Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: wbarmy

Every single Ambassador, DCM, Attache and embassy floor sweeper serves at the pleasure of the President
__________________________
Perhaps you can answer a question: I’ve always assumed ambassadorships were rewards for fundraising/campaigning. If so it stands to reason they would be highly partisan and also would not survive a change in the Presidency.

Is that true? Do these people have real accomplishments, language fluency, cultural fluency, social connections to the designated post?


35 posted on 11/05/2019 4:09:01 PM PST by reformedliberal
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies ]


To: reformedliberal

Many Ambassadors are career Foreign Service Officers. They have served in most of the positions resident in an Embassy and the State Department feels they can oversee the whole embassy. These positions are usually the Political Officer or Attache, General Service Officer, Consular Officer, Public Affairs Officer, and a few others.

This is not the norm for very large and visible Embassies such as Paris, London or Tokyo, to name a few. The amount of visibility and cost of the Embassy functions is far too great fro a career State employee, so the President usually gives these “rewards” to very well heeled supporters or celebrities who can afford these kind of parties. In those cases, a very capable DCM, Deputy Chief of Mission is assigned to the Embassy, and that person does the heavy lifting for the Embassy duties.


37 posted on 11/06/2019 9:38:22 AM PST by wbarmy (I chose to be a sheepdog once I saw what happens to the sheep.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson