The Foreign Service Journal, March 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2016 39 kudos frommale colleagues in the Kingdom and in other Persian Gulf countries. I visited homes and female institutions, and called on women who were much less likely than men to speak English. I developed a friendly relationship with the emir of the Eastern Province, Abd al-Muhsin Bin Jiluwi, whose father had helped King Abd al-Aziz conquer Riyadh in the early 20th century. The emir spoke no English, but because I was able to converse with him, he always received me most graciously and even invited me to lunch with him a few times. Our cordial relationship motivated him to arrange for me to call on his wife, which I did. The emir liked to talk about space travel! I also met with the emir of Al Hasa Province a few times and lunched with him. One time we were regaled with Bedouin poetry by an authentic Bedouin—I did not understand a word, but nei- ther did my Saudi colleague from the consulate. Management’s View of Propriety Meanwhile, my husband had found a job with ARAMCO and did not want to move when my assignment was over in summer 1981. So to stay fairly close to Dhahran I bid on a new position: political officer in Abu Dhabi. Again my gender became an issue—the ambassador and deputy chief of mission did not want a female officer. And again, luck smiled on me. The embassy, then in Jeddah, asked me to bid, and I was assigned as an external rela- tions political officer there. My portfolio signified that most of my business was with the Foreign Ministry. The Saudis who worked there had served abroad and were cosmopolitan in their outlook, so I was always treated with great courtesy. I was the only female political officer in Jeddah, but was fortunate to have a most supportive and wonderful boss, David Newton, and a great deputy chief of mission, Jim Placke. And all of my international colleagues were most welcoming. I was, of course, the only one in the group who was not allowed to drive, so after our monthly evening meetings they always made sure my transportation needs were met without having to call—and wait for—an embassy driver. Problems sometimes arose with embassy management, all the same. On one occasion during my second year, I was visiting my husband in Dhahran when the political counselor asked me to return to Jeddah because Secretary of State George Shultz and Ambassador Philip Habib were coming to see the king to discuss the civil war in Lebanon. I was to be a “site officer” (a sort of visit monitor in the royal palace). However, when I got back to Jeddah, I was informed that embassy management did not think it proper for a female officer to be in the palace. So after crossing the country to be Mrs. Shultz’s control officer, I found that my sole duty was to escort her to her hotel room. On another occasion, as control officer for a congres- sional delegation in Riyadh, I was instructed to arrange a luncheon at the Equestrian Club. I dealt directly with the prince in charge of the visit, who emphasized that while spouses were not invited, I was definitely on the guest list. A couple of hours before the event, however, I was advised that I was not to attend because, once again, embassy management deemed it improper. A male officer went in my place. I briefly considered protesting, but the event was imminent, and I felt that creating an incident would not benefit anyone. Given all the restrictions on women in the Kingdom, and aware of my very unusual—and pioneering—position, I believed that I had mostly succeeded in doing the job to which I had been assigned. The support that I received from the ambassador, the DCM in my first year, my boss and most of my colleagues made up for the occasional slights that occurred. A Seat at the Table My tour in Jeddah had a pleasant conclusion in the summer of 1983. Ambassador Richard Murphy’s tour was ending, and the Saudi Foreign Ministry was giving him a farewell dinner. The deputy chief of protocol, with whom I had dealt frequently, made sure that all female officers in the embassy (economic, budget & fiscal and personnel, as well as myself) received invi- tations and insisted that we attend. So on my last night in Jed- dah, I went to the ambassador’s dinner, and then to the airport. My onward assignment was as a political officer in Abu Dhabi, where there was a new ambassador and DCM. Abu Dhabi seemed wildly free after Saudi Arabia. I could call on and attend meetings with virtually any official—with one exception. I was informed that UAE President Shaykh Zayed So after crossing the country to be Mrs. Shultz’s control officer, I found that my sole duty was to escort her to her hotel room.