The Foreign Service Journal, September 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2013 47 an incredible display of poor leadership. By the time I decided to end my career, I knew my place was elsewhere. In hindsight, was dissenting the right choice? Look, I miss my Foreign Service career—it was what I wanted to do in life. But I have no regrets at my dissent, or the end-of- career road it put me on. Family matters to those of us who are gay no less than it does to our straight friends and colleagues. My partner was treated as a second-class citizen; I could see the impact on him, and on us. And if gay and straight employees carry the same service obligations, the same requirements, how could our employer treat us by a different standard? There were larger principles at stake, too. How could Sec- retary Rice talk at every turn about the discrimination she witnessed as a child, and yet not internalize a leader’s obligation to end discrimination of any kind in the institution she led? And how can we promote an America truly devoted to equality and fair-mindedness, if the State Department fails to honor those ideals? I’ll always be proud that I helped change a policy that was so patently wrong, both in principle and for gay families. I’m proud, too, that we’re now a step closer to an America that’s truer to the democratic ideals you and I were taught to believe in as children. When I left the Foreign Service, I felt pretty beaten-down— and honestly, I questioned whether my dissent had been worth the stress. But then I immersed myself, as a citizen, in the politi- cal process—the kind of involvement we talk about but rarely experience as diplomats. I regained my idealism about America. And that’s a good thing. n Michael Guest resigned from the Foreign Service in 2007. During his 26-year diplomatic career, he served as dean of the State Depart- ment’s Leadership and Management School (2005-2007); ambas- sador to Romania (2001-2004); principal (and then acting) deputy assistant secretary for the Legislative Affairs Bureau (1999-2001); and deputy executive secretary (1994-1996). In addition to Bucharest, his overseas assignments included Moscow, Paris and Prague. Ambassador Guest is co-founder of, and senior adviser to, the Council for Global Equality, a coalition of 21 human rights and advocacy organizations seeking U.S. support for LGBT-fair policies abroad. He is also an independent consultant and speaker on leader- ship and diversity issues. He and his husband, Alex Nevarez, reside in California. Ambassador Dennis Jett Christian A. Herter Award, 1993 Regarding Mozambique Demobilization Briefly describe the dissent that your AFSA award recog- nized. When I was ambassador to Mozambique, the main objec- tive of our policy was to get the government of the Republic of Mozambique and the rebel movement to implement the peace treaty they had signed in Rome in 1992. As the peace process proceeded, this meant demobilizing most of the com- batants, forming a new national army with troops from both sides and holding elections. The GRM was dragging its feet and trying to hold back troops loyal to it from going to the demobilization centers. This was putting the peace at risk and violated the peace accord. In Angola just the year before, troops that had not been demobilized went back to war when Jonas Savimbi didn’t like the outcome of the election, and Mozambique seemed to be about to repeat that experience. At that critical juncture, I got instructions from Washington to sign an aid agreement and hand over to the government something like $20 million in aid. I told Washington we should not only refuse to sign the agreement, but should tell the GRM we were doing that because it was putting the peace at risk. In response, I got a cable from Washington essentially telling me they weren’t interested in my objections, and that I should go ahead and sign the agreement. I called Susan Rice, who was the Africa person at the National Security Council at the time, and reminded her that when Tony Lake, the national security adviser, had visited Mozambique several months before, he had told the GRM (at my suggestion and urging) that there would be “Honestly, I questioned whether my dissent had been worth the stress.” –Michael Guest Dennis Jett.