Abroad for Her Country: Tales of a Pioneer Woman Ambassador in the U.S. Foreign Service

To State and the United Nations, 1977–80 (Father Ted, China, and Vienna)

Eleven To State and the United Nations, 1977–80 (Father Ted, China, and Vienna) Toward the end of my academic year at Oxy, I received a phone call from Ambassador Carol Laise, then director general of the Foreign Service. “How would you like to work with Father Theodore Hesburgh of the University of Notre Dame?” she inquired, adding, “The President [Jimmy Carter] has just appointed Hesburgh to head up the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development, which will take place in Vienna three years hence. The preparatory work will be long and complicated, and you will have negotiations on the domestic and international fronts, but we believe you can handle the necessary support work for Hesburgh.” “Thanks for the confidence, Carol. While I am thrilled with the prospect of working for such a prominent national figure, the idea of tackling such a complex subject as science and technology is a bit daunting.” Carol assured me that there were scientists, engineers, and specialized institutions both in government and private industry to provide me with all the professional help I needed. My task would be largely organization and management of all the needed players to keep them on course in formulating a national policy for negotiation. It sounded like a great opportunity, but I knew I would miss not being assigned to another country and having my own embassy again. However, 300 the prospect of working closely with Hesburgh on such a broad-gauged subject and retaining my title of ambassador was intriguing. To give me and my new operations at State the authority and image deemed necessary to be effective with my colleagues at the United Nations and with Washington embassies, I was told I would be located in the Office of the Under Secretary of State. While there was no space on the prestigious seventh floor of the department, I was assigned the transition suite of several offices and conference rooms (with private bathroom— almost unheard of in government!) on the first floor of State, normally used for the secretary of state–designate during political transitions. I came to realize that the assignment made sense in relation to my background in economic and commercial work and in developing countries . It was also another leadership opportunity, with new and broader horizons, though a relatively small staff. So it was settled. I was to become the U.S. coordinator for the UN Conference on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD), with the title of ambassador and offices in both Washington and New York and with considerable overseas travel for preparatory conferences outside the United States. A huge and impressive sign bearing this new and awkward title was affixed above the main entrance to my offices. Setting Up Shop in the Department I had never been in charge of preparations for a world conference so I had to learn by doing, as is often the case in diplomacy. Whoever had the administrative good sense to include my office in that of the under secretary of state had the right foresight. The incumbent under secretary for security assistance, science, and technology, Lucy Wilson Benson, was a political appointee, a businesswoman from Massachusetts new to the federal government. We got along well, although I had to take care to show proper deference to her ranking position and not to appear as a “know-it-all” career person. My office benefited greatly from the guidance and wisdom provided by the under secretary’s principal counselor, Professor Joseph Nye, a highly regarded political scientist on loan from Harvard to State who had government experience and connections. To State and the United Nations, 1977–80 301 The U.S. Congress had appropriated $3 million for U.S. participation in this international conference. The money was assigned to the National Science Foundation with the understanding they would act as our bankers. My office would simply make the necessary drawdowns from that special budget. To help me on the administrative side, State assigned me a budget and fiscal officer whose Foreign Service background was not entirely clear. Indeed, I was horrified when someone hinted that he might have acted as “a bag man for Imelda Marcos” during an assignment in the Philippines . It was never clear whether that implied money or shoes, but I had neither the time...