THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY-JUNE 2026 91 East, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. In 1981, after her divorce, Ms. Ely testified before a congressional committee in favor of fair compensation for Foreign Service spouses and dependents. She then spent more than 20 years as the events coordinator at the Smithsonian Institution’s Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, organizing conferences, dinners, concerts, and special events. At the Wilson Center she worked to welcome and integrate fellows and academics, international business and political leaders, journalists, U.S. presidents, and cultural figures. A Georgetown resident, Ms. Ely stayed plugged into the cultural and political life of Washington, D.C., and volunteered for several nonprofit organizations. Her home was a charmingly appointed center of legendary yet intimate parties, eagerly attended by friends of all ages. In 2019 she moved to California, where she lived at the Lake Merritt residences in Oakland and at Albany’s Belmont Village. She enjoyed exploring local museums (especially the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose), viewing unusual architecture, and attending performances. In particular, she sought out the weekly concerts on the Berkeley campus, world cuisine from local restaurants, and nearby gardens and natural areas. Friends and family members remember Ms. Ely for her curiosity, style, and pizzazz-infused embrace of life and will miss her warmth, high standards, graciousness (especially as a host), and spirited flair. Though hailing from a distinguished background, she was anything but stuffy, they recall, and fully transcended her “proper” origins with a sense of adventure and joie de vivre. Cynthia Ely was predeceased by her son, Douglas, and grandson, Alexander. She is survived by two daughters, Caroline of New York City, and Lydia (and spouse, Roderic) of San Francisco; grandchildren, Julia, Mimi, and Teo; and one loving niece and four loving nephews as well as their partners. n Robert Arnold Flaten, 91, a retired Foreign Service officer and former ambassador to Rwanda, died on December 21, 2025, surrounded by family in Oak Park Heights, Minn. Mr. Flaten was born on May 21, 1934, to Evelyn (née Solberg) Flaten and Arnold Wangenstein Flaten in Minneapolis, Minn. Growing up in Northfield, Minn., he participated in ROTC at St. Olaf College and graduated in 1956, a member of Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in mathematics. That year, he married his college sweetheart, Carroll Jean Johnson. The couple raised four children together. In 1961 Mr. Flaten joined the U.S. Foreign Service, after fulfilling his obligation to the U.S. Air Force and earning an MA in international relations at The George Washington University. His first postings were consular assignments in France and Pakistan, where during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, he organized a heroic bus caravan to drive embassy families over the Khyber Pass to safety in Afghanistan. In 1966 Mr. Flaten was economic officer and assistant USAID liaison officer in Israel. During the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the family was again evacuated, but Mr. Flaten stayed behind as duty officer. Back at the State Department, he served as director of the Office of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh Affairs; the Office of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka Affairs; and later, the Office of North African Affairs. He also worked in the Inspector General’s Office. From 1979 to 1981, Mr. Flaten was deputy assistant secretary of State for congressional affairs, and in 1982 he returned to Israel as deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires. In 1986 he began a research assignment at the Foreign Service Institute. Mr. Flaten was appointed U.S. ambassador to Rwanda in 1990. Actively involved in addressing the ethnic tensions there, he received Rwanda’s highest civilian commendation, the Order of the Mille Collines. At the end of his tour, in November 1993, Ambassador Flaten warned the State Department regarding the influx of Hutus from Burundi into Rwanda that would culminate in the 1994 genocide. Upon retiring in 1994, he and his wife returned to Northfield, Minn. In retirement, Amb. Flaten served as chair of the Executive Committee of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, lectured at St. Olaf College, served as vice president of the United Nations Association– Minnesota, and was a Minnesota representative of the Immortal Chaplains Foundation, as well as a member of the Minnesota International Center, AFSA Upper Midwest, the St. Paul–Minneapolis Committee on Foreign Relations, and Rotary. He presented regularly in the Great Decisions study series and at the Elder Collegium of Northfield. In May 2001, he received an honorary doctorate from Luther College of Decorah, Iowa. After his wife, Carroll, died in 2010, Amb. Flaten spent time at his beloved cabin in the mountains of Virginia, a unique rustic dwelling built by the family themselves. In 2014 Amb. Flaten married Sharon Sherman-Akre of Calgary, Alberta,
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