Bob Hawke was an Australian original. One of the country’s most powerful political figures, he was observed by generations of…
George H.W. Bush, American Diplomat
George H.W. Bush was a diplomat before he became the 41st president of the United States. Bush served as U.S.…
Folk Songs in Georgetown With JFK: A Memory from a Different Era
Nicholas Platt was a distinguished American diplomat, who served as ambassador to Zambia, the Philippines, and Pakistan. In the first…
African-American Ambassadors
As challenging as it is for anyone to become and serve as Ambassador for the United States, the hurdles are…
Strobe Talbott: From Foreign Affairs Journalist to Number Two at the Department of State
What is it like to transition from the senior ranks of American journalism to a top job in an agency…
A “Very Japanese” Arrangement to Dismantle a Soviet MIG-25
On September 6, 1976 a MIG-25 (foxbat), the most advanced Soviet fighter jet at the time, landed at Hokadote Airport…
Senior Diplomat Marc Grossman Reflects on NATO’s Bombing in the Balkans
Marc Grossman’s distinguished Foreign Service career put him in the center of multiple crises, including NATO’s 1999 bombing campaign in…
Act of Kindness: Chinese President Xi Jinping helped grant an American ambassador his final wish
Amb. John Leighton Stuart was a central figure in U.S.-China relations until his recall in 1949, when the United States…
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 –…
The U.S. Incursion into Cambodia
When President Richard Nixon took office in 1969, he and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger vowed to find a way…