The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2011

RR: A little bit of both. There was an assignment in the offing for me as ambassador to NATO. I think every- body knew it — the Europeans cer- tainly did. But I decided that I really had done enough. The four years had ended on an upbeat note, and you have to ask, “Can I top this?” And the an- swer was “probably not.” Besides, it was time to go. I really didn’t want to pack up again, and I had married before going out to East Ger- many. And we’d had two years apart when I was in East Germany and Ted was in Alaska. So I just couldn’t do it. Somebody reminded me the other day that I was asked, ‘What did you retire to do?” And I said, “I retired to con- sider the possibilities.” And two or three whole new careers unfolded over the next 20 years. FSJ: First, you worked with the At- lantic Council. RR: Yes, I was president and chief executive officer for them, doing what everybody does who ends up in not- for-profits: I was a fundraiser. And you try to think of projects that might in- terest people who have funding, so that you can keep the staff together. FSJ: You spent six years as the council’s president? RR: No, three years as president and then another three as co-chair, along with General Andrew Good- paster. During the second three-year period, when David Acheson was the Atlantic Council president, I really was sort of a teammate, working on a num- ber of broad issues and doing some fundraising where I could. But for the most part, I built up my corporate ca- reer. FSJ: And has that been your other focus in retirement? RR: Oh, yes. I loved it. But I had to stop — nearly all those companies have mandatory retirement ages. I am still on one corporate board, Emerson in St. Louis, where I’ve been extended for a couple of years. But this is my last year there. In the course of the last three years, I have retired in order from all of the other boards. And now I’m trying to understand retirement. FSJ: Do you have any suggestions for today’s Foreign Service as an in- stitution? RR: I don’t know the new Foreign Service. I look at the nominations in State magazine, and I certainly see a range of faces and genders and colors and backgrounds. That indicates a Service that has grown and matured, and is more reflective of American so- ciety than it ever was in my day. And the Service has been willing to change. Whether it’s been forced to, or just un- J U LY- A U G U S T 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 63