The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2022 57 In addition to storytelling, Secre- tary Albright had an endearing capacity to self-assess. “I was a bureaucratic night- mare,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Being Secretary of State is the best job in the world. I loved every minute of it. And as a result, I found it very difficult to prioritize.” She talked about trying to connect with staff and not always succeeding. “I used to make a point of eating in the cafeteria. But usually this meant I ate alone, since people didn’t feel comfortable talking to me.” And she told us that she would stop by people’s offices and ask for their views or feedback. “That didn’t really work either,” she explained. “People gener- ally got all flustered and weirded out.” She emphasized that she was not the best at taking care of the troops, i.e., State Department bureaucrats. Instead, she trav- eled the world, seeing her job less as a manager and more as the chief U.S. diplomat abroad. Revealing a bit of the friendly rivalry between her and Secretary Rice, she said, “No matter how much I traveled, I know Condoleezza will travel one more mile than me … even if it kills her.” Secretary Albright made clear that she missed her job, a job she saw as the ultimate fit with her passion for foreign policy and problem-solving. Despite being 75, she had not retired from working or from bending her mind around the stickiest situ- ations. How should we deal with conflicts in the Middle East? What about the so-called clash of civilizations? One lesson she wanted to pass on was that the U.S. badly needed religious advis- ers and greater participation from religious leaders in interna- tional negotiations. “As Secretary of State, I had an expert on everything—every- thing except religion.” Saying she was in no way trying to blur the line between church and state, she stressed that religion was—like it or not—a part of the picture. She advocated training on reli- gion in addition to area study and language train- ing for Foreign Service officers. She contended that negotiations between Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minis- ter Ehud Barak at Camp David in 2000 might have been more effectual had they involved religious leaders, not only to understand the problem but to legitimize the agreement. Around 10 p.m., her cheeks slightly flushed froma few glasses of wine, Secretary Albright knew it was time to call it a night. She had told stories and answered our questions for more than three hours. As I listened intently for the entire night, these thoughts raced throughmy head: How am I going to remember all of this? I can’t believe I get to be sitting here. She hasn’t faltered or said “um” or “like” once! At the time, I couldn’t process in full why it was such a special night—beyond the obvious: I am sitting across the table from the first woman Secretary of State. But with some reflection, I real- ized what I was appreciating. She was candid about her love of being Secretary. She was honest about not knowing the solution to various problems and open about her weaknesses. Above all, she was still a fierce optimist about the United States. She conceded that it would be a hell of a job to try to put America back on course, given the foreign policy fiascos at hand. But she also emphasized what America was capable of and that there was room for the Right and Left to work together. “I so believe in the good of America,” Albright said. And I do, too, especially after my night with Secretary Albright. n Kate B. Nanavatty, the outgoing U.S. consul general in Amsterdam, is a Foreign Service officer with 17 years of experience, primarily in South- east Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. She won’t ever forget that evening with Secretary Albright during her first tour, in Dar es Salaam. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, far right, at DCM Purnell Delly’s residence in Dar es Salaam on Nov. 29, 2006. From left: Political Officer Kate Bernshon Nanavatty, Management Officer Tuli Mushingi and Financial Management Officer Robert Miller. Inset: FSO Nanavatty and Ambassador Albright. EMBASSYTANZANIA EMBASSYTANZANIA