The Foreign Service Journal, November 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2021 81 Mark Tokola is a retired Senior Foreign Service officer now serving as vice president of the Korea Economic Institute. He joined the Foreign Service in 1976 and retired in 2014. The Best Diplomat I Ever Knew George Vest 1918–2021 BY MARK TOKOLA APPRECIATION I t did not come as a surprise, but it was nevertheless a shock to see that George S. Vest had passed away on Aug. 24, 2021, at the age of 102. It was a shock akin to seeing the obituary of a Hollywood star or a beloved artist. Even for a reader of advanced years, learning of the passing of a role model creates the feeling of being a bit orphaned. I use the term “role model” because I cannot claim George Vest as a mentor. I did not know him well enough to say that. I did, however, work for him twice, once as his staff assistant in 1980 when he was assistant secretary for European affairs, and again in Brussels while he was U.S. ambassador to the European Union (or European Community, as it was known then). I valued my other brief, subsequent encounters with him. He was the best diplomat I ever knew. George Vest was never a famous diplomatic name along the lines of a Chip Bohlen, Averell Harriman or Richard Holbrooke. Maybe it was because the positions he held didn’t draw that kind of attention; but I never got the impression he was interested in fame or acclaim. He does, however, appear in the index of Kenneth Weisbrode’s 2009 book, The Atlantic Century: Four Generations of Extraordinary Diplomats Who Forged America's Vital Alliance with Europe , which shows that although Vest worked quietly, he could not go unnoticed. Among his contributions was coining the term “baskets” in regard to the sections of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) Helsinki Accords. He was the lead negotiator in preparations for the CSCE, conducted talks with the Soviet Union on arms control, and was one of the few