20 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL The People’s Ambassador Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield became the 31st winner of AFSA’s Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award in an October 1, 2025, ceremony at Georgetown University. She was honored for her deep commitment to the Foreign Service, mentorship, and leadership throughout an eminent diplomatic career, and for her continuing work to promote American global leadership, a strong Foreign Service, and State Department improvement. AFSA’s highest tribute, the Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award is given annually to recognize an individual’s lifetime devotion to the work of diplomacy and to its practitioners. Past recipients include such luminaries as George H.W. Bush, Thomas Pickering, Ruth A. Davis, George Shultz, Richard Lugar, Joan Clark, Ronald Neumann, Nancy Powell, William C. Harrop, Thomas Boyatt, Edward Perkins, John D. Negroponte, Anne Patterson, and Marc Grossman. FOCUS Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA. ARTWORK: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM A Conversation with Linda Thomas-Greenfield Recipient of the 2025 AFSA Award for Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy FOCUS HONORING EXCELLENCE AND CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT
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