THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2026 27 to start the process of transporting the remains of their loved ones back to the United States. If we’re not there, no one will take care of those issues for them; they are left to their own devices. Finally, American companies, I think, do appreciate the role of U.S. diplomats overseas in terms of representing them and their interest with governments. I think it’s important that diplomats get out to their communities and talk about what they’re doing. We used to have a hometown diplomat program that the State Department sponsored. I don’t know if it’s still in existence, but that allowed for members of the Foreign Service to go home and tell people what they were doing. I can tell you that nobody in Louisiana in my community would have a clue what diplomacy was—I don’t think most people I grew up with even had a passport—so I think I contributed a great deal in my home state and in my community in sharing the important role that U.S. diplomats overseas play for American citizens. And I think more can be done in that area. I think our Congress needs to be brought into the picture; we diplomats should be meeting with members of our state delegations to let them know what we’re doing and make sure they support the work of the Foreign Service in the future. FSJ: I’m going to end by asking you to elaborate a bit on what qualities you believe the most effective diplomats possess? LTG: That is an extraordinarily interesting question. I think in the old days, when you asked someone that question, they would want someone who was absolutely brilliant. They would want amazing writers. They didn’t necessarily look for people who understood people; they didn’t want managers. Over my 40-year career, I’ve determined that people are the greatest tool in our diplomatic toolbox. When I served as the Director General of the Foreign Service and the director of personnel during the Obama administration, I got to really get out and see people doing their jobs in the field, whether it was the locally engaged staff [also known as Foreign Service Nationals] who work for us in the various countries we work in or whether it was our spouses and our children—because the Foreign Service is not just about the FSOs, it is about their families and the important role that they play as representatives of the American people to the countries that we are in. So when I’m asked what the most important qualities of an effective diplomat are, I think it’s being able to communicate to the people you are working with and being able to share with them the important values that are a part of us as Americans. Those same diplomats are great writers, those diplomats are extraordinary intellectuals; but with all of that, they must be kind and compassionate and communicative to everyday people. FSJ: Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, thank you for sharing your candid responses, and congratulations again on being the 2025 recipient of AFSA’s Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award. LTG: Thank you very much. I will always cherish this award. n Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield visits her eponymous school in Margibi County in Liberia, January 2024. U.S. EMBASSY MONROVIA
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