THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024 87 We probably should have flown the pirate flag. The Foreign Affairs Manual, the rules, the regs, well … Fulfilling the administration’s pledge to open a new U.S. embassy in Nuku`alofa, Tonga, was top priority. In July 2022, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “We recognize that in recent years the Pacific Islands may not have received the diplomatic attention and support that you deserve. So I am here to tell you directly: We are going to change that.” There were just 965 tasks to go when we were first given the keys in April 2023. The new embassy was to be housed on an upper floor of the Tongan National Reserve Bank building, which itself was a striking diplomatic platform with windows north, facing the Pacific Ocean; south, the lush, green interior of Tongatapu, the main island; west, downtown Nuku`alofa; and east, the massive embassy compound of another country. To move as quickly as we could, we had to get creative. Diplomatic correspondence with the Foreign Ministry was not “standard”—often they took the form of The Opening of U.S. Embassy Nuku`alofa BY TOM ARMBRUSTER REFLECTIONS Tom Armbruster served as a reemployed annuitant (RAE) senior adviser during the establishment of U.S. Embassy Nuku`alofa, Tonga. He retired from the Foreign Service as an ambassador to the Marshall Islands (2012-2016), having served in Finland, Cuba, the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Russia (twice), Mexico, and Tajikistan. Post-retirement, he led Office of the Inspector General (OIG) inspections to Denmark, Colombia, Chad, Mauritania, Nepal, and Bangladesh; worked as a foreign policy contractor at Fort Meade, Maryland; and now serves on the Board of Global Policy Insights. He is also area adviser for East Asian and Pacific affairs at the United Nations. This article was written in a personal capacity, and the views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. government. Above: The rugged shores of Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga where the capital, Nuku`alofa, is located. Left: A political map of Tonga, 2016. informal emails and texts—at least not until Susan Heckman, the ambassador’s office management specialist (OMS), joined us to give guidance. But did we really need a new embassy, given the Peace Corps’ track record and Suva just next door? The answer is yes. A Case to Be Made Despite Tonga and the United States signing a Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation in 1886, sharing fighting and sacrifice in the Pacific during World War II, and establishing formal diplomatic relations in 1972, there has never been a full-time embassy or permanent ambassador in Tonga. A great case for having one can be made for diplomatic universality. The SORIN COLAC/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO PETER HERMES FURIAN/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
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