The Foreign Service Journal, October 2005

the European Office of the U.N. and Other International Organizations in Geneva. Dr. Rice’s own appointment as Secretary of State should be a signal of more opportunities in international relations for women. The new Secretary of State can break the mold on appointments for women in the Foreign Service and offer well-quali- fied women the opportunity to serve in key countries and in positions in the State Department that have not previ- ously been offered to them. Editor’s Note: This article and the accompanying charts are taken from a study by Ann Wright that was com- pleted in early 2005. Due to space con- straints, several of the charts were omitted. You can find the complete report and all data online at the AFSA Web site at www.afsa.org. Data for this study was taken from the State Department’s list of Principal Officers, Chiefs of Mission by Country, 1778-2004 and Alpha- betical List of Chiefs of Mission and Principal Officials, 1778-2003 (http:// www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po). 20 04 data on ambassadorial appointments was obtained from the new appointments section of State magazine . 56 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 5 CHART 1 FIRSTS FOR FEMALE DIPLOMATS 1922 First woman admitted to the U.S. Foreign Service: Lucile Atcherson (FSO).* 1933 First female chief of mission at the minister rank: Ruth Bryan Owen, Denmark and Iceland. 1949 First woman chief of mission at the ambassador rank: Helen Eugenie Moore Anderson, Denmark. 1953 First female career diplomat chief of mission: Frances Willis (FSO), Switzerland. She was the third woman to be admitted to the Foreign Service. 1961 First female chief of mission outside of Europe and first to South Asia: Frances Willis (FSO), Ceylon. 1962 First woman to attain the rank of career ambassador: Frances Willis (FSO). 1965 First female African-American ambassador: Patricia Harris, Luxembourg. 1969 First female ambassador to a Caribbean country: Eileen Roberta Donovan (FSO), Barbados. 1971 First woman appointed to an international organization: Betty Dillon, repre- sentative to the International Civil Aviation Organization. 1972 First female ambassador to an African country: Jean Wilkowski (FSO), Zambia. 1973 First female assistant secretary of State: Carol Laise Bunker (FSO), Public Affairs. 1975 First female ambassador to a Pacific island nation: Mary Olmsted (FSO), Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. 1977 First female Hispanic-American ambassador and first female ambassador to a Central American country: Mari-Luci Jarimillo, Honduras. 1977 First female Asian-American assistant secretary of State: Patsy Takemoto Mink, Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. 1977 First female under secretary of State: Lucy Benson, Security Assistance, Science and Technology. 1978 First female ambassador to a South American country: Nancy Ostrander (FSO), Suriname. 1979 First female ambassador to an Asian country: Patricia Byrne (FSO), Burma. 1981 First female U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations: Jeane Kirkpatrick. In 1993, Madeleine Albright became the second woman appoint- ed as U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N. 1985 First woman to head a geographic bureau: Rozanne Ridgway (FSO), Assistant Secretary for European and Canadian Affairs. 1994 First female Asian-American ambassador: March Fong Eu, Micronesia. 1995 First female ambassador to a Middle Eastern country: Frances Cook (FSO), Oman. 1997 First female Secretary of State: Madeleine Albright. 2005 First female African-American Secretary of State: Condoleezza Rice. __________________________ * (FSO) Foreign Service officer. All others are non-career, political appointees. Dr. Rice’s own appointment as Secretary of State should be a signal of more opportunities in international relations for women.