in the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program, where President Carter had served during his naval career. Upon learning that President Carter would turn 90 years old in 2014, I realized I might have only a few more years to meet my role model, so I made my way from Washington, D.C., to the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, to meet him and his lovely wife, Rosalynn. After the church service, I was able to meet and take a picture with my role model, and I was so thankful for his graciousness and encouraging demeanor. His pursuit of truth and service to those around him are principles I try to embody in my personal and professional life. His life was truly one fully lived. Jason Taehee Lee Vice Consul U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh Giving Voice to the Voiceless Egypt, 2010 This photo with President Carter was taken in 2010 during my first Foreign Service posting in Cairo. I was in charge of taking his son, Jack, and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, to the pyramids while President Carter met with then-President Hosni Mubarak. I couldn’t help but reflect on President Carter’s leadership in crafting one of the most durable peace agreements in the region. 82 APRIL-MAY 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL President Jimmy Carter with Maryum Saifee, 2010. COURTESY OF MARYUM SAIFEE President Jimmy Carter and Human Rights Buenos Aires, 1976 I joined the Foreign Service in late 1975 and was assigned as the junior political officer in Buenos Aires in mid-1976. Legislation mandating a human rights office, annual report, and compliance at the State Department, championed by my homestate congressman, Don Fraser (D-Minn.), had been recently enacted, and Jimmy Carter’s election as president later that year raised human rights as a prominent bilateral issue. His election changed my life. As the embassy’s first designated human rights officer, I met with victims of the Argentine junta’s repression and disappearances campaign, reported on abuses, drafted statements, and briefed diplomats and U.S. officials, including newly appointed Human Rights Coordinator Patt Derian. In 1977 prominent Argentine human rights activist Adolfo Pérez Esquivel was kidnapped. I was among the first contacted by his family for help, and the embassy, under holdover Ambassador Robert Hill, applied intense pressure to force the junta to acknowledge his whereabouts. Tortured and held without trial for more than a year, he was eventually released. In 1980 he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Human rights under President Carter became a significant issue in many, albeit not all, U.S. bilateral relationships, including the collapse of the Soviet Union, the move toward democratic rule in Latin America and Eastern Europe, humanitarian and refugee assistance, and U.S.-China relations. It changed my career trajectory as I found purpose in assignments managing refugee assistance in Central America, anti-narcotics, Kosovo, and, after retirement, 20 more years of work in refugee resettlement and assistance in Cuba, Jordan, Lebanon, and throughout the United States. President Carter brought morality, dignity, and pride to representing the United States abroad and at home. May he rest in peace. Yvonne Thayer FSO, retired Meeting My Role Model Plains, Georgia, 2014 During college, I wanted to give some percentage of my workstudy earnings to causes I believed in, and the Carter Center was one of the foundations I selected. The more I learned about President Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center, the more inspired I grew to pursue public service. After graduation, I was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy and served Jason Taehee Lee stands with President and Mrs. Carter in front of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, 2014. COURTESY OF JASON TAEHEE LEE
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