The Foreign Service Journal, May 2019

42 MAY 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FOCUS A nother telltale symptom of one’s advancing years (I’m told) is a grow- ing interest in obituaries, perusing them in search of some revealing or otherwise significant detail. Were they older or younger than I am now when they died? What did they accomplish, and at what stage did they do their most important work? (And does that mean it might be too late for me?) What is remarkable or relevant about their particular stories, their careers, their lives? So I suppose it’s not quite a coincidence that in recent years I’ve chanced upon the obituaries of a number of people I had met and maintained a vivid memory of across the span of time. One was a fellow Foreign Service officer, from the generation just before mine: Ambassador David Fischer (1939–2016.) I have thought about Ambassador Fischer a great deal from time to time over the past quarter-century since I joined the Foreign Service. Based mostly on a single conversation that lasted just over an hour those many years ago, he made a real impact, passing along insightful observations and advice about the Foreign Service that I have never forgotten. For the time he spent and the perspective Alexis Ludwig is a 25-year Foreign Service veteran currently serving as deputy permanent representative at the U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States. He is chair of the FSJ Editorial Board. Some of the most valuable insights are passed down from old pros. BY AL EX I S LUDWI G ON PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMATS: LEADERSHIP & LESSONS Career Advice fromDavid Fischer Generation to Generation From