The Foreign Service Journal, January 2011

he foreign affairs community suffered the loss of a true friend and staunch ad- vocate with the death of Ambassador Stephen Low, 82, on Nov. 5 at his home in Bethesda, Md., of congestive heart failure. Steve was not only an accom- plished scholar and Foreign Service of- ficer. He was an activist and visionary who sought to improve training for America’s diplomats and to expand understand- ing and appreciation of their history and contributions. During a 31-year career, Steve distinguished himself in numerous Foreign Service assignments, including service as a senior staff mem- ber at the National Security Council, ambassador to Zam- bia and Nigeria, and director of the For- eign Service Insti- tute for five years. He was best known for his role in the mediation process of the late 1970s that led to an independent Zimbabwe in 1980. A Permanent Home for FSI In his greatest contribution at home, Steve initiated and led the struggle — and a struggle it was — to create J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 39 A PPRECIATION A V ISIONARY AND A CTIVIST FOR THE F OREIGN S ERVICE S TEPHEN L OW 1927-2010 B Y K ENNETH L. B ROWN T There has always been a problem in our Service about training. It has never been considered the best rec- ommendation for promotion, but that is starting to change … — Amb. Stephen Low, from the cover-story interview, “Charting FSI’s Future,” in the May 1986 FSJ Ambassador Kenneth L. Brown is president of the Asso- ciation for Diplomatic Studies and Training.