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In 1988, a formidable coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act (CAA) over President Reagan’s veto. Months later, USAID sent Timothy Bork to South Africa to implement this highly controversial legislation. During Bork’s tour, Nelson Mandela and other leaders remained imprisoned as violent confrontations erupted in townships across South Africa. At […]
Yacht trips, golf junkets, and private receptions with Oprah. These are rare events even in elevated diplomatic careers. Yet William Center, who served in the U.S. Commercial Service during a period of tremendous economic change, experienced all this and more. His time in South Africa after the fall of apartheid was particularly notable. He faced […]
As challenging as it is for anyone to become and serve as Ambassador for the United States, the hurdles are even greater for black Americans who must overcome domestic and international discrimination to achieve high-ranking positions. These Americans have served as representatives of the United States in over 40 Countries during the past 60 years. […]
Directly following the election of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa in 1994, the U.S. government began to work closely with the new South African leadership to facilitate development efforts. Before Mandela’s election, South Africa’s apartheid system and U.S. laws hindered U.S. aid. However, after the election of President Mandela, the binational “Gore-Mbeki Commission” […]
USAID worked intensively with the new South African government after the fall of apartheid in 1994. William Stacy Rhodes was at the heart of these efforts, serving as Mission Director from 1998-2002. He recalls working closely with Dullah Omar, Nelson Mandela’s lawyer in the darkest days of apartheid and the first Minister of Justice in […]
A council of combined security forces known as the Derg staged a coup d’état on September 12, 1974 against Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I, arresting and imprisoning the monarch who had ruled for decades. The committee renamed itself the Provisional Military Administrative Council, took control of the government, soon abolished the monarchy and established Marxism-Leninism […]
(As of April 2016) A Adams, Samuel Clifford Jr. Aggrey, Rudolph Alexander, Leslie M. (pictured with Bill Richardson) B Barnes, Shirley Elisabeth Brazeal, Aurelia E. Britton, Theodore R. Jr. – 1981 Britton, Theodore R. Jr. – 1989 Burroughs, John A. C Carrington, Walter C. (pictured) Carter, William Beverly Cook, Mercer D Dawson, Horace G. […]
After nearly 50 years of brutal apartheid in South Africa, it is almost impossible to imagine how people could coexist peacefully. However, the new, post-apartheid government demonstrated the power of reconciliation, which eventually served as a blueprint for similar initiatives throughout the world. Apartheid, the racial segregation system in South Africa, lasted from 1948 to […]
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy The Mind of the African Strongman — Conversations with Dictators, Statesmen, and Father Figures “Hank Cohen’s experience in Africa and access to a wide array of historic African leaders are unparalleled. This unique book provides important lessons from the continent’s past and insights for its future.” ––Kenneth L. Brown, formerly […]
Ask any five people on an American college campus or maybe even on the streets of any major city, to name the first Black American that comes to their mind when they think of U.S. foreign affairs. I can almost guarantee that the majority of them will mention the names of either Secretaries of State, […]