72 JULY-AUGUST 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Superior Honor and Performance Pay Awards from the State Department. After he retired in 2013, the Husos settled in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. Amb. Huso played tennis very well and enjoyed basketball, softball, and horseback riding, including polo, as well. In retirement, he became a U.S. Polo Association polo umpire and was an official on the field at the Mauna Kea Polo Club from 2013 to 2019. Amb. Huso is survived by his wife, Barbara Huso of Kailua Kona; daughter, Natalie Huso of Clarksburg, Md.; and sisters, Renata Beck of Bend, Ore., and Manuela Huso of Corvallis, Ore. Donations in his memory may be made to the Hawaii Parkinson Association or Legacies of War. n James Swan “Jim” Landberg, 89, a retired Foreign Service officer, passed away peacefully on February 19, 2026, in Washington, D.C., with family members by his side. Mr. Landberg was born on June 4, 1936, in Seattle, Wash. The first in his family to attend college, he obtained a BA in political science from the University of Washington in 1960 and a master of public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1975. In 1979 he graduated from the National War College. In 1963 Mr. Landberg began his career in the U.S. Foreign Service in Washington, D.C., where he met his beloved wife, Erika, at Augustana Lutheran Church. From 1963 to 1987, the couple served in the Dominican Republic, India, and, finally, Bolivia, where Mr. Landberg was political/economic counselor and acting deputy chief of mission. Mr. Landberg also served as a district senior adviser in Vietnam’s Binh Dinh Province from 1968 to 1970. His Washington, D.C., tours at the State Department included positions in the Office of Cuban Affairs; the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs’ Office of Regional Economic Affairs; the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs’ Office of Monetary Affairs; the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; and as executive assistant to the U.S. representative to the Paris Club. Mr. Landberg ended his career serving as deputy director and acting director of the Office of Mexico Affairs (1983–1987). Following his retirement, he was a member of the U.S. Foreign Service Grievance Board for four consecutive two-year terms and served as an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Election Supervisor in Bosnia and Kosovo from 1997 to 2000. Mr. Landberg was program director of the Conference Board from 1989 to 1999; an inspector at the Department of State Office of the Inspector General; and a consultant to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the law firm of Hughes, Hubbard, and Reed, and several other entities. He also formed his own real estate group, the Saint George Corporation, and owned and managed properties in Washington, D.C., into his final years. Mr. Landberg was a reader, a thinker, an Apple expert, an avid follower of politics and foreign affairs, a fan of classical music, and was known for his sense of humor and his delicious Swedish pancakes. He conducted extensive genealogical research, tracing his family’s connections to the Fairbanks family and presence in the United States to the 1600s. Friends and family members recall Mr. Landberg as a man who knew when a calm voice was needed and when to be outspoken, a man who valued working hard to contribute and benefit others, and a man who loved his country and was tough in both stamina and in standing up for what is right. Mr. Landberg is survived by his wife of more than 63 years, Erika; sons, Foreign Service Officer Christopher (and spouse, Amanda), and Washington, D.C., school teacher Stephen; grandchildren, Elias and Violet; sister, Judy; and many loving cousins and other relatives. n Moises David Mendoza, 42, a Foreign Service officer, died on February 12, 2026, in New York City. Mr. Mendoza was born on February 11, 1984, in Los Angeles, Calif. He grew up in Portland, Ore., and loved attending Trailblazer basketball and Nighthawk hockey games with his dad and brother. He enjoyed family camping trips and going hiking with the Boy Scouts. In high school, he participated in a competition with DECA, a nonprofit that mentors emerging leaders and entrepreneurs, and his team placed 10th in the nation. Mr. Mendoza earned a bachelor of science degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, a master of public policy degree from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, and a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University. Before entering the Foreign Service in September 2016, he worked as a journalist in the United States and Germany. During his first overseas posting, Mr. Mendoza provided consular services to U.S. citizens in Matamoros and documented the consulate’s little-known history. From this pioneering effort, he initiated a project at State to create a resource for other officers who want to pursue microhistories at overseas missions. The resulting “tool kit” is available through the Office of the Historian. His second overseas posting was to
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