The Foreign Service Journal, October 2005

My own calculations found that of the 175 U.S. chiefs of mission listed on the State Department’s list of biographies for chiefs of mission as of December 2004 (www.state.gov/r/ pa/ei/biog), in cluding those assigned to missions at international organiza- tions, 27 were women: 19 State Foreign Service officers, one Foreign Agricultural Service officer and seven non-career, political appointees. Thus, when political appointees are count- ed along with FSOs, women filled only 16 percent of the total U.S. chief-of-mission positions at the end of 2004. Opportunity for Action While women have made some progress in reaching the senior levels of the diplomatic corps, Secretary Rice has the opportunity to appoint women to several key positions where none have served before. Within the State Department, in addition to the top jobs listed above, no woman has served as assistant secretary for administration, international organi- zations, politico-military affairs or diplomatic security. Nor has a woman ever served as director of the Policy Planning Staff or the Office of Medical Services, or as the legal advis- er to the State Department. No women have been appointed as ambassador to countries of great polit- ical and economic importance to the United States such as China, Russia, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, India, Spain, Canada, Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand or Nigeria. Women have ser- ved only once as ambassadors to Euro- pean allies: United Kingdom (Anne Armstrong, 1976), France (Pamela Harriman, 1993), Belgium (Anne Chambers, 1977) and Italy (Clare Boothe Luce, 1953). All were politi- cal appointees, not career Foreign Service officers. No woman has served as chief of the U.S. mission to: the European Union or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, both in Brussels; Inter- national Organizations in Vienna; or O C T O B E R 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 55 The number of female appointments as chief of mission or to other senior positions stayed well within single digits through the Nixon administration.