Every year, AFSA seeks to highlight achievement, performance, courage, and sacrifice within the Foreign Service community through its Awards Program. This year AFSA will be hosting its annual awards ceremony—honoring lifetime contributions, constructive dissent, and exemplary performance—on October 19, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. EDT online via Zoom. Please register for the event using this link.

This year we will honor Ambassador John Negroponte with the 2021 Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award. Ambassador Negroponte has held numerous key ambassadorships in Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, and Iraq, and served on the National Security Staff twice. In 2007, Amb. Negroponte became Deputy Secretary of State, where he served as the State Department's Chief Operating Officer until the end of President Bush's term.

After retiring from the Foreign Service, Amb. Negroponte taught International Relations at Yale's Jackson Institute and at the Elliot School for International Affairs at George Washington University. He has also served as Chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance and was a member of the Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board. He now serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Council of the Americas/Americas Society and is Co-chairman of the U.S.-Philippines Society.

AFSA will also recognize the winner of last year’s lifetime award, as we were unable to host a ceremony in 2020. Ambassador (ret.) Edward Perkins will be honored posthumously. Click here for a retrospective of his remarkable life.

During the Awards Ceremony, we will also honor the recipients of the 2020 and 2021 AFSA awards for constructive dissent and exemplary performance.

AFSA’s Constructive Dissent awards recognize Foreign Service members who work constructively within the system to change policy and performance for the better. AFSA’s six Exemplary Performance awards highlight the professionalism and spirit of service and volunteerism found within the Foreign Service community.

To learn more about AFSA’s awards and honorees, please visit www.afsa.org/awards. For any questions on the Ceremony or Awards Program please email Awards and Scholarships Manager Theo Horn at horn@afsa.org or call (202) 719-9705.