing from educational grants, to housing loans to soilconservation.

Medical care is deficient, so evacuations are frequent—either to Hawaii or Guam. In an emergency, luck maydetermine the patient’s destination on the daily commer-cial flight, Larry said.

It rains frequently in Micronesia. “I keep a rain gaugeat my residence and monthly totals range from 8 inchesto 39 inches,” Larry added. “The rain, which totals about200 inches per year, keeps vegetation lush and green andthe air clean. And the sun shines a lot.”

‘Dinger Law’Ensures Recountsin Close Elections

Although he lives a world away from Iowa, LarryDinger left a small legacy back home.

Well before America learned about dimples andchads, Mr. Dinger lost a run for the state legislaturein 1980 by just 47 votes. Pretty impressive consider-ing the future diplomat challenged an incumbentRepublican in an election that drew 13,000 votesduring the Reagan landslide.

“There were indications—almost a statisticalcertainty—that a 100-vote error occurred in one

precinct,” Mr. Dinger recalled. “So I soughta recount, which the legislature denied on a party-line vote.”

A few months later, the legislature passed the“Dinger Law,” mandating automatic recounts when-ever an election’s margin is less than 1 percent.

Mr. Dinger’s supporters urged him to make anoth-er run in 1982, but by then he had decided politicswasn’t his calling. “I had proven I could run a goodcampaign and I still wanted to be a public servant,”he said.

That’s when he turned to the State Department.While it might be fun to speculate where Mr.

Dinger’s career might be today had he won the tightrace, the campaign still gave the Iowan somethingto celebrate: He met his wife, Paula, a high schooldebating partner 15 years earlier who served as hiscampaign treasurer.

From left, Larry and John Dinger with their sister Jan and mother, Lauraine, 93.

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18 State Magazine

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IRAQR E M E M B E R I N G


The blindfold slipped andI found myself staring at adimly lit bulb hung at theend of a wire in the form of ahangman’s noose. Not exactlySaddam Hussein’s palace.

IRAQR E M E M B E R I N G

By John Lemandri

Editor’s Note: Two days after the 1979 event described in thefollowing article, war began between Iraq and Iran. The authorand his wife, both embassy employees assigned to Baghdad,may have been the only Western diplomats outside the capital,having inadvertently been issued travel permission by theIraqi government.

My wife, Suzanne, and I were returning from a trip tonorthern Kurdistan near the city of Mosul. We weretired. I hadn’t slept much the past three days. The Kurdshad surrounded our vehicle on horseback, gunsstrapped across their backs, like Indians chasing a stagecoach in the wild, wild west. The weather was cold, realcold, and I had driven more than 600 miles throughsome pretty roughterrain. Suzannedidn’t drive.

Around 1 a.m., ourLand Rover brokedown about five milesfrom Iran, in the mid-dle of nowhere. In thedark, rainy nightSuzanne stood abovethe engine, a flashlightshining downwardwhile I lay below, awrench in one handand hammer in theother, attempting torepair a broken alter-nator. I fixed every-thing then with a ham-mer—either fixed it orbeat it up so badly thatI threw it out. Ten feetaway a dozen Iraqitanks rolled into thenight, followed byanother dozen truck-loads of soldiers, armored personnel carriers,helicopter gun ships and what looked like the wholedamn Iraqi Army.

Caked with mud and looking more like bums thandiplomats, we finally fixed the vehicle. As we drove intothe darkness through the desolate mountain pass, twocars approached, their lights off. One cut in front, theother behind. In an instant our vehicle was surrounded,automatic weapons pointed at our heads.

“Get out,” yelled a voice. Too tired to comprehend, we didn’t move.“Get out! Get out,” yelled the voice. I got out.

“Come on, Sue,” I said. “No, not she,” said the voice in broken English.

Suzanne stayed in the car.I was blindfolded, pushed into another car and driven

away. I sat in the seat awaiting my fate. I was mad—

mad at myself. How stupid of me to be traveling in thispart of the world in the middle of the night. I contem-plated the fate that awaited me. More important, I worried about the fate that awaited Suzanne. We hadbeen married five short months. Would she survive if I didn’t?

We bounced along a rutted dirt road until the carjerked to a stop. Someone shoved me out. I stumbled,was dragged across the ground and thrown into a house.The blindfold slipped and I found myself staringat a dimly lit bulb hung at the end of a wire inthe form of a hangman’s noose. Not exactly SaddamHussein’s palace.

“Get up,” a voice said.I hesitated and was

shoved into a chair.The shadow of anominous figure lurkedover me. He wasclose—so close I couldsmell his foul breathand feel his bootagainst my chair. Asecond shadowy fig-ure held a gun, themuzzle pointed at myhead, while a thirdwas silhouetted in adark corner of theroom mutteringArabic into what musthave been a radio.

The interrogationbegan.

“You are an Israelispy,” yelled the onewith his boot betweenmy legs. The toe of hisboot began to presshard against my groin.

I was no longer tired. Adrenaline was pumping throughmy body.

“No, Ana Amerke (I am an American),” I replied. “You are an American spy,” the interrogator shouted.“No, I am a diplomat,” I responded.“What are you doing out of Baghdad?” the voice

demanded in broken English. “Visiting your country,” Ireplied, trying to act calm but fearing the worst wasabout to happen.

The interrogator was by now very agitated, his footpressing and twisting harder against my groin.

“You hate our country and Iraqi people,” he screamed. “I hate no one,” I responded, although at that moment

I hated him an awful lot. “Where is my wife?” “Shut up,” he responded.I was worried. I had some control over my fate in

the way I responded, but not knowing Suzanne’swas terrifying.

20 State Magazine

“Where is she?” “In the car,” the interrogator snapped back.

“Don’t worry about her. What were you doing near theIranian border?”

“Traveling to Baghdad,” I replied. “That’s not the road to Baghdad,” he snapped. “Why

were you spying on our military?”“I wasn’t spying on your military,” I responded. “I

wasn’t spying on anyone’s military. Look, my car brokedown. I must have gotten lost. My car broke down andyour military passed us as we were trying to fix it.”

The interrogation was not going well. My host wasbecoming more hostile. He muttered something to thesecond goon—the one with the gun and a sadistic smilewho was pressing themuzzle of his weaponagainst my head. Myheart began to palpitate asreality gripped me. Ibegan to fear the worst. Iwould never see my wifeagain. The cold, the tired-ness no longer mattered,although his foot in mygroin was causing mepain. Somehow, beforethis thing got out of hand,I had to keep my cool andconvince them that I washarmless.

“Look,” I said, “mywife and I received trav-el permission from yourgovernment. We justwant to get home andrest. I am a clerk, not aspy. If you don’t be-lieve me, contact yourforeign ministry. They’lltell you.” I prayed some-one in the ministry wouldbe awake at 3 a.m.

The interrogator seemed perplexed. The Iraqi on theradio began talking faster into the mike. The questioningcontinued.

“You hate Iraq and you hate Iraqi people.”“No, I don’t hate Iraq. I like Iraqi people. Look, just

because our governments don’t get along doesn’t meanwe can’t be friends.”

He looked astonished. Why would an American wantto be anyone’s friend? Iraqis were told Americans hatedeveryone, even other Americans. The regime pushedthat propaganda to its people to the point where theyshowed American gangster movies on televisioneach night just to convince themselves that Americansreally are bad.

Across the room the dark figure with the radio beganyelling in Arabic. I could make out some words.

Someone in their ministry was awake and able to verifyI was not a spy. The goon put his gun down. The inter-rogator looked bewildered. I almost felt pity for him.He hadn’t caught a spy. If he had, it would have meant apromotion—even more important, a new house or car.No five-year waiting list. Instead, he caught a clerk, a simple clerk who sends telegrams, nothing more, nothing less.

“Can we go now?” I asked. Forty-five minutes hadelapsed and I was worried about Suzanne.

“No, not yet,” the interrogator responded. “We firsthave tea.”

Tea was not going to erase the horrors of the last hourand turn the evening into a pleasant experience. But I

didn’t argue. He held thecards—and the gun. Wehad tea, a bit sweet formy liking, but that’s theway Iraqis like their tea.We had a second and athird glass. He was try-ing to placate me, appar-ently realizing that hecould get into trouble forroughing up a diplomat,even a low-levelAmerican clerk.

The niceties finished,we parted company.

“Maa Salama,” he said.It meant goodbye inArabic. I kept quiet.

I was driven back tomy car blindfolded.When they removed myblindfold, I approachedmy car, hesitated andfeared the worst.Suzanne was nowhereto be seen.

I peered through thedarkness into the front

window of the car. Nothing. A wave of emotion sweptover me. My eyes teared. A thousand pounds had beenplaced upon my shoulders. I couldn’t breathe or think. Ididn’t want to contemplate the outcome. Again, I lookedinto the back seat. And again, there was nothing.

Suddenly, the mass of blankets began to move. Firstthere was a hand. Then the outline of a face emerged. Itwas Suzanne’s. She was alive! My sorrow turned to joyas a wave of emotion engulfed me. We had beenthrough a harrowing ordeal. Yet, at that moment, I wasthe happiest man in the world. ■

The author is chief of the Bureau of Information ResourceManagement’s liaison office to Overseas BuildingsOperations. His wife, Suzanne Lemandri, is an officemanager in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.


John and Suzanne Lemandri in Mauritania in the late 1970s.

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The interrogator looked bewildered.I almost felt pity for him. He hadn’tcaught a spy.

22 State Magazine

Story and photos by Paul Koscak

Some came from across the country. Others traveledacross town. But when they all arrived May 9 for ForeignAffairs Day, the retirees—the Department’s emeritusemployees and biggest boosters—numbered more than 500.

The event, recognizing both Foreign Service and CivilService employees, offered alumni seminars and brief-ings on current Department issues, an opportunity toengage its leaders and a chance to reconnect with formercolleagues.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, Under Secretary forPolitical Affairs Marc Grossman, Director General RuthDavis and Assistant Secretary of State for DiplomaticSecurity Francis Taylor keynoted the morning’s program.

In a message read by the director general, PresidentGeorge W. Bush also welcomed the retirees and recog-nized Foreign Service Day. “In representing America,members of the diplomatic service reflect the best of ournation,” he said.

Also that morning, Secretary Powell placed a wreath atthe plaque in the C Street lobby of the Harry S TrumanBuilding honoring employees who died in the line ofduty. Retired Ambassador Dennis Kux was awarded theDACOR Foreign Service Cup for 2003 and retiredAmbassador Joan Clark and Civil Service retiree JohnGravely won the Director General’s Cup.

“Our country will not be successful unless we have asuccessful Foreign Service diplomacy,” AmbassadorGrossman told the retirees in the Dean AchesonAuditorium during his opening remarks. Success hingeson democracy and free markets, where people can charttheir destiny and speak their minds. Of the world’s 192countries, 120 are now democracies, he said.

“People should not be excluded from living in ademocracy, regardless of geography, culture, religion orrace,” Mr. Grossman said.

Ambassador Taylor said international law enforcementcooperation is yielding dividends in the war onterrorism.


AFSAMEMORIAL PLAQUE

★ R E U N I O N A N D R E C O G N I T I O N ★

Did You Miss Foreign Affairs Day?If you didn’t receive an invitation to this year’sForeign Affairs Day, you may call (202) 663-2383

or e-mail [email protected] be added to next year’s list.

Laurence FoleyJordan, 2002

Jerry CookMadagascar, 1978

Richard Arthur CoulterIran, 1975

Howard V. Funk, Jr.Kenya, 1972

Oscar Curtis HolderNepal, 1962

Sidney B. JacquesNepal, 1962

Six names were added to the plaquehonoring Foreign Service employees whodied overseas. Honorees are from theState Department and three other govern-ment Foreign Service agencies—the U.S.Agency for International Development,the Foreign Commercial Service and theForeign Agriculture Service.

Sponsored by the American ForeignService Association, the occasion com-memorates overseas employees who diedin the line of service—from WilliamPalfrey, lost at sea in 1780, to LaurenceFoley, gunned down by terrorists in 2002.Attending the wreath-laying ceremonywere Secretary Colin Powell; AndrewNatsios, administrator, Agency forInternational Development; John Naland,AFSA president; and a militaryhonor guard.

After placing the wreath by the plaquein the C Street lobby of the Harry STruman Building, Secretary Powellreflected, “As we pause this day toremember them, we rededicate ourselvesto the life of service they led and that we,too, have chosen. May we honor theirlives each day by the way that we liveour own.”

USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios, left, Secretary Powell and AFSA President JohnNaland at ceremony honoring six employees added to the plaque.

24 State Magazine

“We’re winning the war,” said the retired brigadiergeneral who directed the Air Force’s Office of SpecialInvestigations before joining the State Department in2002. “Afghanistan is liberated and more than 3,000 alQaeda operatives have been arrested. The world has nev-er seen such a law enforcement effort.”

Secretary Powell offered an upbeat message on theDepartment’s future growth and change.

“Congress and the President believe in what we’redoing,” he said.

The campaign to expand the Foreign Service motivat-ed more than 20,000 people to take the Foreign Serviceexam. About 1,200 people will be hired during the nextthree years and employee demographics, the Secretaryinsists, “will have to reflect the diversity of the nationbecause we work in a diverse world.”

Leadership is the key to a successful career. He saidthat means recognizing your people and taking risks.“Leaders are not afraid to try something different.”

The Department is also embracing technology,particularly e-mail and the Internet, according toSecretary Powell.

“Cables, memos—they gotta go,” he said. “We need tomove at the speed of light.”

The Department is “working hard to have the best website in the U.S. government.”

The Secretary drew applause when he spoke about thespate of stories critical of the State Department, most

Thomas Pickering, former ambassador to the United Nations and formerunder secretary for Political Affairs with his wife, Alice. The Alexandriaresident now works for Boeing in international relations.

Herbert Levin, left, with his wife, Cornelia, of New York City, poses withStephen Tillman. Mr. Levin, who worked in nuclear research, retired in1991 after 34 years of service. Mr. Tillman retired in 1993 from theBureau of Intelligence and Research.

Ralph Johnson, left, with his wife, Helen, from Hartsville, S.C., retired in1997 after working in Consular Affairs. Walter Stadtler, right, wasassigned to the Pentagon when he retired in 1994.



Martin Kushinsky, left, a USAID public affairs officer when he retired in1974, is now a ballroom dancer. David Bennett retired last year andlives in Carlisle, Pa., where he teaches at the U.S. Army War College.

Terence Spencer of Pultneyville, N.Y., left, who retired from the U.S.Information Agency in 1992 and works as a political columnist and dra-ma critic, chats with Thomas Pettit of Basye, Va., a Foreign Service offi-cer who retired in 1995 and now works at a golf course.

recently former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s remarksabout policy and operations.

“Criticism is part of our American system,” he said.“We wouldn’t be the people we are if we weren’t foreverchomping at one another. That’s fine. Bring it on.

“We also know how to fight back when we think wehaven’t been dealt with fairly. If it isn’t constructive criti-cism or it’s destructive, we will fight back to protect theDepartment and to protect the wonderful men andwomen who serve this Department.”

A question-and-answer session raised concerns aboutthe relevancy of the United Nations.

Ambassador Grossman supported a role for the UnitedNations in future contingencies but faulted the organiza-tion for allowing certain nations to oversee human rightsissues. He supports expanding the Security Council.

Another retiree asked why another international bodyof democratic nations can’t be formed.

“We don’t want to supplant the U.N., but maybethere’s a need for a democracy caucus,” Mr. Grossmansuggested.

The focus for today’s diplomat, he told the retirees, istaking charge. The wars on terror and drugs mean theDepartment must change its outlook. New employees, hesaid, are expected to do more than just give advice orwrite reports. He recalled much of his early career “writ-ing talking points for the Secretary’s remarks to theSoviet premier.”

Wayne Sharp, left, of McLean, Va., worked in trade development whenhe retired in 1991. Bethesda resident Richard Thompson retired fromthe Foreign Service in 1988 and David Jones retired in 1998 from hisconsular post in Ottawa.

26 State Magazine

On Foreign Affairs Day, Secretary Powell presentedawards to five deserving volunteers recognized by theAssociation of American Foreign Service Worldwide fortheir remarkable contributions to their American andhost communities while servingabroad. The award was established in1990 by Mrs. Susan Baker, wife of for-mer Secretary of State James N. BakerIII, who was impressed by the out-standing volunteer service ForeignService families perform abroad.

Christopher Paul “Norman” Bates, DakarAn information management spe-

cialist, Norman Bates is described as“the biggest smile at post” and assomeone who “sees a need and triesto meet it.” Whether caring for themenagerie of animals within the mis-sion compound, providing soccer andplayground equipment for the poor Senegalese childrenof nearby “Batesville” or supporting and organizingevents for the West African Invitational Softball

Tournament, Norman is an extremely giving individual.Soliciting sporting equipment from manufacturers, hesecured hundreds of dollars’ worth of balls, bats andgloves for neighborhood kids. He also used his carpentry

skills to benefit theEmbassy CommunityWelfare and RecreationAssociation and helpedraise money for itsnon-profit activities.Norman personifies“value added” to thework of the U.S.Mission in Dakar.

Anne C. Bridgman, PragueAnne Bridgman filled

two critical needs byimproving the lives ofthe American commu-

nity in Prague and by helping to feed a mostly ignoredsegment of the Czech population. She helped organizethe Green Tree Early Learning Center for preschoolers,



Kristine Luoma-Overstreet, MeridaIn a city without an international school, Kristine

Luoma-Overstreet worked with a local school to create aReading Is Fun program that increased English-languageliteracy and combated the hostility toward reading ingeneral. She organizedstory hours, introducedthe concept of a lendinglibrary, obtained dona-tions of books andbegan what is now anannual catalog booksale. Members of thecommunity raised morethan $2,000 to purchasebooks. As the mainstayof the Merida English Library, an all-volunteer operationserving as Merida’s premier public library, Kristineorganized multiple fund-raising events to benefit thelibrary. More than 100 local U.S. and Mexican residentswrote a letter to the ambassador praising Kris’s selfless-ness, unparalleled work and seemingly inexhaustibleenergy.

Frank J. Weicks, Chiang MaiDuring his five years with the Drug Enforcement

Agency office in Chiang Mai, Frank Weicks made a sig-nificant contribution tounderprivileged childrenin northern Thailand. Heraised an unprecedented$10,000 for a fledglingfoster care programat a local governmentorphanage by organizinga gala dinner and auc-tion. As vice chairman ofthe Foundation for theEducation of RuralChildren, Frank ledfund-raising efforts tobuild a preschool in a remote Karen hill tribe village, tosupplement basic education with music and field tripsand to provide volunteer medical professionals for rou-tine health care. A member of Rotary Chiang Mai West,he applied for grants from Rotary International to bringretired teachers from the United States to teach in needyThai communities and to aid them in a program forinfants with poor vision. Frank leaves a legacy of goodworks and goodwill in northern Thailand.

making it an affordable reality for embassy families. Herbook, Prague for Kids, provides a wealth of information in

English for Prague’snon-Czech-speakingpopulation andgenerates profits forcharities. Annewrites a monthlymagazine columncalled “Things To Dowith Kids.” Beyondthe mission, she res-urrected a failingsoup kitchen to feedneedy Czechs, find-ing a location, devel-oping menus, draw-ing up schedules for

volunteers and drafting operating procedures. Anne’sinnate empathy and heartfelt sympathy were vividlydemonstrated during her time in Prague.

Karie Ennis, New DelhiFor two years, Karie Ennis, an office management spe-

cialist at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, spent severalhours each weekend in the city’s Missionaries of CharityOrphanage for Handicapped Children. She providedphysical therapy for the children, taught Indian staff tofeed the children properly and spent time talking, play-ing with and holding the children. She organized theM a r i n e s ’Toys forTots cam-paign tobenefit theorphanageand ob-tained agrant fromthe J. KirbyS i m o nTrust tobuy mat-t r e s s e s ,therapy mats and other supplies. Karie also promoted,organized and facilitated the first health fair for theembassy community, attended by more than 500 missionstaff. Karie Ennis’s volunteer work in India and the per-sonal concern she demonstrated for those around herwas truly extraordinary.

28 State Magazine

At an annual luncheon in the Benjamin Franklin Room,the State Department recognizes a distinguished retiredForeign Service and Civil Service employee with theDirector General’s Cup. At the same time, DACOR,Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired, honors adiplomat with its Foreign Service Cup.

This year was no different.

Civil ServiceJohn Gravely, who retired in 1994 after 27 years in both

the Civil Service and Foreign Service, won the DirectorGeneral’s Cup for Civil Service. Mr. Gravely started hiscareer in the Foreign Service in 1968, moved to the U.S.Information Agency and then transferred in 1980 to theDepartment of Transportation.

During the Carter Administration, Mr. Gravely frameda human rights policy to equalize spending for refugeeassistance. He pioneered minority recruitment andminority college fellowships for youths interested inForeign Service careers, reportedly before there was mon-ey to pay for those programs. They’re known today as thePickering Fellowships.

Mr. Gravely takes particular pride, he said, in havingelevated the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity tothe Office of Civil Rights, headed by an assistant secretary.

He left government in 1985 to attend HowardUniversity’s School of Divinity, returning to the StateDepartment in 1990, where he worked in the directorgeneral’s office.

A pastor at the Church of the Redeemer, Mr. Gravelyhas worked in city shelters and senior citizen centers. Hehas championed affordable housing, better schools andpolice protection in Washington, D.C. As a communitymediator, he settled more than 30 disputes that werealready on city court dockets. He worked with homelessresidents and helped prisoners at the former Lortonprison in Virginia gain educational opportunities.

Foreign ServiceImagine advancing from clerk to ambassador. It takes

perseverance. It takes time—44 years, in this case. It takesJoan Clark.

In 1945 she began her State Department career in Berlinas a 23-year-old administrative assistant. She retired in



1989 as director of management operations, known todayas under secretary for Management.

A trailblazing woman, her résumé chronicles a recordof achievement. During the 1950s she was an economicassistant in London and an administrative assistant inBelgrade. During the 1960s she was a training coordina-tor and administrative officer.

The 1970s heralded her diplomatic career and presi-dential appointment as ambassador. She advanced frompersonnel officer and deputy executive director to execu-tive director of the Bureau of European Affairs in 1972. In1979, this career employee became the ambassador to theRepublic of Malta. In 1983, she was named assistant sec-retary for Consular Affairs.

Not bad for a graduate of the Katharine Gibbs Schoolin New York City.

“As director general, she presided over the changes toour personnel system brought about by the new ForeignService Act and the dawning of our outreach to womenand members of minority groups,” remarked Ruth Davis,director general of the Foreign Service, in presenting thecup to Ms. Clark.

Retired Ambassador Dennis Kux, left, receives DACOR’s Foreign ServiceCup from President Robert Funseth.John Gravely, left, DG’s Civil Service Cup winner, and former

Ambassador Joan Clark, right, DG’s Foreign Service Cup winner,with Director General Ruth Davis. After retiring, she worked as a State Department con-

sultant and served as president of DACOR. She current-ly chairs the Foundation for Senior Living.

DACOR Foreign Service CupFormer Ambassador Dennis Kux, an authority on India

and Pakistan, prolific writer and network news showguest, is the winner of the DACOR Foreign Service Cup.

After joining the Foreign Service in 1955, he served inKarachi, Madras, Bonn and Islamabad as well as inWashington, D.C. In the 1970s, Mr. Kux was named coun-try director for India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. He attendedthe National War College and the Senior Seminar.

After spending 1978 to 1980 in Ankara as head of thesection, he worked as a deputy assistant secretary in theBureau of Intelligence and Research and as deputy direc-tor for Management. President Reagan appointed himambassador to the Ivory Coast in 1986.

He returned to Washington in 1989 as a NationalDefense University Fellow and director of the Center forthe Study of Foreign Affairs at FSI and executive directorof the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.

His latest book traces the United States’ relations witheastern countries.

30 State Magazine

A Sierra Leonian caretaker cradles a chimp.

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They Didn’t Teach This at FSI!

SAVING

By Brennan Gilmore

They Didn’t Teach This at FSI!

THE CHIMPSSAVING

THE CHIMPS


It’s a pleasant Saturday afternoon. I’m in a helicopterabove the jungle and war-scarred landscape of easternSierra Leone. An infant chimpanzee dozes in my lap.They didn’t teach this at FSI.

It all started when staff from the U.S. Embassy inFreetown traveled to these isolated areas where Pakistanipeacekeeping troops provide security under the U.N.Mission in Sierra Leone. During one visit to the Pakistanibattalion headquarters in Koidu Town, staff observedthree infant chimpanzees the Pakistanis had rescued fromlocal hunters. (Chimpanzee “bushmeat” is a localsource of protein.) The chimps were playful andprovided an interesting diversion during work-ing visits to Koidu.

Although the Pakistani peacekeepers tookexcellent care of the chimps, it was obvious theybelonged in the forest with their mates. Also,the Pakistanis planned to withdraw when theirmission ended, leaving the chimps’ future inquestion.

Bala Amarasekeran and the staff at theTacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary near Freetownhave raised awareness of the dwindling chim-panzee population in Sierra Leone. By some esti-mates, it has decreased by 75 percent since 1991,when the country’s civil war began. Tacugamapersonnel created large natural-habitat enclo-sures that host large chimpanzee populationsrecovered from captivity. Because of their exten-sive contact with humans, these chimps can onlybe introduced into areas that are sufficientlyremote and contain enough food.

Unfortunately, such areas are dwindlingthroughout Africa and none could be found inSierra Leone. Currently, 63 chimpanzees are liv-ing at the sanctuary, situated on 100 acres of for-est donated by the government of Sierra Leone.Besides caring for the chimps and educating vis-itors about conservation, sanctuary staff hascurbed hunting and logging in the protectedWestern Area Reserve—home to a wild chim-panzee population. Their efforts continued amidst heavyfighting and even after armed rebels looted their offices.

The staff at Tacugama was aware of the chimps inKoidu, just as the Pakistanis were aware of the reserve inthe Western Area. But neither group could transport thechimps to the sanctuary—a 12-hour trip over terribleroads.

That’s where embassy staff came in. They pulled togeth-er resources that State, Defense and the U.S. Agency forInternational Development already had in place in theKono District, where there’s heavy diamond mining anddevastation left by war, to move the animals. The embassystaff arranged to transport the chimpanzees on one of theMI-8 helicopters under contract to the U.S. government tosupport peacekeeping in Sierra Leone.

On the day of the Great Chimp Rescue of ‘02, a wildlifebiologist and her assistant from Tacugama Sanctuary camealong to care for and sedate the chimpanzees on the trip.At battalion headquarters, Brig. Gen. Ijaz Awan handedover the chimpanzees, saying he was concerned about oth-er chimpanzees remaining in Sierra Leone. After a longgoodbye, passengers and chimps lifted off for Freetown.The chimpanzees were quarantined at Tacugama, wherethey would remain for three months before being integrat-ed with the sanctuary’s chimpanzee population. Their sol-

dier-friends have visited them frequently. Chimpanzeeshave incredible memory and it was obvious that theyremembered their military hosts.

The U.S. Mission in Sierra Leone is studying ways tohelp conservation groups and the country’s forestry andwildlife officials protect endangered species, including thechimpanzee. The embassy has contacted the U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service’s Office of International Conservation,which administers grants that Congress makes availablethrough the Great Ape Conservation Act.

The Great Chimp Rescue of ‘02 is likely just the first stepin a U.S. effort to preserve this fascinating species. ■

The author is a political-economic-consular officer at the U.S.Embassy in Freetown.

The author and friends.

Currently, 63 chimpanzees areliving at the sanctuary, situated on100 acres of forest donated bythe government of Sierra Leone.

Currently, 63 chimpanzees areliving at the sanctuary, situated on100 acres of forest donated bythe government of Sierra Leone.

32 State Magazine

Oceanto

Ocean

The crew of the Stars and Stripes paddles fromAtlantic to Pacific. They are, from left, MichaelHatlen, Jose Joya, John Magee and Eddie Dolan.

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By Jeremey Neitzke

Transiting the Panama Canal is normally reserved forlarge cargo vessels taking the isthmus’s shortcutinstead of the long, costly and perilous journey

around South America. That is, unless you paddle yourway coast to coast in the annual Ocean-to-OceanCayuco Race.

During the last 50 years, the Panama Canal has hostedone of the world’s unique boat races. Nearly 200 partici-pants in 45 craft paddle thestoried waterway indugout-style canoes calledcayucos. A cayuco is the tra-ditional craft of Panama’sindigenous peoples. Therace began, according to theofficial web site, www.cayu-corace.org, when FrankTownsend of the PanamaCanal Company took someBoy Scouts to visit anindigenous community onthe river Chagres. Theylearned about their cultureand traditions and how touse the cayuco as a meansof transport. Over time,friendly competition turnedinto a formal race, the firstin 1954.

The grueling 50-mile race is a three-day test ofendurance and character for participants. The first ofthree legs begins at the Atlantic entrance of the Canalnear the port of Cristobal and ends seven miles later at

the first set of locks, Gatun Locks. Day two takes pad-dlers across Lake Gatun, the man-made lake created aspart of the Canal’s construction. At 21 miles, it is thelongest, most demanding leg. On day three, the paddlerstraverse the Culebra Cut and pass through the PedroMiguel and Miraflores locks on the Pacific sideof the Canal.

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the race andPanama’s centennial of independence in 2003, thePanama Canal Authority granted participants permis-

sion to transit the canal’slocks for the first time infive years. In a test of per-sonal courage and physicalstamina, nine members ofthe U.S. Embassy commu-nity participated in the 50thannual regatta in six differ-ent boats.

The race meant differentthings to different people.For members of the Marinesecurity guard detachmentin Panama, it was a chanceto do something special.

“We painted our boatred, white and blue andnamed it Stars-and-Stripesto show support for the sol-diers fighting in the Middle

East. They had the real challenge, not us,” said MarineSgt. Jose Joya.

“We can’t fight with our guys over in Iraq, but we canshow them our support,” added colleague Mike Hatlen.Participating in the race for the second time, this Marine

The crew of the Serendipity, from left, David Wattley, Mario Haile, GalenBrown and Mark Bustin, ready their boat and themselves for the three-day ordeal.

Nine Canoeists Finish Ocean-to-Ocean Race

Exhaustedbut Elated

34 State Magazine

Corps team bettered their second-place time from a yearago. But it was the chance to show their support that real-ly mattered. And this year it had even more meaning.Teammate Eddie Dolan, an Army Reservist and Customsagent, was recently called to active duty and will soon beserving his country in a much different capacity.

For other paddlers, the race was about facing a chal-lenge and prevailing. “Just finishing the race was anaccomplishment,” Abby Mangrich, 16, said. “There weremaybe six times on the lake I felt like giving up.”

Dave and Kesiah Wattley participate in the event eachyear as a family tradition. Their father was born in theformer Canal Zone and paddled in the 25th annual eventas a young man.

The crew of the Dauntless prepares to launch. They are, from left, AnnieSmith, Amanda Clowers, Abby Mangrich and Katie Bivin.

Dwarfed by a huge container ship, the dugout-style boats proudlytraverse one of the Panama Canal’s locks.

“It’s just a good feeling to know that you finished therace,” said Dave, 15. His sister Kesiah, 14, described asher highest moment “the feeling of accomplishment atthe end.” For these young athletes, that accomplishmentinstills a sense of pride they may not have had before. AsJillian Alvarado-Ortiz, 16, put it, “I kept thinking wewould fail. The feeling of triumph—knowing we haddone it—was the best! I feel like I proved something tomyself.”

What struck Paul Avella, 16, was the chance to makenew friends from different cultures. “Before the racethese guys and their friends didn’t really get along withus. Now we’re all best of friends.” Jillian added, “I neverimagined I would meet so many people from all over theworld.”

Mario Haile, 14, said the race was a great way to meetnew people in a fun environment, even though it wasperhaps the most physically demanding thing he’dever done.

Whether a personal challenge or a show of support,the unique experience of paddling through the Canalalongside huge transiting ships left its mark on each ofthe participants. “It’s addictive. It gets in your blood,”said Abby. And, perhaps, speaking for all nine embassyparticipants, Jillian noted that though the Ocean-to-Ocean Cayuco Race is emotionally and physicallyexhausting, “the experience is worth all the effort atthe end.” ■

The author is the assistant information officer at the U.S.Embassy in Panama City.


Story and photos by Bill Lovelock

In West Africa, some of the smaller bank notes circulateso long and get so dirty that it’s often difficult to deter-mine their denomination. Then there’s the humid climateand people’s habit of keeping the bills in their pocketswhere they stay moist and warm. All this makes thepaper bills an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.

To prove my point, I decided to perform a little scienceexperiment and culture the surface of a few bills to seewhat kinds of microorganisms were hitching a free rideon them. I selected three bills that appeared only moder-ately dirty.

I photographed each step of the process. After all, apicture is worth a thousand words.

Step 1 Take three bills, two culture plates and a cul-ture swab.

Step 2 Using a sterile, cotton-tipped swab, roll theswab around on the bills.

Step 3 Roll the inoculated swab on a blood agar andMacConkey microbiology media plate.

Step 4 Place the two plates in a 37-degreeCentigrade incubator.

Step 5 Observe and record growth after 24 hours ofincubation.

Step 6 Observe and record growth after 48 hours ofincubation.

Conclusion: The experiment revealed more than 23 different species

of bacteria and fungi growing on the two microbiologymedia plates. I did not identify all of the isolated species,but many of them were pathogenic and many indicatedfecal contamination.

The overwhelming conclusion: Money is dirty.Recommendation: After handling money, wash your

hands thoroughly to protect your health. ■

The author is the regional medical technologist at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos.

Rolling the inoculated swab on a blood agar and MacConkey microbiol-ogy media plate.

Placing the two plates in a 37-degree Centigrade incubator.

Observing and recording growth after 48 hours of incubation.

36 State Magazine

By Bain Cowell

How could a State Department employee satisfy anurgent training requirement while also enjoying thegreen parks, stately boulevards, historic neighborhoodsand cultural riches of one of the Southern Hemisphere’smost elegant cities?

Seventeen mid-level Department employees recentlydiscovered how. They participated in a Foreign ServiceInstitute pilot project, the first intermediate leadershipseminar to be held overseas. The Bureau of WesternHemisphere Affairs provided planning assistance andfunding for the class thatconverged last March onBuenos Aires, where theywere welcomed byDeputy Chief of MissionMilton Drucker.

Instructors GeneKendall and RichardWelebir from FSI’sLeadership and Manage-ment School conductedthe seminar at a down-town hotel, using com-puters, projector, soft-ware, workbooks andother materials. TheSecretary’s initiative toprovide leadership train-ing to all State officers worldwide was under way.

The class, drawn from eight embassies and two con-sulates in nine countries, represented most ForeignService generalist and specialist fields. Some had alreadymanaged teams of American and Foreign ServiceNational employees while others had minimal supervi-sory experience. These differences enriched the seminaras did our distinctive geographic roots, marital status,educational and professional backgrounds, militaryexperience, religious faith, gender, race and ethnic ornational origin.

The instructors introduced the class to theories aboutwhat to do—and not to do—as supervisors. The students’downside favorite was the “seagull model.” That’s wherethe high-flying manager swoops overhead, drops amessy task on the unsuspecting subordinate and flies off.They liked the recommended “helicopter model” withthree interlocking circles—the task, the individual and

the team—making it a cinch to recall even under the pres-sure of a task that should have been done yesterday.

When taking the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ques-tionnaire, many lapsed into complacency. “We’ve beenthere and done that.” Imagine the consternation whenofficers who considered themselves introverts scored asextroverts or those who took pride in objective data gath-ering and logical thinking turned out to have closet ten-dencies for intuitive perception or emotion-driven judg-ment. Or when, in a different test, wannabe“authoritative” or “pacesetting” leaders were shown toprefer “affiliative” or “democratic” or shockingly “coer-

cive” leadership styles.The seminar proved tobe a voyage of self-discovery.

The class shared real-life stories from theirposts that cast new lighton the mostly U.S.-derived managementtheories and role-playing. They relatedhow foreign cultures,which FSNs bring to theworkplace, sometimesconflict with Americanpreferences and chal-lenge the creativity ofAmerican managers who

must lead both. They learned the need for Americanemployees to collaborate with their FSN colleagues andcommunicate to them the strategic vision of what specif-ic tasks are meant to accomplish. They shared their col-leagues’ personal challenges and took home their sug-gestions for ways to better handle the situations.

After each busy workday, the class sampledArgentina’s multicultural heritage by touring colorful oldwaterfront districts redolent with Italian and Spanish tra-ditions, a renowned opera house and art museums, the“Pink House” presidential palace, Evita Peron’s graveand, beyond the city limits, the plains and gauchos. Theyalso took the opportunity to learn about Argentina’s eco-nomic and political uncertainties, opinions about theelection campaign then under way and proposals toensure a brighter future. ■

The author is a political officer in Buenos Aires.

Leadership SeminarGoes Overseas

Participants share experiences during leadership training in Buenos Aires.

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O U R T O W N

Ed Bittner decided at mid-career, while serving inCaracas, that it wasn’t too early to start thinking abouta place to retire. A Pennsylvanian, he had ruled out theEast Coast. He didn’t like the congestion or the hot,humid summers.

He pored over his atlas, looking for a place withmountains and lakes and low population density. Hehad served as a control officer for the late Sen. FrankChurch of Idaho, who extolled the virtues of his state.So during a home leave, he took the senator’s adviceand checked out Idaho. The farther north he drove, thebetter he liked it.

Mr. Bittner, who retired in 1986, found his “retire-ment paradise” in Sandpoint, population 7,000, on theshores of Lake Pend Oreille—the second largest fresh-water lake west of the Mississippi. Surrounded bymountains, the area offers fishing and sailing in the

summer, international class skiing in the winter andhiking year-round. The community is home to manyartists and musicians and has excellent restaurants, anoutstanding library and good medical facilities. Insummer the days are warm enough to swim and thenights cool enough to require a blanket to sleep.Winters bring plenty of snow but not the penetratingcold common to the East.

Located on the main Amtrak line between Seattleand Chicago and convenient to Spokane InternationalAirport, Sandpoint is, in his words, “the best possibleplace for retirement.”

Editor’s note: Our Town is an occasional feature aboutretirees and their choice of retirement spots.If you’d like to contribute, please write or e-mail the editorat [email protected].

The sun sets over Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho.

‘Far From the Madding Crowd’

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By Harry A. Somers

On a day when Americans were honoring their fallencomrades in arms, more than 20 employees and spousesfrom the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou paid theirrespects on Memorial Day to the first resident U.S.Minister to China.

Consul General John Norris laid flowers at thegravesite of Alexander Hill Everett, who was buried in1847 near Shenjing Village on Changzhou Island.

Trade was at the center of Commissioner Everett’smission since Guangzhou was the locus of much ofAmerica’s early relations with China. Although the seatof the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was in Beijing, tradefrom the mid-18th through mid-19th centuries waslargely confined to the Canton area, as Guangzhou wasonce known.

Born in 1790, the early diplomat graduated fromHarvard in 1806, taking highest honors although he wasthe youngest member of his class. He then trained as alawyer under John Quincy Adams. He began his ForeignService career as personal secretary to Adams whenAdams was U.S. Minister to Russia from 1809 to 1811.Later assigned to The Hague, Mr. Everett was appointedU.S. Chargé d’Affaires in 1818 and served until 1824.After being elected President, John Quincy Adamsnamed Mr. Everett as U.S. Minister to Spain, where heserved from 1825 to 1829.

He returned to the United States in the 1830s, where heserved as editor of the prestigious literary journal theNorth American Review and as a member of theMassachusetts legislature. In the 1840s, the diplomat wassent as the U.S. government’s confidential agent to Cubaand later served as president of Jefferson College in

38 State Magazine

Honoring an EarlyDiplomat in China

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Honoring an EarlyDiplomat in China


Louisiana. Throughout his life, he was aprolific writer of books and articles.

In March 1845, he was appointed U.S.Commissioner to China and arrived therein October 1846. After only eight monthson the job, he died, as his gravestonenotes, on June 28, 1847, “under thehospitable roof of the Reverend Dr. Parkerat Canton.”

According to the South China MorningPost, local historians in 1984 stumbledonto 237 graves of foreign residents onChangzhou Island dating back to 1751.The island is located in the Pearl River justupstream from Guangzhou’s Huangpuport. In 1991, the government bought backa seven-acre plot of land on Bamboo Hillwhere more than 150 American andEuropean graves, including Mr. Everett’s,are located.

In 1998 the Guangzhou governmentbegan to restore the graves on BambooHill, guided by a reproduction of an oil

painting that U.S. diplomats had presented toGuangzhou historians in the mid-1990s. The paintingdepicted the cemetery before it was abandoned to naturein the late 19th century. Although many of the grave-stones were unsalvageable, the U.S. diplomat’s was insurprisingly good condition and is among the 47 thatwere eventually restored.

Another U.S. Minister, Caleb Cushing, also fromBoston, had actually preceded Commissioner Everett toChina. Mr. Cushing, however, traveled no farther thanMacau, where he arrived in February 1844, and left sixmonths later after negotiating the Treaty of Wanghia. Mr.Everett was then named to succeed Cushing. Accordingto the State Department’s Office of the Historian, “Everettwas still the first resident chief of a U.S. diplomaticmission to China.”

In the mid-19th century, according to the South ChinaMorning Post, most diplomats, merchants and missionar-ies kept permanent residences in Macau—the Englishtook Hong Kong only in 1841. Foreign ships had to stopat Changzhou Island, whose deep water made an excel-lent anchorage. It’s where their goods cleared customsbefore being loaded onto smaller Chinese craft for trans-shipment upriver to Guangzhou. Most foreigners cameto Changzhou for brief periods only to conduct businessor meet with Chinese officials.

It would be another 14 years after CommissionerEverett’s death in 1847 before foreigners were allowedto live and work on Shamian Island in Guangzhouproper, where the U.S. Consulate General is locatedtoday—surrounded by more than two centuries of U.S.-China relations. ■

The author is chief of the political-economics section inGuangzhou.

Consul General John Norris leads a group from the consulate up the steps of the Foreigners’Cemetery to pay respects at the grave of Alexander Hill Everett.

Memorial flowers rest at the Everett gravesite.

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By Dr. Robert Burney

We all expect the information we sharewith our physician to be private andconfidential. When the ambulancetransports us to the emergency room,

however, we want the doctor there to have immediateaccess to our medical information. The issue, then, is notso much about privacy as control over the informationthat is released. As Harvard Medical School professor Dr.Don Berwick says, “Nothing about me without me.”

Privacy has been defined as the right to be left alone.This is increasingly more difficult as our world becomes

electronic and intruders more pervasive. In reality, mostof us don’t want total anonymity. But we do want controlover the disclosure of our personal information. For example, I enjoy ordering “the usual” at Rae’s Deli,but I don’t want Rae telling the rest of the world whatthat means.

The need for legislation requiring “confidential, fairand respectful treatment of health information” was driv-en partly by general concerns about privacy and partlyby the expanding use and availability of personal med-ical information. With the advent of electronic medicalrecord systems, personal health care information is nowstored at sites remote from the care site and possibly in

40 State Magazine

Medical Report

Private andConfidential

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multiple locations. In the State Department, for example,employees have medical records in Washington (bothpaper and electronic), at their post of assignment and alsoat any physician offices or hospitals they have visited inthe past 10 years. The disclosure ofpersonal health care information isnow easier and more out of the con-trol of the patient or the providerwho created the record.

Balanced against the need for pri-vacy are the legitimate needs of theindividual and of society in generalfor access to health care informa-tion. In emergencies, the treatingphysician should have ready accessto information about a patient.Also, some information is requiredby third parties to pay bills. Therecent SARS epidemic has high-lighted the need for public healthagencies to have individual healthcare information.

Relief has been a long time com-ing. Congress passed the HealthInsurance Portability andAccountability Act in 1996 but allowed another threeyears for implementation details to be developed. WhenCongress failed to act by 1999, responsibility for thesedetails passed to the Department of Health and HumanServices, which published proposed rules in November1999. Extensive comments and revisions delayed the finalpublication until April 2001. Organizations affected bythe rules were given two years to comply. That time hascome. These new rules apply to all health care systems,public, private and government.

This new law supplements the Privacy Act of 1974 andthe Freedom of Information Act and provides importantnew rights for patients. These include the right to:

• Receive a copy of the privacy rules. See the MEDweb site (http://MED.state.gov) or contact anyhealth unit.

• See and copy your own records. MED mustprovide a copy of your records within 30 days ofyour request.

• Correct or amend your records. Although nothingmay be removed from your record, you mayrequest a correction or request an amendment toyour record.

• An accounting of disclosures. MED mustprovide to you a list of any disclosures made fromyour records.

• Restrict disclosures. Within limits, you mayrestrict disclosures of certain information to iden-tified individuals for a defined period of time.

• Complain. If you feel that your privacy rightshave been violated, you have the right tocomplain to the medical privacy officer([email protected]).

In some cases, information may be disclosed or usedwithout your consent. These are listed in the privacynotice on the MED web site. In general, these uses areintended to expedite your health care or to protect public

health. For example, MED may disclose personal healthcare information to a specialist who is participating inyour care. It may also use such information to facilitatepayment from your health insurance carrier or for inter-nal quality control purposes.

There are some specific exceptions in the law for theState Department (and the military) to allow use of med-ical information for suitability and clearance determina-tions. In all instances of disclosure without consent, how-ever, only the minimum necessary information may bedisclosed. In the case of clearances, MED will disclose aclass 2 clearance but will not disclose the medical condi-tion that led to that decision.

State laws prevail in the area of parental access tochildren’s records. The provider is given somediscretion, however, when disclosure might be harmfulto the patient.

The new regulations advance both access and privacyof health care information for patients. The MED web sitedetails the Department’s privacy policy and the HHSweb site (www.HHS.gov) provides extensive informationabout the regulation itself. The regulations require MEDto provide the privacy policy notice to all patients and todocument their receipt of the notice in their medicalrecord. Where available, health units will handle thisdocumentation. A cable asks for assistance at posts wherethere is no health unit.

As a patient, you have important new rights regardingyour health care information. Read the MED privacy pol-icy and become familiar with those rights. ■

The author, a physician, heads the quality improvementsection of the Office of Medical Services.

“In reality, most ofus don’t want totalanonymity. But wedo want control overthe disclosure of ourpersonal information.”

42 State Magazine

By Marsha Michel

Teresita Mans, a Foreign ServiceNational employee in the U.S.Embassy in Panama, has accom-plished something venerable

Broadway actresses Julie Harris, JessicaTandy and Angela Lansbury never did.The information assistant and translatorin the public affairs section walked awaywith three top awards at Los PremiosEscena 2002, Panama’s equivalent of theTony Awards.

Tere, as friends and colleagues knowher, was awarded Best Actress in a come-dy for her role as Antona in El Cepillo deDientes and Best Actress in a drama forher role in Brujas. In addition, she won the Best SoundDesign award for her technical work on The Blue Bird.Harris, Tandy and Lansbury never won more than a sin-gle Tony in a year.

People Like YouPeople Like You

This is the first time in the history ofPanama’s Premios that one person haswon three awards. But it’s not Tere’s firstaward. For two consecutive years, 2001and 2002, she earned the NationalTheater Award for Sound Design.

Teresita Mans’s success is no surpriseto those who know her. She comes from afamily of artists. Her mother, a nurse,plays classical guitar and her grandfatherwas also a musician and, according toTere, “a true bohemian.” She has cousinswho work in the beaux arts, paint andmake films.

Tere debuted at 17 in several highschool productions. She also belonged toa group called Mundo Feliz that enter-

tained at children’s birthday parties. The group laterdeveloped into a theater troupe that traveled aroundPanama, performing at schools, fairs, theaters and during parades.

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The Interpreters by British playwright Ronald Harwoodfeatures Teresita Mans, center, Robin Busse, left, a formerconsular officer, and poet Brendan O’Regan.

A Star Is Born in Panama

Offstage, Teresita Mans works in theU.S. Embassy.

Through her Mundo Feliz activities, Tere learned allfacets of theater—makeup, dramaturgy, playwriting,recording and staging. She even had a nationwide radioshow for children. Feeling too immature to commit to herpassion, she “retired” from the theater world at 23.

Tere returned to the stage about five years later, start-ing at the bottom as a stagehand. She went through act-ing, voice and physical expression training for two yearsand continues to attend workshops abroad. She alsotrained as a stage manager, artistic director, sounddesigner and producer.

She has played a variety of roles in comedies, theaterof the absurd, dramas, video clips, café concerts, concep-tual theater, performance theater, monologues, theaternoir and farce.

“A complete person in the theater world must knowabout everything,” she says, “but I was born to be asound designer. I remember things through sounds. Ihear a play more than see it. Just as directors imaginescenes, I ‘hear’ them. That is also how I create my char-acters. I hear their tempo, their walk, their patterns ofspeech. And then I go into their psychological back-ground. I am drawn to voices, silences, pitches, move-ment through sound, manipulation through sound andimpact through rhythm. It is just so natural for me.”

As a member of Nuevo Teatro Panama, Tere mentorsyounger artists seeking careers in the theater. She alsoorganizes conferences, workshops and literary readings.

What does all this success mean to Tere? “An award forme means that I need to improve. It’s a soft pat on theback, but also a wink. Something that I tell myself notto take too seriously because what’s here today isgone tomorrow.”

In the embassy public affairs section, Tere does a littleof everything too—from clipping the papers, draftingmedia reaction reports and translating speeches and oth-er documents to arranging press conferences. She alsohelps the cultural section by introducing visiting U.S.speakers and performers to Panamanian counterpartsand interpreting for those who do not speak Spanish.

She has no idea how she does it all. Her day job at theembassy and her night and weekend involvement in the-ater are both demanding. They require her full attention,but she has learned how to balance both pursuits.

Tere and one of her protégés were recently awardedfellowships to attend a three-week acting workshop inCosta Rica. This is a regional event and only two artistsfrom each country are invited. Sponsored by a Europeannongovernmental organization, the workshop promotesthe professionalization of theater in the hope that fellow-ship recipients will share their knowledge with others intheir own countries.

Tere is sure to share what she learns, and Panamaniantheater will be richer for it. ■

The author, an intern in the embassy’s public affairs sectionfor four months, recently returned to the United States topursue a graduate degree in international affairs.


A poster advertises Saints, Virgins and Martyrs. Teresita Mans playedthree roles in this comedy by Chilean dramatist Jorge Diaz.

Post

er b

y Sa

lom

on V

erga

ra

In a scene from Interpreters, Ms. Mans portrays a woman betrayed.

Phot

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Gal

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44 State Magazine

U.S. Ambassador to the Republicof Kenya. William M. Bellamy ofCalifornia, a career member of theSenior Foreign Service, class ofMinister-Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the Republic ofKenya. He was principal deputyassistant secretary for AfricanAffairs from 2001 to 2003 anddeputy assistant secretary from

2000 to 2001. He was deputy chief of mission in Canberrafrom 1997 to 2000 and chief of the political section in theU.S. Embassy in Paris from 1993 to 1997. He headed thepolitical section at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria from 1989to 1993 and served earlier in Harare. He and his wifePamela, also a Foreign Service officer, have two children.

Special Representative for GlobalHIV/AIDS. Dr. Jack C. Chow ofPennsylvania, previously deputyassistant secretary for Health andScience, is the new SpecialRepresentative for GlobalHIV/AIDS, with the rank ofambassador. Before his appoint-ment to the Department, he was amanagement consultant with the

Washington, D.C., office of McKinsey & Company. Hewas senior adviser for global health policy in the Office ofthe Under Secretary for Global Affairs from 2000 to 2001.He served on the staffs of the House and SenateAppropriations Committees from 1989 to 1991 and 1996to 2000, respectively. He headed the international rela-tions division at the Fogarty International Center of theNational Institutes of Health from 1993 to 1996. Dr. Chowwas deputy assistant secretary for public health policyand for health legislation at the Department of Healthand Human Services from 1991 to 1993. He was a seniorpolicy adviser at the White House Office of Science andTechnology Policy in 1991. A physician, Dr. Chowtrained in diagnostic radiology.

U.S. Ambassador to the Republicof Turkey. Eric S. Edelman ofVirginia, a career member of theSenior Foreign Service, class ofMinister-Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the Republic ofTurkey. He was principal deputyassistant to the vice president forNational Security Affairs. Beforeassuming his position at the White

House, Mr. Edelman was U.S. Ambassador to theRepublic of Finland from 1998 to 2001. He was executiveassistant to the deputy secretary of State from 1996 to1998 and served as deputy chief of mission at the U.S.Embassy in Prague from 1994 to 1996. He was deputy tothe ambassador-at-large and special adviser to theSecretary on the New Independent States from April toJuly 1993. He served as assistant deputy under secretaryof Defense for Soviet and East European Affairs in theOffice of the Secretary of Defense from 1990 to 1993 andwas special assistant for European Affairs to the undersecretary of State for Political Affairs. He served at theU.S. Embassy in Moscow as a special assistant toSecretary of State George P. Shultz and as a member ofthe U.S. Middle East Delegation to the West Bank/GazaAutonomy Talks. Mr. Edelman and his wife PatriciaDavis have four children.

U.S. Ambassador to the TogoleseRepublic. Gregory W. Engle ofColorado, a career member of theSenior Foreign Service, class ofMinister-Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the TogoleseRepublic. He directed the Office ofRegional and Security Affairs in theBureau of African Affairs from 2002to 2003 and was special coordinator

of the African Crisis Response Initiative from 2001 to2002. Mr. Engle also directed the InternationalCooperative Administrative Support Services systemfrom 1999 to 2001. He was consul general inJohannesburg from 1996 to 1999 and deputy chief of mis-sion in Lilongwe from 1992 to 1995. He held administra-tive positions in Pakistan, Germany, Washington,Ethiopia and Cyprus. Both Mr. Engle and his wifePatricia are former Peace Corps volunteers. They havetwo children.

A P P O I N T M E N T S


U.S. Ambassador to the Republicof Croatia. Ralph Frank ofWashington state, a career memberof the Senior Foreign Service, classof Minister-Counselor, is the newU.S. Ambassador to the Republic ofCroatia. He directed the Office ofCareer Development in the Bureauof Human Resources from 2001 to2003 and was U.S. Ambassador to

Nepal from 1997 to 2001. He was executive assistant tothe under secretary for Management from 1995 to 1996and executive director of the Bureau of Near Eastern andSouth Asian Affairs from 1993 to 1995. Mr. Frank was adeputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of DiplomaticSecurity from 1990 to 1992, in the Bureau ofAdministration for 1996 and in the Bureau of Personnelfrom 1996 to 1997. He has also served abroad in Belgrade,Medan, Warsaw and in an earlier assignment inKathmandu. He and his wife Susan Gundersen have twochildren.

U.S. Ambassador to the ArgentineRepublic. Lino Gutierrez ofFlorida, a career member of theSenior Foreign Service, class ofMinister-Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the ArgentineRepublic. He was internationalaffairs adviser at the National WarCollege from 2002 to 2003 and prin-cipal deputy assistant secretary for

Western Hemisphere Affairs from 1999 to 2002. From2001 to 2002, he was acting assistant secretary for WesternHemisphere Affairs. Mr. Gutierrez was U.S. Ambassadorto Nicaragua from 1996 to 1999 and also served in SantoDomingo, Lisbon, Port-au-Prince, Paris and Nassau. Mr.Gutierrez and his wife Miriam have three daughters.

U.S. Ambassador to the Republicof Azerbaijan. Reno L. Harnish IIIof California, a career member ofthe Senior Foreign Service, class ofMinister-Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the Republic ofAzerbaijan. He was chief of mis-sion in the U.S. Office in Pristinafrom 2002 to 2003 and deputy chiefof mission in Cairo and Stockholm.

From 1992 to 1995 he framed U.S. policy on Central Asianpolitics and scientific cooperation with the NewIndependent States. Earlier, he served in Rome, EastBerlin, Vienna, Saipan and Lagos. He and his wife Lesliehave two children.

U.S. Ambassador to the Republicof Mauritania. Joseph LeBaron ofOregon, a career member of theSenior Foreign Service, class ofMinister-Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the IslamicRepublic of Mauritania. Before hisappointment, he was a deputyassistant secretary in the Bureau ofIntelligence and Research. He was

deputy director of the Office of Iran and Iraq from 1996 to1998 and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy inManama from 1994 to 1996. At the end of the Gulf War,Mr. LeBaron was detailed to northern Iraq to work withOperation Provide Comfort and was one of the first U.S.officials to enter Dahuk after Iraqi forces withdrew. In1989, he served on the national security and foreignaffairs staff of U.S. Senate Majority Leader George J.Mitchell. He also served in Doha, Amman, Ankara,Istanbul and Dubai. During the Vietnam War, Mr.LeBaron served in the U.S. Air Force as a television news-caster for the American Forces Radio and TelevisionService. He and his wife Elinor have one daughter.


U.S. Ambassador to the Republicof the Fiji Islands, the Kingdom ofTonga, Tuvalu and the Republic ofNauru. David L. Lyon, a careermember of the Senior ForeignService, class of Minister-Counselor, is the U.S. Ambassadorto the Republic of the Fiji Islands,the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu andthe Republic of Nauru. He served

as consul general in Melbourne from 1999 to 2002. Hisother overseas postings include Lagos, Recife, Accra,Manila, Bangkok and Beijing. He was an office director inthe Bureau of International Narcotics and LawEnforcement Affairs from 1991 to 1994. From 1984 to1986, he was deputy director and then director of theOffice of Regional Affairs in the Bureau of African Affairs.Mr. Lyon and his wife Maureen have two children.

U.S. Ambassador to the Republicof Benin. Wayne E. Neill ofNevada, a career member of theSenior Foreign Service, class ofCounselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the Republic ofBenin. He was special adviser tothe assistant secretary for AfricanAffairs from 2002 to 2003 anddirected the bureau’s Office of

Regional Affairs from 2000 to 2002. He headed the politi-cal-economic section in the U.S. Embassy in Cairo from

46 State Magazine


1997 to 1999 and was the U.S. energy adviser at theOrganization for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment in Paris from 1993 to 1996. He also servedin Riyadh, Tunis, Budapest and Poznan. He and his wifeDoris have three children.

U.S. Ambassador to the KyrgyzRepublic. Stephen M. Young ofNew Hampshire, a career memberof the Senior Foreign Service, classof Counselor, is the new U.S.Ambassador to the KyrgyzRepublic. He directed the Office ofChinese and Mongolian Affairs inthe Bureau of East Asian andPacific Affairs from 2002 to 2003

and the Office of Pakistan, Afghanistan and BangladeshAffairs from 2001 to 2002. He was deputy director of theAmerican Institute in Taiwan from 1998 to 2001 anddirected the Office of Caucasus and Central Asian Affairsfrom 1995 to 1998. He has also served in Moscow twice.Mr. Young and his wife Barbara have three children.

Civil Service Retirements

PERSONNEL ACTIONS

Bacon, Nellie J.Beers, R. RandBurke, Gail HamerCunningham, Charlotte M.Downs, Joan H.

Echeverria, EloiseFoster, Jane H.Kowalik, Colette L.Lent, BrigitteLutz, Douglas K.

Obenstine, Robert L.Phelps, Jane G.Poyner, Teresa AnnYouravich, George, Jr.

Foreign Service Retirements

Brown, John H.Houston, Patricia L.Kirk, DianeMillion, Paul R.O’Neill, Rosemary D.Palmer, William R., III

Schrager, Stanley N.Wilson, Robert D.Wright, Mary A.Yanci, Joseph ThomasZuraw, Thomas J.


Richard A. Augustus, 63, a retiredForeign Service communicationsofficer, died Oct. 25, 2002, inPhoenix, Ariz. He joined theForeign Service in 1969. His postsincluded Manila, West Berlin,Kinshasa, Frankfurt andWashington, D.C. He retired in1989. While stationed in Manila, heestablished biweekly courier runs

to Brunei, making the first one himself in 1984. A U.S.Army veteran, he is buried at National MemorialCemetery of Arizona in Phoenix.

John Robert Diggins Jr., 81, a retiredForeign Service officer, died March24 of cancer at his home in Austin,Texas. Mr. Diggins joined theForeign Service in 1947. He servedin Puerto la Cruz, Caracas,Reykjavik, Antwerp, Nice, Parisand Toronto. He served as consulgeneral in Windsor, SantoDomingo, London and Toronto.

Before retiring in 1979, he was director of the Visa Office.He served in the Navy during World War II.

Dennis “Denny” Flinn, 92, diedApril 6 of a heart attack in OrmondBeach, Fla. Mr. Flinn joined theForeign Service in 1947 and wasposted to Sweden, Finland,Australia, Germany, Uganda andFrance. He was director of securityat the State Department during theMcCarthy era and held a similarposition with NATO in Paris. He

retired in 1967. During World War II, he served as legalattaché at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon—the first perma-nent FBI office in Europe.

Susan Martine Kalma, 59, nursepractitioner in Tel Aviv, died sud-denly March 12. She joined theState Department in 1998 andserved in the medical units inKinshasa and the DemocraticRepublic of Congo (formerlyZaire). Before joining theDepartment, she worked in thefields of health education, clinical

practice and international health care in North andCentral America, Central Asia and Africa. Readers mayrecall her first-person account of being rescued from a falloff of a ravine in the Negev Desert in the June 2001 issueof State Magazine.

Terrance George “Terry” Leonhardy,88, a retired Foreign Service officer,died March 7 of coronary arterydisease at his home in Washington,D.C. Mr. Leonhardy joined theForeign Service in 1942 and wasposted to Denmark, Spain,Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico.While serving as consul general inMexico City, he was kidnapped at

gunpoint by leftist guerrillas demanding freedom for 30comrades they claimed were being held as politicalprisoners by the Mexican government. He was releasedafter they were freed and flown to Cuba. He retired ayear later—in 1974—to his home in northwestWashington, D.C., where he became known as the“Mayor of 38th Street.” He was married for 36 years toLee Nelles, a fellow Foreign Service officer.

Charlotte A. Loris, 86, retiredForeign Service officer, died May 13in Mitchelville, Md. She joined theState Department in 1950 as amember of the Civil Service beforetransferring to the Foreign Service.Her first post was Saigon in 1950.She later served in Japan, Libya,Zaire (Congo), Korea, Indonesiaand two tours in Washington, D.C.

She retired in 1975.

O B I T U A R I E S

Robert D. Moeser, 72, a photo editor with the U.S.Information Agency, died April 30 of renal failure atInova Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, Va. Mr. Moeser joinedthe USIA in 1974 and remained there until 1980, photo-graphing and arranging photographic coverage of for-eign dignitaries. Earlier, he was a photographer for theU.S. Navy and authored a book about his service inVietnam. He also worked for the Labor Department.

John Smith Newby, 87, a retired Civil Service employeewith the U.S. Information Agency, died of cancer May 5in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. He began working for theVoice of America in 1961. A structural engineer, he trav-eled worldwide for the VOA, inspecting facilities in Zaire(Congo), Sri Lanka, Japan, Brazil, Italy, England, the for-mer Yugoslavia, Liberia, Egypt, Lebanon, Ghana,Romania, Spain, Israel and Greece. He retired in 1978.During World War II, he served in North Africa with theU.S. Army Air Corps and later worked as a civilian engi-neer for the U.S. Army in Georgia and Alabama.

Mary Anne O’Neill, 72, a retiredForeign Service secretary, died May6 in Rosslyn, Va., when she wasstruck by a tour bus. She joined theDepartment in 1976 and was post-ed to Baghdad, Hong Kong,Riyadh, Bombay, Geneva, Kuwaitand Rabat. She worked as a rovingsecretary with the Bureaus of NearEastern and European and

Eurasian Affairs from 1986 until her retirement in 1995.Before her death, she had worked part time as a rover inUlaanbataar, Doha and Hong Kong. Her son, GeoffreyO’Neill, is a Foreign Service officer at the U.S. Embassy inMoscow.

Samuel R. Richardson, 77, a retiredForeign Service officer, died April29 in Beaverton, Ore. He joined theForeign Service in 1952 and wasposted to India, Iran, Singapore,Jordan, Holland, Iraq, Thailand,Germany, Turkey and England. AnArmy veteran of World War II, heretired in 1989 after 37 years ofservice.

Pat Kilarny Terranova, a retiredForeign Service officer, died April 2in Winter Park, Fla. She served inAthens, Tehran, Brussels, Bangkok,Bremen, Moscow, Ankara andWashington, D.C., before retiring in1979.

Dora H. Wheeler, 97, the widow ofForeign Service Officer Richard S.Wheeler, died March 31 atGoodwin House, Alexandria, Va.Her husband, who died in 1972,served as deputy director of theOffice of International Conferences(now the Bureau of InternationalOrganizations) from 1946 to 1958and again from 1959 to 1963. She

accompanied him to Vienna, where he served with theU.S. Mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

48 State Magazine

Questions concerning deaths in service should bedirected to the Employee Services Center, theDepartment’s contact office for all deaths in service:Harry S Truman Building, Room 1252, Department ofState, Washington, DC 20520-1252; (202) 647-3432; fax:(202) 647-1429; e-mail: [email protected].

Questions concerning the deaths of retired ForeignService employees should be directed to the Office ofRetirement at (202) 261-8960, [email protected].

Questions concerning the deaths of retired CivilService employees should be directed to the Office ofPersonnel Management at (202) 606-0500, http://www.opm.gov.

In the Event of Death

O B I T U A R I E S

Department of State, USABureau of Human ResourcesWashington, DC 20520

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS DAYCoverage begins on page 22

State Magazine, July/August 2003

Documents

Transcript of State Magazine, July/August 2003