Since the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Yemen was been a hot spot for unrest in the Middle East. The…
CNN, Tanks, and Glass Walls: The August 1991 Coup
In August of 1991, hard-liners opposed to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev initiated a coup attempt to overthrow him. The rebellion…
Unexploded Ordnance, Spam and Moonshine–Life as Ambassador to Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), sometimes known simply as Micronesia, consists of four states — Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae –…
Rooted in the Good Earth: White, Protestant “China Brats” in the Foreign Service
A confluence of two rising movements in the early 1800s, Western outreach to China and reinvigorated Christian evangelism, led to…
Play it again, Anne: Casablanca’s First Female Consul General
While America was evolving into a more gender-equal society at the end of the last century, conflicts could arise when…
Lesley Dorman and the Founding of FLO
Lesley Tanburn Dorman devoted her life to her own family and to her wider family – the Foreign Service. Her…
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Evacuating Liberia, 1990
Being caught up in violent political upheaval and forced to evacuate is among the risks of diplomatic service, as at…
Roaring through the Riots of Libreville
Omar Bongo Ondimba of Gabon, one the longest-serving rulers in history, opened his newly-independent country’s political system to multiple party…
A Front Row Seat to the 1975 Coup d’Etat in Chad
Throughout the 1970s, trouble was brewing in Chad. President François (N’Garta) Tombalbaye was the first president of Chad following its…
I, Spy? Diplomatic Adventures during Soviet-American Détente
Among the challenges of serving as a U.S. diplomat in the USSR during the Cold War years of 1945 to…