From overseeing the Spanish economic crisis to hosting a Danish reality television show, former U.S. ambassadors Rufus Gifford, Alan Solomont and Robert Barber were on the front lines of American diplomacy during then President Barack Obama’s second term. On Thursday, they joined Boston Public Radio to reflect on their time in office and pull back the curtain on the opaque and often misunderstood world of diplomacy.
“It’s the greatest job in the world. You get up every morning, and you work on the most important challenges facing the world, from nuclear non-proliferation, to transnational terrorism, to the economic crisis,” said Solomont, who was the ambassador to Spain from 2009 to 2013. “I think maybe to be honest, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.”
Unique to all three is that none had prior experience working in the State Department or the foreign service prior to their roles as ambassador. Solomont was a businessman, Barber a former assistant district attorney and lawyer, and Gifford was a political staffer. Going into their ambassadorships, they knew there would be challenges, but Gifford, who served as the ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark from 2013 to 2017, said that few experiences can compare to representing one of the most powerful nations in the world.
“I was terrified. I did not know how to do this job. I had spent my life in a very different sphere and then all of a sudden you get thrust into this incredibly intense process,” Gifford said. “I had to go and present my credentials to the queen when I first arrived, and I had absolutely no idea what to do, and they tell you, but you still feel like you’re doing it entirely wrong.”
However, the three immersed themselves in their work, and came out with a greater appreciation for the work of the diplomats posted in every corner of the globe.
“It is not cocktail parties, it is not fancy dinner parties. It is hard work,” Solomont said. “The successful diplomats, whether they be career or non-career, are the ones who work hard ... and aren’t distracted by the cocktail parties. You really are dealing with the biggest global issues facing us, and you really can’t spend your time clicking cocktail glasses.”
In the era of President Donald Trump's explosive Twitter feed and the quick pace at which White House staffers and diplomats are fired and replaced, the former diplomats said they are concerned about the impact the last few years will have on America’s long-term relationship with other nations.
“Not only is it more difficult for the U.S. government to do the job that we have been set out of do. Look at it from the flip side, which is how the world views us,” Gifford said. “The lack of prioritization that the U.S. government gives confirming someone as important in a host country, like the U.S. ambassador, feels like a slap in the face to some of our most trusted allies.”
