THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2022 19 Understaffed Embassies in Africa The persistent and acute understaffing of career Foreign Service positions at U.S. missions in Africa is a significant concern. While the global need and demands on the department are immense, the dire staffing and human resource situation reflects Africa as an afterthought rather than a priority of global significance. —Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) in a July 22 interview with Foreign Policy. Bolstering Diplomacy with Africa The United States government has invested billions in the security sector in countries in Africa over the years, but we are falling short with regards to addressing the lack of resources and diplomatic presence. This hampers our ability to balance security programs with those aimed at tackling the root causes of extremism and overall insecurity. —Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in remarks to Foreign Policy on July 22. HEARD ON THE HILL JOSH New Faces in New Places On June 3, career Senior Foreign Service Officer Ambassador Joan Polaschik was sworn in as the 22nd director of the Foreign Service Institute. She previously served as dean of the School of Professional and Area Studies and as the institute’s deputy director. In remarks at the swearing-in ceremony, Amb. Polaschik named as one of her key priorities the establishment of a training float. Notable recent State Department appointments include former Virginia first lady Dorothy McAuliffe, who will serve as the new special representative for global partnerships, and Desirée Cormier Smith, who was appointed in June to the newly created position of special representative for racial equity and justice. Since our last update in the July-August issue, the Senate has confirmed 23 individuals for ambassadorships and other senior positions. Those are: career Foreign Service officers for 12 ambassadorships (Sudan, South Sudan, the Slovak Republic, North Macedonia, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Fiji/Kiribati/Nauru/Tonga/Tuvalu, Mongolia, Nepal, Qatar, Zambia and Chad); one member of the civil service (Kazakhstan); seven political ambassadors (Denmark, Hungary, South Africa, ASEAN, Malta, Iceland and Kenya); and two political appointees to be assistant secretary of State for legislative affairs and USAID assistant administrator for Africa. As in the last update, four senior positions at the Department of State have nominees who have yet to be confirmed. In addition, the same two positions do not yet have a nominee: inspector general and under secretary of State for public affairs and public diplomacy. At USAID, three nominees remain unconfirmed, and one position lacks a nominee. The CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media has yet to be confirmed. AFSA is currently tracking 44 ambassador vacancies across the globe, 24 of which have a nominee. Nominations that have been announced since our last update include 18 career Foreign Service members (Mauritius/Seychelles, Papua New Guinea/Vanuatu/Solomons, Armenia, Tajikistan, DR Congo, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Niger, Cambodia, Cyprus, African Union, Latvia, Romania, Côte d’Ivoire, Bulgaria, Rwanda, Turkmenistan and Suriname) and one political appointee (Czech Republic). In addition, nominees for USAID assistant administrator for Asia and ambassador at large for cyberspace and digital policy were announced—both political appointees. The nomination of Elizabeth Frawley Bagley as political appointee ambassador to Brazil stalled in May when The Washington Free Beacon surfaced remarks she made in a 1998 oral history interview with the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training about the influence of the “Jewish lobby” and finances. As a result, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee blocked moving her nomination on to the full Senate. In July, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, made famous after successfully landing US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in 2009, resigned his position as ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization (the United Nations air safety agency) in Montreal for unspecified reasons. He had served in the role for just six months. On July 28, the Nicaraguan government announced it had withdrawn its approval of the nominee for U.S. ambassador to the country, Foreign Service Officer Hugo Rodriguez, Reuters reported. The rejection comes as a response to comments Rodriguez made during his Senate confirmation hearing, which included supporting a “change in direction in Nicaragua” and considering the removal of the country from the Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement. Follow AFSA’s ambassador tracker for real-time updates at afsa.org/ ambassadorlist.
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