Diplomatic Connections Nov/Dec 2015

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AMBASSADOR KÅRE AAS EMBASSY OF NORWAY

CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY PELOSI JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER SHINZO ABE

AMBASSADOR MARTIN DAHINDEN, PH.D. EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND

AMBASSADOR PETER SELFRIDGE CHIEF OF PROTOCOL TO THE UNITED STATES

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LETTER FROM

THE

PUBLISHER

Meeting the pope. Briefing the president before he attends a function with Queen Elizabeth II. Helping foreign dignitaries feel at home in Washington, D.C. Few jobs are as interesting or as esteemed as Peter Selfridge’s. He does it all with finesse and exquisite professionalism in his role as the U.S. Chief of Protocol. We are privileged that he took time out of his back-to-back schedule to give us a look inside his six-days-a-week job as the ultimate Washington insider. The interview begins on page 60.

Ambassador of Norway Kåre Aas’ nation is one of Europe’s most fascinating. On an oil-blessed area at the frontier of the Arctic that also shares a 121-mile land border with Russia, Norway’s geography is unlike any other in the world. Today it confronts pressures from the recent influx of migrants while its oil-dependent economy faces strain from a worldwide price slump. Ambassador Aas has an illuminating discussion with Diplomatic Connections around all these points as well as how Norway cooperates with the EU, although it has never joined.

It can be difficult to understand Switzerland’s permanent neutrality and why the country has selected this route. However, in conversation with Ambassador of Switzerland Martin Dahinden, Ph.D., he gives us a thought-provoking look into the role his country plays on the world stage. He illuminates the principle of Swiss permanent neutrality and the responsibilities that come with it as well as how the country has set the scene time and again for brokering dialogue between nations during tense times, including Georgia and Russia as well as the U.S. and Iran.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dawn Parker ASSISTANTS TO THE EDITOR Ashley Gatewood Lauren Peace BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVES Evan Strianese, Scott Goss, Pat Keane DESIGN & CREATIVE Betty Watson CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Larry Smith DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENTS and CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Roland Flamini, James Winship, PhD, Mike Mosettig, Kerry McKenney, Monica Frim

To contact an advertising executive CALL: 202.536.4810 EMAIL: info@diplomaticconnections.com

For our travel feature, we packed our parkas and made a dash to the Canadian province of Manitoba. Proving that our neighbor to the north is more than moose and Mounties, Winnipeg stands as the province’s capital and offers an eclectic hodge podge of activities, including the curious mystery or two. Writer Monica Frim reports back on her encounters with world-class architecture, The Canadian Museum for Human Rights plus a playground of hip shops and restaurants. She then plunged into the wilderness via a flight up to the remote town of Churchill for beluga spotting and polar bear watching. Intrepid travelers, be prepared to add Manitoba to your list!

DIPLOMATIC CONNECTIONS WEBSITE DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT IMS (Inquiry Management Systems) 304 Park Avenue South, 11th Floor New York, NY 10010 Marc Highbloom, Vice President marc@ims.ca Maria D’Urso, Project Manager Mariad@ims.ca

In addition to holding the distinguished honor of being the highest-ranking female politician in U.S. history, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was recently presented with the prestigious Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun Award. Bestowed by Japan, the award recognizes Pelosi’s work to strengthen the U.S.-Japan relationship. Be sure to read our article this issue to learn more about her contributions to the Japanese people as well as the history of this award, which has a long history dating back to 1875.

To order photos from the events go to:

We ended this year’s series of Diplomatic Appreciation Receptions on another high note. Our two most recent events were held in Chicago and at a venue in New York City’s Times Square. The trek out to Times Square can be tricky to say the least, but a bevy of exhibitors made the trip and were rewarded by a wonderful evening getting to know our diplomatic community.

Our Medical Section has grown and you will see this reflected from page 84 to 95.

Top physicians from Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine are highlighted and featured. You’ll read a brief synopsis of their medical careers and specialties.

Warmest regards, Dawn Parker Publisher & Founder Diplomatic Connections

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Diplomatic

As the year winds down, I’d like to thank you for your support and readership of Diplomatic Connections. Best wishes for a happy, healthy winter and we look forward to bringing you insightful news from the international/diplomatic world next year and beyond.

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CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHY Christophe Avril and Dr. John Frim

www.diplomaticconnections.com Send any name or address changes in writing to: Diplomatic Connections 4410 Massachusetts Avenue / #200 Washington, DC 20016 Diplomatic Connections Business Edition is published bi-monthly.

Diplomatic Connections does not endorse any of the goods or services offered herein this publication.

Copyright 2015 by Diplomatic Connections All rights reserved.

Cover photo credits: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Koji Sasahara/AFP/Getty Images; H.E. Kåre Aas, Ambassador of Norway, Christophe Avril, DiplomaticConnections; H.E. Martin Dahinden, Ph.D., Ambassador of Switzerland, Christophe Avril, Diplomatic Connections; H.E. Peter Selfridge, Chief of Protocol to the United States, Christophe Avril, Diplomatic Connections

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AMBASSADOR PETER SELFRIDGE CHIEF OF PROTOCOL TO THE UNITED STATES

AMBASSADOR KÅRE AAS EMBASSY OF NORWAY

APARTMENTS, CONDOMINIUMS and HOUSING 866 United Nations Plaza, 866UNPlaza.com . . 96 & INSIDE BACK COVER AUTOMOTIVE - CARS and LIMOUSINE SERVICES Admiral Leasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 BMW of Rockville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Lehmann-Peterson . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Manhattan Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 DIPLOMATIC LIFESTYLES/DUTY FREE RAYJAK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 DUTY FREE Health & Beauty Clarins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 La Prairie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Watches, Timepieces and Luxury Items Chopard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 EDUCATION – INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS British International School of Chicago . .

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FINANCIAL SERVICES United Nations Federal Credit Union UNFCU . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY PELOSI JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER SHINZO ABE

AMBASSADOR MARTIN DAHINDEN, PH.D. EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND

FURNITURE CORT Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

SECURITY SERVICES TULLIS Worldwide Protection . . . . . . . . . 73

HOTELS, DINING and ACCOMMODATIONS Baccarat . . . . . . . . . . . . . BACK COVER Concordia Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 [The] Fairfax at Embassy Row . . . . . . . 48 Fairmont Washington, DC – Georgetown . . 52 [The] Hay-Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 InterContinental Cleveland . . . . . . . . . 94 Loews Regency New York Hotel . . . . . . . 51 [The] Peninsula Beverly Hills * . . . . . . INSIDE FRONT COVER [The] Peninsula Chicago . . . . 76 through 83 [The] Peninsula New York . . . . . . . . . . 53 [The] Warwick Allerton Hotel, Chicago . . . . 49 [The] Watergate Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

FEATURED ARTICLES Ambassador Interviews NORWAY Ambassador Kåre Aas . . . . . . . . . . . 8 SWITZERLAND Ambassador Martin Dahinden . . . . . . . 22 UNITED STATES Ambassador Peter Selfridge . . . . . . . . 60

HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL CENTERS Cancer Treatment Centers of America . . 93 Featured Physicians . . . . . 88 through 93 Cleveland Clinic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Featured Physician. . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Johns Hopkins Medicine . . . . . . . . . 87 Featured Physicians . . . . . . 84 through 87

Japan Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi receives High Honor Award . . . . . . . . . . 68

LINENS Abrielle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Diplomatic Connections’ International Diplomat Appreciation Receptions Chicago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Humanitarian Niall Mellon Townships Initiative in Africa

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Protocol Peter Selfridge Chief of Protocol to the United States . . . 60 Travel Manitoba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

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H.E. KÅRE AAS AMBASSADOR OF NORWAY TO THE UNITED STATES

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THE NORDIC PERSPECTIVE

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An Interview With Norway’s Ambassador Kåre Aas

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BY ROLAND FLAMINI

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hen the Arctic Circle is your backyard, you tend to pay special attention to it, said Norway’s ambassador to Washington, Kåre R. Aas. Which is why, a decade

ago, the Norwegians launched an annual international conference on the potential, development and problems of the Arctic. At first, the conference drew few outsiders, but these days it attracts hundreds of interested participants as the world caught up with Norwegian concerns about an area that is rapidly changing.

Because Norway opted not to join the European Union (or the European Economic Community, as it was then known) in two successive referendums, in 1972 and 1994, it emerged relatively unscathed from the 2008 financial crisis. But the recent dramatic drop in oil prices has taken some of the bloom from Norway’s economic rose and stepped up plans to diversify an economy which has been 40 percent dependent on its offshore oil and gas production. Norway, a member of NATO, was a front-line country in the Cold War. Faced with Vladimir Putin’s new aggressiveness, Norway imposes the ongoing international sanctions, but otherwise treads warily. This is understandable for a country with 400,000 border crossings along its 121-mile common land border with Russia, and common fishing areas in the Barents Sea. All of which Ambassador Aas spelled out in a recent in-depth interview in his Massachusetts Avenue embassy.

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Marit Hommedal/AFP/Getty Images

Helicopter participates in NATO’s Dynamic Mongoose anti-submarine exercise in the North Sea, off the coast of Norway.

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Thierry Charlier/AFP/Getty Images

New North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of Norway speaks at a press conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

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B’rth Aadne Sµtrenes/Contributor

Oil rigs in Ølensvåg, Norway.

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Diplomatic Connections: My first question is inevitably shaped by events that are going on in Europe. The European Union’s decision to establish minimum quotas of refugees has not been well received by a few of the 28 member states. How is Norway reacting to the refugee crisis?

Diplomatic Connections: It won’t become a global issue by itself. How much effort are the Europeans, both as individual nations and as the European Union, putting into persuading other prosperous countries to accept it as a global problem and assume their share of responsibility?

Ambassador Aas: I think the answer to the crisis should really be global. All countries have to be involved in it, either by receiving refugees or by helping financially. Some months ago, the Norwegian government had already decided that Norway will be receiving 8,000 Syrians over the next two years. But that was prior to the huge wave of news coming from the Middle East and Africa. The Norwegian government is planning to increase its humanitarian support from 3.4 billion kroner ($400 million) this year to 4.3 billion ($ 512 million) next year. A large part of this is earmarked for Syria and its neighboring countries. We have also provided two vessels that are actively taking part in rescue operations in the Mediterranean. Already they have saved many lives.

And we provide direct financial support to help Greece deal with the enormous challenges related to receiving thousands of refugees. However, I also think that there has to be a screening process put in place. We should grant refugee status to those in need and not coming for other purposes.

But we have an open door and a humanitarian heart.

Ambassador Aas: The crisis has to be solved in a broad context and with efforts from many nations. It’s more than just a European issue. It’s a question which has to be pursued because so far the discussion has been more or less limited to European countries. The discussion here in the United States has become more vocal than it was a couple of weeks ago, and the United Nations General Assembly could be a venue.

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Diplomatic Connections: So it could end up as a Security Council resolution?

Ambassador Aas: Or an agreement among a group of nations, as long as the group is bigger than just Europeans. Some form of filter is necessary, even for economic reasons. And to know about the refugees. Some of these people are not coming from the Middle East and they’re not coming from Africa — they’re from Eastern Europe.

Diplomatic Connections: That flow has been going on for some time, however.

Ambassador Aas: It has increased tremendously now, I think.

Diplomatic Connections: It was Norway that brought the Israelis and the Palestinians together for secret talks in 1993, and it was in Oslo that the Middle East Peace Accord was first launched. It seems stalled now, but is Norway in any way still connected with the peace process?

Ambassador Aas: We are, yes, still involved. Norway is chairing what is called the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee for assistance to the Palestinians (AHLC), which is a coordinating forum for the tripartite cooperation between Israel, Palestine and the donors. The purpose of that instrument is to provide economic and financial support for the Palestinians. We’ve been involved in that for 20 years.

Diplomatic Connections: But does this actually create any fundamental change in the current situation?

Diplomatic Connections: But oil is still 40 percent of your economy.

Ambassador Aas: Oh yes, it’s big. But, for example, integrating women into the labor market has generated more revenues than oil and gas. In the U.S., workforce participation rates are at around 62-63%, and it is in the 50s for women.

In Norway, this rate is at 74%, and the difference between men and women is much smaller than in the U.S. The fact that we get a more people working, and paying taxes, is more important to the Norwegian economy than the oil and gas sector.

Diplomatic Connections: Because you increased the labor force?

Ambassador Aas: And we increased the productivity of the society, with increases in the labor force in services, in fisheries, in shipping — it diversifies the economy.

Ambassador Aas: No. But we are talking to the parties all the time.

Chesnot/Getty Images

Diplomatic Connections: Øystein Olsen, the governor of the Norwegian Central Bank, the Norges Bank, said in New York some time ago that the Norwegian economy was leaving behind “15 golden years.” He was referring to the decline in the price of oil, Norway’s main export, and the negative impact it was having on the Norwegian economy. Firstly, to what extent is he right? And secondly, how is Norway confronting this problem?

Ambassador Aas: We are, of course, impacted by the fall of oil and gas prices. That’s a drop from $100 to $40 or $50 a barrel, and the consequence is that service industry doesn’t have the demand it once did, and there has been unemployment. It’s impacted the whole economy, but primarily the western part of the country and to some extent the north. Unemployment in Norway is now only around four percent, but it’s increasing, and the government wants to introduce new measures to reduce it.

(L-R) French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Norway’s Foreign Minister Borge Brende pose for photographers ahead of the opening of a conference concerning climate change entitled ‘The Arctic, The Canary in the Mine’ at the Maison des Oceans in Paris on March 17, 2015 in Paris, France. This event was in preparation for the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP 21) to be held in Paris in December 2015.

Diplomatic Connections: What measures is the government taking in that direction?

Ambassador Aas: Oil and gas will continue to be important pillars in the Norwegian economy. Projections for oil and gas reserves are that they will last for another 50 years and there are huge areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf still unexplored and with a high resource potential. But as I’ve been saying since I got here, more important is the fact that Norway’s economy has been going through a transition from energy dependence.

Diplomatic Connections: Has oil production been reduced in an attempt to maintain price levels?

Ambassador Aas: It has not been reduced because these are long-term export contracts. The oil and gas resources are managed in a long term perspective and the production from existing fields will continue. However, when it comes to investments in new field developments the industry is adapting to the oil price.

Diplomatic Connections: Surely given the political implications

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Anthony Behar-Pool/Getty Images

(L-R, front row) President Obama, His Excellency Haider Al-Abadi, Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq, Her Excellency Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, (2nd row) Susan Rice, United States Ambassador to the United Nations (behind President Obama), Secretary of State John Kerry and Samantha Power (pink), United States Ambassador to the United Nations, attend the ‘Leader’s Summit on Countering ISIL and Countering Violent Extremism’ at the United Nations Headquarters on September 29, 2015 in New York City.

The Summit, hosted by Obama, addressed national, regional and global initiatives to counter ISIL and the spread of violent extremism.

of buying oil from Russia, Norwegian oil would be preferred by European countries?

Ambassador Aas: There is a flexible world market for oil and Norway export most of our production of 1.9 million barrels per day to the world-market. The market for gas is different: most of the gas produced in Norway is exported by pipelines to European countries. Norway is the second largest gas exporter to Europe – next to Russia. Norway is an efficient and reliable exporter of gas to Europe and is an important supplier to the European energy market.

Diplomatic Connections: The Norwegians are very active in their frozen north. There was recently a conference on the Arctic.

Ambassador Aas: The Arctic Dialogue, held every year, in Bodø, in the High North. When Norway started the Arctic Dialogue, very few countries were interested. Now hundreds of people come to the conference. It’s one of the largest addressing Arctic issues. But more recently the Obama administration has also been focusing on the region. There was a conference in Alaska to raise awareness and to make the right decisions regarding the Arctic. Secretary Kerry attended, and President Obama was also there. In Norway, our message to other countries is that we have been able to 14

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balance the climate issue with economic and social growth.

We have a national consensus on that, which is why we have been gradually moving into the northern parts of Norway since we started the oil and gas venture in the late 1960s.

Diplomatic Connections: Isn’t there also a security dimension as well? Doesn’t Norway, together with other Scandinavian countries, keep a watchful eye on Russian activity in the Arctic?

Ambassador Aas: What I will say about that is that Norway has been living with Russia for 1,000 years — and living peacefully with Russia for 1,000 years. But we are very critical of what [the Russians] have been doing by annexing the Crimea, and what they are doing in the eastern parts of Ukraine; we are imposing the same sanctions as the U.S. and everybody else. We have postponed our military cooperation with Russia, but what is also important is that we maintain good cooperation with Russia, for instance, on administering the fishing in the Barents Sea, where there was overfishing in the 1970s and 1980s. Now fishing is based on harvesting, mostly because we have a bilateral understanding with Russia. We also have an understanding on what I would call nuclear spill from old Soviet nuclear submarines — so that also is working.

During the Cold War, the Norwegians living on their side of the border and the Soviets on the other side had this crossbordering activity that amounted to some 10,000 border crossings every year — now it’s 400,000. So the peopleto-people contact is an important element in our bilateral relations, and it works. All the northern countries, and Russia, Canada, and the United States, we have a common understanding to maintain the Arctic as a stable region.

here, another Cold War is starting up?

Ambassador Aas: With the annexation of Crimea, a piece of land belonging to another European country, Russia has grossly violated international law and that is why sanctions will be continued. There is still some important international cooperation with Russia, such as on Iran.

Diplomatic Connections: When they see the financial and other problems that roil the European Union, do Norwegians ever have a

Diplomatic Connections: But doesn’t the current situation with the Russians make Norwegians feel at all uneasy that, as some say

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Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty Images

(L-R) Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Prince Sverre Magnus, Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Queen Sonja and King Harald of Norway appear on the balcony of The Royal Palace in Oslo to celebrate Norway’s National Day, on May 17, 2015 in Oslo, Norway.

sense of “there but for the grace of God, go we?” You’re a northern country, with northern values, a northern work ethic, a northern philosophy, a sense of frugality, and you disengaged very early on through a referendum from this union which is suffering, at least partly, because its southern members had a not entirely logical approach towards the business of running their economies.

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on all issues, international, regional and also economic.

We have an agreement with the European Union whereby Norway is contributing quite substantially to support some of the member countries, including Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. We are also a part of the so-called PSC+9 group in Brussels, which is comprised of EU Member States and the NATO countries which are not members of the EU. Through this mechanism, Norway can endorse the EU’s foreign policy statements and other decisions, such as the restrictive measures against Russia. We have provided 60 million

Norwegian kroner to support refugee efforts in Serbia and Macedonia. Furthermore, Norway participates in EU Missions such as Kosovo, Djibouti/Somalia, Palestine and Ukraine.

We are doing a lot, I would say, in working with the European Union.

Diplomatic Connections: Norway’s voluntary support of those countries is not the same as obligatory support. Some EU countries have made a chronic habit of getting it wrong, which is the source of exasperation to some northern European member states.

Ambassador Aas: What is lacking in Norway’s ties with the European Union by not being a member is the political dimension, but we’ve been having regular political consultations with the EU for the past 20 years. The agreement that we have with the European Union as part of the internal market is a long-term accord.

Diplomatic Connections: But you’re still outside it. You can’t be saying that that’s the same as being inside and carrying its burdens.

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Ambassador Aas: No. It’s different.

Diplomatic Connections: And are there regrets that two referendums went the way they did?

Ambassador Aas: That was a decision by the people, and the government respected it.

Diplomatic Connections: How would you characterize Norway’s bilateral relations with the United States?

Ambassador Aas: Excellent. The United States is our strongest partner and ally. We cooperate in all sectors, including a strong military and defense cooperation. Norway is acquiring the new F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter. The U.S. is a strong trading partner and we are working with the U.S. on energy, defense and security policy, and several global issues: climate change, health, education, gender issues, human rights, the Middle East, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Somalia. There’s a lot of interaction with the administration, and my goal is to strengthen this cooperation even further. One new dimension to this, on which I see greater cooperation between our two countries is the Arctic, and as part of the Arctic issue, of course, climate.

Diplomatic Connections: What quick piece of advice would you give to a newly arrived ambassador on how to function in Washington?

Ambassador Aas: We are all trying to gain the attention of, and get access to, members of the administration. Based on my experience the access is not easy, but it’s never impossible to get a meeting with interlocutors you want to engage. The interaction we have with Congress is excellent, and with civil society and think tanks. What you need to do in this city is really to establish personal relations, and that makes it easier. It’s also important to get out of D.C. Because Norway has such a strong interest in the Arctic, I’ve been to Alaska four times. My job is also to maintain relations with Norwegian-Americans.

Diplomatic Connections: Are there many?

Ambassador Aas: In Minnesota alone there are 800,000 Norwegian-Americans and more in North Dakota. They have a history. Their grandfathers and their great-grandfathers came here in the beginning of the 19th century. It’s important to engage with them and to keep in touch with them.

Diplomatic Connections: How much time do you spend on the road?

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Ambassador Aas: In order to have an understanding of what the United States represents I travel outside of D.C. to meet with groups and leaders from around the country. But it is difficult because my job here is to present Norwegian priorities, ideas and proposals, and we also have a huge amount of cabinet ministers coming to Washington. It takes a lot of time to prepare for these meetings, which have to be as substantive as possible.

Diplomatic Connections: Which brings me to a question about the Norwegian monarchy, which seems to be extremely popular, and yet here is a country that sees itself as egalitarian. Who is being clever here?

Ambassador Aas: Both. The Norwegian king and the royal family since sovereign independence in 1905 [the dissolution of the union of Sweden and Norway and the accession of the Norwegian king Haakon VII] have been very close to the people. They have understood the sentiments of the people, and they have been acting in accordance with egalitarian ideas. That’s why the king and his family have a strong position in Norwegian society. This closeness is vital in order for the monarchy to succeed. It’s a constitutional monarchy, but the cabinet meets at the royal palace once a week where they present their decisions to the king, who has no veto powers.

But the king [Harald V] is very active in promoting Norwegian business. When he was here in May, the whole purpose was firstly yet another demonstration of the strong ties between the two countries, and secondly he wanted to be in touch with the community. More importantly he also came as an advocate of the government’s environmental priorities, with a special focus on the Arctic. So he went to the state of Washington and stayed there for three or four days, and then four days in Alaska. He really managed to raise awareness.

Diplomatic Connections: Outside your residence on Massachusetts Avenue is a female statue with one arm raised as though in the act of hailing a taxi. Whose statue is it?

Ambassador Aas: The statue is of Crown Princess Martha who lived in Pooks Hill, MD with her children (one of whom is our current king) during the Second World War. She became good friends with President Roosevelt and often visited the White House, at which time she also met Winston Churchill, then the British prime minister, and dined with the two of them on occasion. So in a way Martha is waving at her good friend Churchill [whose statue is outside the British Embassy across the street].

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SWI ZERLAND’S MARTIN DAHINDEN A DECIDEDLY MODERN, OLD SCHOOL DIPLOMAT

By James A. Winship, Ph.D.

Neutrality does not mean that we turn our back on the world. On the contrary, neutrality obliges us to play a very active role in diplomacy.

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hen you first meet Switzerland’s Ambassador to the United States, Martin Dahinden, Ph.D., he creates the impression of a diplomat who would be just as at home in the halls of 19th century European diplomacy as he is in the diplomacy of the post-Cold War world. He is mannered and thoughtfully spoken, but also an explorer of diplomatic frontiers and a keen student of the impact of globalization on diplomacy.

Though he is a Ph.D. economist, Ambassador Dahinden is a classically trained diplomat who was drawn into the practice of diplomacy by a combination of wanderlust and boundless curiosity about a wide range of issues. “I am not a person who would enjoy working 30 years on the same issue,” Dahinden observes. The opportunity to indulge “my interest in doing many different things and having the opportunity after four or five years of service to change the place I would work and change the topic I was working on,” he reflects “has given a kind of richness to my life that I would probably not have been able to find elsewhere.”

The richness and diversity of Ambassador Dahinden’s career is self-evident in his professional biography. He entered the Swiss diplomatic service in 1987. He held early assignments as a member of the Swiss Delegation to the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) posted to the Swiss Embassy in Paris, as Deputy to the Swiss Ambassador in Nigeria (1989 – 1991) and a temporary posting to the Swiss Mission to the United Nations in New York. Subsequently he worked in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Service for Disarmament Policy and Nuclear Issues (1991 – 1995) and as Head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Service of the Directorate of Political Affairs. These assignments led to Dahinden being named Deputy Head of the OSCE Coordination Unit during the Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE in 1996.

Building on his work there, he was posted to Brussels as Deputy Head of the Swiss Mission to NATO (1997 – 2000).

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H.E. MARTIN DAHINDEN, PH.D. AMBASSADOR OF SWITZERLAND TO THE UNITED STATES

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Brian Snyder/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets for a negotiation session with Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (R) over Iran’s nuclear program in Lausanne, Switzerland on March 20, 2015, as European Union Political Director Helga Schmid (4-L) looks on.

The Ottawa Convention, referred to as the “Landmine Treaty” but officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of AntiPersonnel Mines and of Their Destruction, was opened for signature in 1997. It achieved status as binding international law in 1999. Switzerland made a major contribution to that work by establishing the Geneva Centre for Humanitarian Demining. Dahinden served as that agency’s Director from 2000 – 2004. Following that appointment Dahinden headed the Directorate of Corporate Management of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (2004 – 2008).

Immediately prior to being named Ambassador to the United States in 2014, Dahinden served as Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) from 2008 – 2014.

Ambassador Dahinden’s appointment as Switzerland’s Ambassador to the United States taps a deep vein of shared values between the two countries, including an abiding respect for constitutionalism, the rule of law, the importance of democratic political participation open to all citizens and respect for human rights. These values echo 24

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a special “bond of union” that was born of the fact that Switzerland and the United States in the middle of the 19th century represented the only functioning republics in the world. It was in Washington, D.C., that Switzerland opened its first embassy outside Europe.

Ambassador Dahinden was kind enough to speak with Diplomatic Connections about Swiss traditions in foreign policy, notably the Swiss tradition of neutrality, as well as his long career.

Diplomatic Connections: You have now been in your country’s diplomatic service for 28 years. How has the world changed?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: When I started in the late 1980s, it was the last years of the Cold War. Relations, and also the issue positions of countries, were much more defined than they are today. What we have seen over the course of my career is an enormous move toward globalization. Not only are things more complex, but many new instruments of diplomacy and security policy have been developed. Now we deal with a whole range of issues that diplomacy one hundred years ago, 50 years ago, even 20 years ago simply did not know.

Diplomatic Connections: As the world has changed, how have you changed as a diplomat?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: I have learned a great deal over the years and benefited greatly from each diplomatic assignment I have had. But, my core attitude toward my work has not changed. Diplomacy is about analyzing things, about reporting, about negotiating. You can go back in history, even to the Renaissance, and you see those three elements in the core of a diplomat’s life.

Diplomatic Connections: Switzerland is a unique country. It is a confederation. There are 26 separate cantons, each of which retains a significant degree of autonomy. We talk about states’ rights under the United States Constitution, but those rights pale alongside the autonomy of the Swiss cantons. How does this unique Swiss governmental structure affect diplomacy?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: It is actually a big advantage.

The different cantons have their own culture, and all of the cantons are linked to a broader European culture — the Italian, the German or the French culture. This gives us the opportunity, at least in Europe, to have people who

understand exceptionally well what is going on in our neighborhood. In addition, Switzerland has a long history of political negotiation as the result of the confederal nature of its statehood. This is something very useful when you embark on diplomatic missions.

Diplomatic Connections: Does the confederal nature of the Swiss government, the inherent diversity of experience and opinion, make it harder to make foreign policy decisions?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: To some extent it might be harder. When you consider that Switzerland is a neutral country that puts a great deal of emphasis on competence and delivering good services, we build what we do in the international diplomatic realm on the experience we have gained from our internal political system.

Diplomatic Connections: You noted in your response that Switzerland is a neutral state. Switzerland has a very long tradition of formal neutrality in international relations. Functionally, what does neutrality mean as a central tenet of Swiss foreign policy?

Keystone/Getty Images

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 - 1963), then-American president announcing on television the strategic blockade of Cuba, and his warning to the Soviet Union about missile sanctions during the Cuban missile crisis on October 22nd, 1962.

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Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Former Swiss President and the then-OSCE Chairperson-in-office Didier Burkhalter is seen on a screen at the opening of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial meeting on December 4, 2014 in Basel. The top diplomats from more than 50 countries, including the United States, Russia and the European Union, met in Switzerland to discuss the deepening Ukraine crisis and international terrorism.

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: Neutrality means that we do not engage in military alliances. We do not accept the use of unilateral military means in international affairs. The only thing we may do is to participate in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. You pointed out that neutrality has a long history in Swiss diplomacy. For us the critical point was the Congress of Vienna [1815] following the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. It was in that series of agreements that neutrality was formally recognized.

Switzerland, because of its centrality and its geostrategic position, has long served as a crossroads of political intrigue and power games. Neutrality was a way to keep us outside of a permanent power struggle in Europe.

Diplomatic Connections: The Swiss Foreign Ministry describes Swiss neutrality as “self-determined, permanent and armed.” Could you explain what is meant by that?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: First, our neutrality is selfdetermined. This means that neutrality is a choice that the Swiss people and their government have consciously made.

Neutrality is not something that has been imposed on us.

The second element is the idea that our neutrality is permanent. Historically, there have been many situations where a country has declared itself neutral in a very specific conflict. This was often the case with the United States in the 19th century, but it was also the case with many other countries. Our neutrality is not of that kind. It is not situational. Instead, it is a commitment we make, a stance Switzerland takes regardless of what conflicts might come up.

Third, our neutrality is armed neutrality. This means that Switzerland does not want to rely on somebody else to protect us. To be respected as neutral we have an army. We are able to defend ourselves in case somebody violates our neutrality or our sovereignty.

Diplomatic Connections: How does the doctrine of neutrality affect the conduct of Swiss foreign relations?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: Neutrality does not mean that we turn our back on what is happening in the world. On the contrary, we see that neutrality obliges us to play a very active role in many areas of diplomacy.

Let me offer two examples. First, Geneva has assumed a very special role in the world as a place for international negotiations. We offer a neutral place where countries can meet, where international organizations can be established.

We do not interfere with negotiations or the operations of

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Another role that was much more important in the past but remains a useful role for Swiss diplomacy Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter is our mandate to serve as a protective power when other countries have broken off formal relations between them. Switzerland offers its presence for the United States in Iran or for Georgia in Russia and vice versa. In these situations, we act as a kind of intermediary to keep channels of communication open. We also work to assure that the rights of citizens of the countries we represent as a protective power are respected despite the differences between countries.

Diplomatic Connections: Switzerland was relatively late to join the United Nations, only doing so in 2002. What was involved in that decision?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: This decision not to join the United Nations and then later to join is linked to how we define neutrality. If you look at the Charter of the United Nations, you see that the Security Council is in a position to take tough military action. That has never happened, to date, and the actions of the Security Council have never gone as far as its mandated powers are described in the Charter.

Still, there was a fear that powers of the Security Council detailed in the UN Charter could impinge on Switzerland’s policy of neutrality. Then, after the end of the Cold War some things began to change. The Swiss government decided to put the question of Swiss membership in the United Nations to the Swiss people in a referendum. It was really the transformed nature of the post-Cold War world that was decisive in Switzerland’s decision to join the United Nations.

That said, we have been for a long time a major member of and a major contributor to many of the specialized organs of the United Nations.

Diplomatic Connections: Switzerland’s special role as a protective state in the world of diplomacy came into sharper relief this summer as Cuba and the United States took the first steps toward 28

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restoring normal diplomatic relations between them. How did Switzerland function in that role as protective power and diplomatic go-between?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: It started in 1961. Of course, during that time there were a lot of changes and some provocations.

Throughout the Cold War, and especially during the Cuban Missile Crisis [1962], the Swiss embassies around the world, but especially in Havana and Washington, D.C., served as important avenues of communication.

For instance when the United States discovered the presence of Russian missiles in Cuba, President Kennedy forwarded a message making it clear that although the U.S. would establish a naval blockade of Russian ships entering Cuban waters, no invasion of Cuba was planned. His goal was to avoid any misperception that might risk escalating the confrontation beyond the issue of the placement of offensive missiles capable of reaching the United States in Cuba.

After the massive influx of Cubans fleeing Cuba to the United States in 1977, the Swiss role changed. From that point onward, the Interests Section of the United States in Cuba was staffed primarily by American personnel, though it functioned under the Swiss flag and under Swiss diplomatic protection. That meant that Switzerland’s role was more a formal protection of a small but active U.S. diplomatic presence in Havana from 1977 through July 2015.

Diplomatic Connections: How did the Swiss role function here in the United States? Was there a Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C., staffed by Cuban diplomats but operating under the Swiss flag?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: Exactly. In fact, Cuba and the United States did exchange diplomats, but since neither extended diplomatic recognition to the other, the Interests Sections functioned under the Swiss flag. There was regular contact between the Swiss embassies and the respective Interests Sections, but most of the interaction that was going on was happening directly.

Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter

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Diplomatic Connections: How is the role of Switzerland as a neutral state and as a protective power incorporated into the training of Swiss diplomats?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: We don’t have a special training that singles out the protective power or the mediation role of Swiss diplomacy. But, these roles are very much a part of the culture of the Swiss diplomatic service. For instance, our experience in mediation leads us always to look beyond the immediate political limitations on negotiation between contesting states.

If you look at what Swiss diplomats are doing in multilateral institutions, you see much the same intermediary role. Our diplomats try to speak to people from all the different parts of a political setting.

Diplomatic Connections: How would you characterize the relationship between Switzerland and the United States?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: The relations between Switzerland and the United States are good and they are deep. I was surprised by how big the Swiss footprint in

the United States is. Switzerland is the sixth largest foreign investor in the United States, creating approximately half a million jobs. A large percentage of those jobs are highly skilled research and development positions that draw high salaries.

There is growing interest here in the United States in the Swiss apprenticeship programs as an alternative educational model. We have signed this summer [2015] a letter of intent to exchange experience, knowledge and best practices to help establish similar apprenticeship programs in the United States.

There is a vibrant Swiss community in the United States.

But, of course, there have been some disagreements on tax and banking issues. Fortunately, there are agreements now in place.

Diplomatic Connections: The United States and Switzerland have in effect what is called an “Enhanced Political Cooperation Framework.” There are annual meetings between senior officials of both governments, but what does that mean practically?

Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty Images

(From L-R) Italian Foreign Minister, Paolo Gentiloni; Swiss Foreign Minister, Didier Burkhalter; Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, speak after the opening of the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) at a resort on the Dead Sea, west of Amman, on October 20, 2015. OSCE and the Mediterranean Partner countries met in Jordan to discuss common security challenges and opportunities in the Mediterranean region.

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Ambassador Martin Dahinden: This is an annual meeting where the open issues between Switzerland and the United States are put on the table, then we examine together where we are and where we want to go. The content of these meetings changes according to the current issues between us. It also helps to assure that at one point in the year there is a comprehensive examination of all the different issues that are outstanding between us.

Diplomatic Connections: The persons involved in those meetings change from year to year depending upon what issues are to be discussed?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: Exactly. For instance, last year Switzerland held the presidency of the OSCE. Broad questions of European security were a particular concern in our bilateral meetings with the United States. The core issues often change according to the international agenda and also according to the agenda of both countries.

management became the central strategic response. If that failed, then perhaps the use of force under the auspices of the United Nations or some coalition of states might become necessary. Following the use of force or coincident with it, some form of humanitarian aid would be necessary. Finally, a reconstruction process would begin making use of the formal instruments of development cooperation.

Crisis situations today demand a multilevel approach that cannot wait for the old cycle to work itself out and that will not survive the ad hoc, marginally coordinated humanitarian efforts of the past. What you see now is a much more complex pattern of conflict, conflict resolution and post-conflict rebuilding of an entire politicaleconomic-social order. This means that the toolbox that was previously used one instrument after the other now needs to employ all the tools, all the assistance skills at once. This is extremely demanding and very often leads to overstretching the capabilities of the assistance program the international community is prepared to provide.

Diplomatic Connections: Today, we have failed Diplomatic Connections: states. We have non-state What needs to happen to actors. We have long-term James A. Winship, Ph.D., Diplomatic Connections and Swiss Ambassador Dahinden, Ph.D. reconceptualize and restructure crisis areas such as the Horn the way in which the world’s leading powers and non-governmental of Africa. We have the Sudans, in the plural. Now we see the rise of groups provide assistance? What needs to change? Who can bring ISIS, continuing instability in Iraq and a prolonged civil war in Syria about that change? generating hundreds of thousands of refugees.

All of these present security concerns, but they are also humanitarian crises where the available humanitarian aid is insufficient. Is there a new approach to humanitarian assistance that we need to be thinking about?

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: When I started as a diplomat, we had a clear understanding of the so-called conflict cycle.

When a conflict broke out, we knew that in an initial phase of conflict preventive diplomacy was important. Then, crisis

Ambassador Martin Dahinden: If I had to tell you one critical element to dealing with these problems, it is the need for strong political leadership that can make the needed changes happen. I don’t think that a new institution would solve these problems. Tinkering with the institutional framework without closely re-examining the fundamental issues of how assistance is provided will simply circle us right back into the same set of problems we have now.

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Monica Frim heads out onto the Canadian tundra in search of polar bears, snorkels with beluga whales in sub-arctic waters and rides a dog-cart on the edge of a boreal forest. Her base is a rustic lodge in Churchill, Manitoba, an isolated flyin town known as “The Polar Bear Capital of the World;” her gateway, Winnipeg, a modern metropolis bustling with historic attractions and world-renowned museums, galleries and theaters.

Photography by John and Monica Frim

toba

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Manitoba From Winnipeg to Churchill There’s More than Belugas, Bears and Beavers in Canada’s Central Province • By Monica Frim

T

he land north of the 49th parallel held a curious fascination for the early European explorers. It was harsh and forbidding, especially around Hudson Bay where windswept rocks and tundra rendered the land so inhospitable that few could get past the pack ice or survive the region’s wintery bite. But the area offered access to something fashion-savvy Europeans coveted even more than New-World jewels — a beaver on their heads.

Intriguingly, the large furry rodent with buck teeth and a paddle-shaped tail led to the building of a nation and then became its emblem. Fur traders almost drove it to extinction in the mid-1800s. Then it resurfaced not only in rivers but also on company logos, buildings, kitschy souvenirs and the back of the Canadian five-cent coin, the nickel.

Early Jesuits’ journals tell of natives laughing themselves silly over the naivety of it all. “Imagine these crazy white men giving us kettles, beads, blankets and knives, all for a piece of fur,” they said, or words to that effect. The entire Hudson Bay drainage basin, called Rupert’s Land in the 17th and 18th centuries (roughly a third of present-day Canada plus parts of the northern United States), teemed with fur traders, most of them in the employ of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). The HBC monopolized the trade from 1670 until silk hats became the new rage in the mid-19th century and hastened the end of the fur trade.

As hunting and fur trading gave way to farming, the early trading posts began to sell household goods and general merchandise. The HBC evolved into the iconic department store that today counts among its acquisitions the American Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue.

In the early 20th century, Winnipeg was the fastest growing city in North America. It grew from a population of 20,000 in 1886 to 150,000 in 1911 and, owing to its position as a transportation hub and its innovative 36

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Manitoba Legislative Building

In the early 20th century, Winnipeg was the fastest growing city in North America.

It grew from a population of 20,000 in 1886 to 150,000 in 1911 and, owing to its position as a transportation hub and its innovative architecture, came to be known as the “Chicago of the North.” architecture, came to be known as the “Chicago of the North.” Having recently visited Chicago, I was eager to see Winnipeg’s version and headed straight to the Exchange District, the city’s original center of commerce and culture. My guide was Don Finkbeiner, owner of Heartland International Travel & Tours. Don pointed out that many of the buildings here were, in fact, designed by Chicago architects. Today the Exchange District is a National Historic Site, a 20-block enclave of turn-of-the-19th-century warehouses, stately banks, opulent hotels and seedy saloons turned into trendy boutiques, galleries and condos.

The fine buildings of downtown Winnipeg attest to a time when it was a booming place of mansions, millionaires and merchantry. Located at the confluence

The Esplanade Riel pedestrian bridge spans the Red River at The Forks. From the middle of the bridge The Mon Ami Louis restaurant provides great views of both Red and Assiniboine rivers, the French quarter of St. Boniface and downtown Winnipeg.

Visitors to the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg can walk aboard a replica of the 17th century fur-trading ketch, Nonsuch, which sailed into Hudson Bay in 1668.

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of two rivers, the Red and the Assiniboine, and center stage on a railway that ran to both eastern and western ends of the country, Winnipeg was primed to outshine all other cities in North America.

“Let me show you where it all started,” said Don as he led us to The Forks, the actual river junction that’s been bringing people together for more than 6,000 years — from early Aboriginals to fur traders, buffalo hunters and farmers, to the modern-day citizens and tourists.

Set alongside a river walk and parklands with symbolic

Winnipeg’s Exchange District the contractor, Thomas Kelly, embezzled more than a million dollars, sharing his goodly plunder with government

Tabitha Langel of Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company in the Forks Market shows off her famous gooey cinnamon buns.

statuary, The Forks Market is arguably Winnipeg’s busiest attraction, abuzz with people jostling shoulder to shoulder through specialty boutiques and ethnic eateries that were once the stables and haylofts of competing rail companies.

But the building that best epitomizes the high hopes of Winnipeg’s yesteryear, with its classically perfect dimensions and a gold-plated bronze statue known as the Golden Boy atop its cupola, is the province’s most powerful — the Manitoba Legislative Building. It is also the most perplexing, steeped in occult mysteries and, during its construction in the early 1900s, the object of its own scandalous undoing.

The story is that British architect Frank Worthington Simon was hired in 1912 to design a legislative building appropriate to the city’s anticipated lofty status. But when

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cronies that allegedly included the then-premier of the province, construction almost ground to a halt. Simon tried desperately to save his building, even offering to give up his $100,000 commission, but the new government would have none of it. They cut funding, forcing Simon to finish quickly with substandard materials and foregoing many finishing touches. Winnipeg slipped slowly downward, additionally affected by World War I and the curtailing of rail transportation. When the stock market crashed in 1929, it delivered a straight-out bust to the city’s boom.

Nevertheless, Simon left behind an unexplained legacy of allegorical statuary, hieroglyphic inscriptions and mathematical symbolism that remained largely unexplained for almost a century. Enter Dr. Frank Albo. As a graduate student, Albo tapped into the mindset of Simon and questioned the architect’s curious choices: Why were there two Egyptian sphinxes atop a building in Manitoba?

Why two bronze bison guarding the building? And what about the symbolic measurements and mathematical placements of columns, stairs and statuary, all according to numbers of the Fibonacci sequence? This was real Dan Brown stuff, though not a fictional story. Albo found parallels among Christian and pagan symbols and proved that the Legislative building was actually an ancient temple in disguise built on masonic principles (Simon was a Freemason) with occult clues “hidden in plain sight.”

Innovative architecture has always been one of Winnipeg’s most defining features. So it comes as no surprise that Winnipeg’s newest museum, The Canadian Museum for Human Rights, is also one of its most ingenious. Designed by American architect Antoine

The memorial to Sir William Stephenson in front of the Manitoba Legislative building. Born in Winnipeg and codenamed Intrepid during World War II, Stephenson is considered to be the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s James Bond.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights

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Predock, the building opened in September 2014 as the world’s only museum solely dedicated to awareness and education about the importance of human rights for all. Maureen Fitzhenry, the museum’s media relations manager explained, “This is not a museum of artifacts but of ideas and stories related to human rights issues. The aim is to encourage dialogue and critical thinking about issues that affect people everywhere. It’s all about concepts and aspirations.”

Toward that end, 11 galleries of interactive displays showcase viewpoints from indigenous rights to labor rights, children’s rights, LGBTTQ rights, racism, and the struggles and genocides of societies from all parts of the world.

Holocaust atrocities are presented not in terms of doom and gloom but in ways that recognize and encourage breaking the silence on genocide so it can be prevented.

As a result I found the museum far from depressing, which, Maureen explained, was the museum’s intended effect. Back-lit, alabaster-clad ramps

TARA STEFANSSON (Churchill host) Director, Lazy Bear Lodge EMAIL:

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Walkways with back-lit alabaster panels connect the various galleries inside the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The old façade of St. Boniface Cathedral remains after the 1906 building was destroyed by fire in 1968. A new church (not seen in this photo) was built behind the façade in 1972.

Each summer the Royal Winnipeg Ballet stages free open-air performances in Assiniboine Park.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery houses one of the country’s largest collections of Inuit art.

One reason for my making this trip in the summer was to cozy up to beluga whales — by snorkeling alongside them. Belugas are sociable things, as curious about us as we are about them, but probably a lot more comfortable in 48-degree Fahrenheit water. zig-zag upward from the dimly lit lower floors through the museum galleries, which grow brighter until they ultimately end at the resplendent 23-story Tower of Hope with views across the city. The ultimate effect is one of hope and achievement.

The message is consistent with the general spirit of optimism that has come to characterize the city. You see it everywhere — in the chic and trendy bars and restaurants of artsy Osbourne Village; in the world-class galleries and museums; in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s performances, Canada’s oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America; at multicultural events like Folklorama, Festival du Voyageur and the Winnipeg Folk Festival; and in St. Boniface, Winnipeg’s French Quarter with its ultra modern cathedral built inside the ruins of the shell of the old cathedral, which was destroyed by fire in 1968.

As in the days of old, Winnipeg is still the gateway for exploration in all directions. Although the beaver trade ceased centuries ago, a replacement industry based on polar bears and beluga whales thrives in Churchill, an isolated town 600 miles north of Winnipeg and accessible only by plane or train. Churchill is known as the polar bear capital of the world for its accessibility to polar bears that

wander from the tundra to inspect the shores of Hudson Bay for signs of pack ice in October and November.

I tacked a visit to Churchill onto my Winnipeg weekend in the summer when the Churchill River estuary teems with 3,000 beluga whales while the tundra vibrates with yellow and purple flowers. Wind-worn rocks tumble along a shoreline that heaves back and forth with 16-foot tides and occasionally reveals a polar bear that, on first glance, could be mistaken for a boulder.

Hudson Bay was angry my first rainy day and roared a mean froth, but Aaron, our guide from Lazy Bear Lodge, paid it no mind. He had received word that a polar bear was prowling along the shoreline and he was happy to drive a busload of deplaned nature enthusiasts in search of the bear before we even checked in at the lodge. Aaron stopped the car on a small rise and pointed at a white rock in the distance. “Check out that rock,” he said. “Let’s see if it moves.” We eventually found one that did — but it was so far in the distance that even with binoculars it looked no bigger than a lozenge. Later in the week, Wally Daudrich, the owner and builder of Lazy Bear Lodge, captained his bull-nose boat the Sam Hearne within 20 feet of a mother bear with her cub on the shoreline. Our previous bear

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Thermëa Winnipeg is a Scandinavian-inspired luxury spa that features hot, cold and temperate pools as well as numerous indoor and outdoor relaxation areas.

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The Lazy Bear Lodge & Café in Churchill offers a variety of tours—from snorkeling and kayaking with beluga whales to polar bear watching in the area of Hudson Bay.

Monica Frim approaches a beluga whale in the Churchill River. In the background the port’s elevator is still used for loading vessels with grain bound for European markets.

In summer the Canadian sub-Arctic bursts forth with berries and a variety of white, yellow and pink flowers.

One of thousands of beluga whales that ply the waters of Hudson Bay.

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encounters on land (there had been several over the course of a few days) suddenly melted into paltry inconsequence.

One reason for my making this trip in the summer was to cozy up to beluga whales — by snorkeling alongside them. Belugas are sociable things, as curious about us as we are about them, but probably a lot more comfortable in 48-degree Fahrenheit water.

My snorkel gear consisted of layers of winter woollies and fleece jackets under a dry suit with airtight openings at the neck and sleeves. Once I was fully zipped and tucked, the Zodiac driver, Bob, burped the air out of my suit as if it were Tupperware. I jumped from the Zodiac into the frigid water holding a rope tether to ward against the tides carrying me off to the Arctic Ocean and gasped as I hit the cold water. Plunging my face into the frigid water I saw… nothing! I stretched one arm out for a selfie as proof that I wasn’t dreaming but the resulting image showed only a coffee-colored rectangle around a barely perceptible oval that was either my mask or my head. Apparently the storm a few days earlier had washed so much peat into the bay that the water was brown as beef gravy and almost as thick.

It was only after I had pulled myself back into the Zodiac that I could see what had been there all along — the sleek white bodies of tens of belugas arcing over the water, looking for all the world like Bavarian Weisswurst in broth.

Large tundra vehicles provide safe platforms from which to view the wildlife of the Hudson Bay area.

A polar bear and her cub on the rocky shore of Eskimo Point on Hudson Bay.

Gerald Azure guides visitors on a dog-carting ride through a boreal forest.

By the time the zodiac headed for shore 90 minutes later, I had seen not tens but hundreds of beluga whales.

Surprisingly, kayaking provided a more interactive encounter as, another day, I practically got carried along by friendly belugas who came close enough to nudge my kayak with their ghostly bodies. Only the adults are white — belugas are born gray and lighten as they grow older. Thousands are born in the warmer waters of the Churchill River between June and August, which makes summer the best time to visit Churchill if you want to see both polar bears and beluga whales.

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It’s also a good time to go dog-carting.

Gerald and Jenafor Azure are the owners of Blue Sky Expeditions. In summer they exercise their sled dogs by having them pull wheeled carts along a mile-long path through boreal forest and grassy ponds on the outskirts of Churchill. Visitors sit in the carts while Gerald steers from a small platform on the back.

Lazy Bear Lodge offers many programs that include visits to cultural heritage sites such as Cape Merry, an 18th century battery on the east shore of the Churchill River; the Prince of Wales Fort, a massive stone fortress that took 40 years to build only to be subsequently surrendered to the French without a single cannon having been fired; a full day’s boat trip on Hudson Bay to the Seal River to see more

polar bears and beluga whales; and tundra tours onboard specially built bear-proof vehicles that are as roomy as they are comfortable.

But for those who can’t get to Churchill, the zoo in Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park offers the next best thing. It recently added an exhibit called Journey to Churchill that features polar bears along with snowy owls, caribou, arctic foxes, wolves and muskoxen. And just as in Churchill, sightings depend on the bears’ druthers. If you’re lucky, a bear will swim over your head in perfect synchronicity with your walk through a clear tunnel that features seals at the other end. If not, go to Churchill (Psst — I was told that in summer, zoo denizens prefer a morning dip).

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South Africa Ambassador Mahlangu and Kerry McKenney of the Niall Mellon Townships Initiative.

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND KENYA

By Kerry McKenney

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Congressman Donald Payne, Jr., Congressman Brendan Boyle and South Africa Ambassador M.J. Mahlangu.

“South Africa is a young democracy with many challenges, including the continued need to overcome poverty, unemployment, and inequality,” . . .

Ambassador Mahlangu of South Africa

T

he Capitol Hill townhouse of the Twenty-First Century Group was the setting for the Fifth Annual benefit for the Niall Mellon Townships Initiative, a non-profit improving the lives of thousands of children and families in impoverished communities in South Africa and Kenya. After helping to provide 125,000 residents of townships with solidly built homes to replace dilapidated shacks, the organization has now moved along to constructing sustainable schools, with the goal of building enough classrooms to educate 100,000 school children from impoverished communities over the next decade. In addition, the Niall Mellon Townships Initiative built a medical facility to provide health care for 60,000 people a year living in the Mukuru slum area of Nairobi, Kenya.

Honorary Co-Chairs of the event included Ambassador of South Africa, M.J. Mahlangu; Ambassador of Kenya, Robinson Githae; Ambassador of Ireland, Anne Anderson; Director of the Northern Ireland Bureau, Norman Houston and several members of the U.S. Congress.

In his eloquent remarks, Ambassador Mahlangu of South Africa praised the work of the Niall Mellon volunteers and staff, stressing that South Africa benefits enormously from the efforts to improve housing and education for the next generation. “South Africa is a young democracy with many challenges, including the continued need to overcome poverty, unemployment, and inequality,” he said. “We are grateful for the support of our friends and the bonds that our country enjoys with the U.S. and Ireland.”

Photos by John McShane

Norman Houston, Director of the Northern Ireland Bureau and Keith Carney of FedNet.

The new Deputy Chief of Mission for the Embassy of Ireland, Michael Lonergan, told the audience that he had the opportunity to view firsthand the Norman Houston, Director of the Northern Ireland Bureau, Congressman Brendan Boyle impressive Niall Mellon and Jocelyn Hong of the Twenty-First building projects in Century Group his earlier role in the Foreign Ministry as Director of Southern Africa.

Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. spoke about how Attorney Bob Nealon, Embassy of Ireland much the work of the Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Lonergan, Ambassador of South Africa M.J. Mahlangu, Niall Mellon volunteers Congressman Brendan Boyle, and means to him, as it Kerry McKenney of the Niall Mellon Townships Initiative did to his late father, Congressman Payne, Sr., a friend of Niall’s and a strong supporter of the non-profit. “The work that this amazing volunteer organization is doing is truly transformational,” the Congressman said. “Moving from building homes to providing schools is a natural progression. A good school

system is key to the success of every community. You are truly doing God’s work.”

Congressman Brendan Boyle, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, added that he is proud that Americans of Irish descent are giving back to developing countries.“ We have many opportunities in this country, but with those opportunities comes a certain responsibility.

Making sure that we give back so that those fellow human beings have the same opportunities that we are able to enjoy is the right thing to do and also a smart investment.”

The Niall Mellon Townships Initiative is a federally registered 501 (c)(3). More information can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/ NiallMellonTownshipsInitiativeUSA.

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Diplomatic I n te rnat ional

DIPLOM AT APPRE CIATION RECE PTION IN

NEW YORK

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INTERNATI ONAL DIPLOMAT APPRECIATION RECEPTION T M • NOVEMBER 4, 2015 • NEW YORK

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INTERNATI ONAL DIPLOMAT APPRECIATION RECEPTION T M • NOVEMBER 4, 2015 • NEW YORK

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AMERICA’S OFFICIAL RECEIVER OF NATIONS

ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET An Interview With AMBASSADOR PETER A. SELFRIDGE U.S. Chief of Protocol

By Roland Flamini

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CHIEF OF PROTOCOL TO THE UNITED STATES MR. PETER A. SELFRIDGE Photo by Christophe Avril of Diplomatic Connections

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

T

he State Department website describes AMBASSADOR PETER A. SELFRIDGE, the U.S. Chief of Protocol, as “the first

hand that welcomes presidents, prime ministers, ruling monarchs and other leaders to our country.”

Alex Wong/Getty Images

He is also the last hand — in that he is on hand to say goodbye, too. But Selfridge, 44, is more than the official greeter at airports. He is the principal choreographer of bi-lateral ceremonials and meetings involving high-level visitors to both

U.S. Chief of Protocol Peter A. Selfridge (L) greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) as he arrives at the White House for a meeting with President Obama.

the White House and the State Department; he

has at various times worked as advance man

accompanies the president on his foreign travel,

for President Obama, Vice-President Biden and

keeps in touch with Washington’s large population

Secretary of State Kerry, with stops along the

of foreign heads of mission, runs Blair House (the

way working for the Clintons and Al Gore. He was

government’s top-level guest house), oversees such

President Obama’s campaign advance man and

State Department outreach projects as its culinary

latterly headed the White House advance and

diplomacy program and its familiarization tours for

operations team. In 2014, he was nominated to

foreign diplomats to different parts of the country.

succeed Capricia Marshall as chief of protocol of the

To say that Ambassador Selfridge is an Obama administration insider is an understatement. He 62

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United States.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Chief of Protocol Peter Selfridge greets Cameroon President Paul Biya and his wife Chantal at the White House for a group dinner during the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit.

Interviewed by Diplomatic Connections in his State Department office, he confessed to finding the transition hard from key, but relatively low-profile, advance work to the high visibility of shaking hands with history on a more or less daily basis. In one day in September, for example, he was on hand to bid farewell to departing Pope Francis in the morning and later in the day greeted China’s President Xi Jinping on his arrival in Washington. Following his interview with Diplomatic Connections, Ambassador Selfridge rushed to Andrews Air Base to shake the hand of the departing President Joko Widodo of Indonesia. When it came to anecdotes to illustrate his point, he was necessarily reticent.

Maybe, in the fullness of time, he will write his book. Pressed to suggest a title he came up with “The Fly on the Wall Has a Tuxedo.”

Diplomatic Connections: What exactly is the chief of protocol’s role?

Ambassador Selfridge: I’m the first hand to greet distinguished visitors. In some ways I extend the president’s and the administration’s reach in that they can’t be at the airport to greet every leader who comes in. That’s the traditional definition. But the role is actually a lot more malleable than I thought it would be. You can approach it from a logistical viewpoint. You can approach it from a completely ceremonial standpoint. I’ve taken kind of a workman’s approach to it.

Diplomatic Connections: Why do you say that?

Ambassador Selfridge: Well, without excluding the greeting and the ceremonial aspects, which are the essence of it, I involve myself in the functioning of this office and how it relates to the rest of government, how it relates to the State Department and how we can better support [the people in] this building and the White House and the principals that we serve. My staff are sick of me telling them, “Remember, we’re the experts. Voice your opinions when you think something’s out of place that potentially puts a bump in the road for a visiting delegation or would make it more difficult for our leaders to convey whatever message they have.”

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Ambassador Selfridge: I wish I could give you some instances — maybe when I’m out of office. I see it as my role to make sure that the reception is the same, the approach is the same. That’s aside from the different levels we assign to a visit. The policymakers decide on the level of the visit — for example, whether it’s a state visit or an official visit.

But when it comes to us to execute that decision, we use our template.

President Obama welcomes Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa (R) on the White House South Lawn. Chief of Protocol Peter Selfridge is in the background.

Diplomatic Connections: How does protocol relate to policy?

Ambassador Selfridge: The best way to explain it is with a real life analogy. Take a soccer game. Protocol is the playing field, the pitch itself, which has specific dimensions — the rules on the field and the governing body. Without all those things, the game couldn’t be played as it is supposed to be played. Which is a big difference from a mediator or arbitrator. We have a specific role that allows the game to be played.

Diplomatic Connections: So does the protocol approach change depending on the state of bi-lateral relations?

Ambassador Selfridge: It shouldn’t.

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Diplomatic Connections: I was also thinking whether a leader gets treated differently at the protocol level if his country’s relations with the United States were strained or going through a bad phase.

Diplomatic Connections: Since the main focus of your work is the president, why is your office at the State Department and not at the White House?

Ambassador Selfridge: You should also talk to former chiefs of protocol because they all have very strong opinions about this, and I think we would fit quite well at the White House.

However, the bulk of work is here, in the State Department.

Even with a president as prolific as he is, he sees a leader on average every 10 days. The secretary [of state] probably sees 10 leaders in 10 days, so it wouldn’t make much sense to be there rather than here. I would say I’m probably at the White House one day a week anyway, but the rest of my time spent here is full because of the number of foreign visitors we have to this building, and the number of events held. The White House social secretary, who is a strong partner of this office, handles a lot of occasions.

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

President Obama listens as Pope Francis speaks during an arrival ceromony at the White House. Chief of Protocol Peter Selfridge is in the background.

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Diplomatic Connections: How do you interact with the White House social secretary?

and “You’re going to greet before you speak.” That kind of thing.

Diplomatic Connections: Don’t all presidents at one point or another get used to being guided by the protocol specialists?

Ambassador Selfridge: Very well. It helps that I was in the same office as her in the White House.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Diplomatic Connections: Where does your job end and hers begin: isn’t there a certain amount of overlap?

Ambassador Selfridge: There is a degree of overlap due to the nature of our jobs, and a lot of collaboration as a result. Our focus is generally the same when it comes to guests, except that I concentrate on the foreign visitors almost exclusively and on their having a great experience.

Ultimately we all work as a team to ensure the best result.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (L), Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia (obscured) and Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir (R) are escorted by United States Chief of Protocol Peter Selfridge as they arrive at the White House.

Ambassador Selfridge: I think so. The two presidents I have worked for obviously have enormous mental capacity to pick up a lot of things to do with ceremony. The spectrum on which you judge them is how much they’re willing to be led versus how much they want to just carry themselves through.

A lot of that has to do with how much time they’ve had to be briefed and to familiarize themselves with the event.

A lot of these things are fairly predictable. We’re not putting them through obstacle courses.

Diplomatic Connections: Why do you also travel overseas with the president: isn’t protocol on such visits the responsibility of the host government?

Diplomatic Connections: As advance man you worked pretty much behind the scenes; as a chief of protocol you’re quite visible.

Was the transition hard?

Ambassador Selfridge: There are some trips when I don’t have a lot to do, but sometimes I am fully engaged. Maybe the flag’s facing the wrong way, or a preference of the president isn’t quite met or there’s a potentially awkward situation that I can see coming I can help to head off.

Ambassador Selfridge: It was pretty hard for me — the fact that people are actually interested in what I do. The advance team is rarely noted, so that the scrutiny and the “publicness” of this job came as a surprise.

Chief of Protocol Peter Selfridge escorts Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir (C) to a meeting with President Obama at the White House.

Diplomatic Connections: How does President Obama react to protocol requirements?

Ambassador Selfridge: For the most part the president is acutely aware of the ceremonial, the protocol and the logistics. When I was advance director at the White House, he knew exactly what I did. You don’t always find that with a lot of presidents or principals. They show up in a room that’s set up the way it is and, rightly so, they don’t give a lot of thought to it. [President Obama] knows exactly what goes into that set-up and what’s involved in the ceremonial aspects of that event. My job is to make sure that it’s all set up properly, that he’s not going to get embarrassed on the platform and that he knows what to expect when he gets there. For instance, the queen may be already seated,

Diplomatic Connections: What other aspects of this job surprised you?

Ambassador Selfridge: The biggest surprise for me was just how public it was, but the volume of work was quite surprising. It’s six days a week on average, and very full days. It’s surprising how often I’m asked to speak, or how often I’m asked to represent the leaders because they can’t get to the airport, they can’t get to the room to entertain the visitor or I’m asked to keep the foreign minister company, “We’re running 15 minutes late. Make sure he’s comfortable.”

Diplomatic Connections: The flow of visitors is continuous, isn’t it?

Ambassador Selfridge: Yes. Yesterday we had the Qatari foreign minister and economics minister [at the State Department] in the morning where they had an economic

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Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. Chief of Protocol Peter Selfridge escorts Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, as they are greeted by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to attend a State Dinner at the White House.

Ambassador Selfridge greets Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi as he arrives at the White House.

dialogue. From there I went to the White House for the Indonesian president’s visit with President Obama, and then went to a diplomatic reception. They’re very full days.

Diplomatic Connections: Do you know every foreign ambassador?

Ambassador Selfridge: By face. Another surprise was how frequently I had to learn to identify new ambassadors coming to take their post. With 180 diplomatic missions you expect turnover. I remember thinking I had mastered the roster of names last fall, and all of a sudden 20 new faces come in and I had to start all over.

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Ambassador Selfridge: Social media has had an effect.

The fact that communications are now so powerful, U.S. officials here can pick up the phone or their keyboard and shoot off a message to the foreign ministry, whereas in the past the only avenue used to be the foreign ambassador. I don’t think their work is any less important. They now focus more on economic issues, constituency issues as well as the geopolitical issues. The most active ambassadors are very effective at developing relationships, not only with this building and the White House, but also with the Department of Commerce, with USAID, with members of Congress. I think what also surprised me was how active some of these ambassadors are on the state and local levels and not just because of their diasporas — they see an economic opportunity there.

Diplomatic Connections: When you eventually leave — Ambassador Selfridge: On January 17…

Diplomatic Connections: That’s when you offer your resignation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you will leave.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Diplomatic Connections: How do you think the diplomatic corps has changed in the past decade?

Ambassador Selfridge: I expect to leave at that point because I’m tied to this president.

I think that for the most part they’re here for important business, and they’re excited to get to that business.

Diplomatic Connections: Assuming that he or she asks you, what advice do you have for your successor?

Diplomatic Connections: What was it like meeting Pope Francis?

Ambassador Selfridge: I guess it would depend on who they serve, but I think you need to adapt to the personality of the bosses that you work for. There is a base line of what is required in this job and that remains constant. The rules of protocol don’t change. If you draw a chart of protocol, manners are on one side and ceremonial on the other. But you really need to be ready to understand the persona of your boss or bosses [because we have several] and to learn how to work best for them. Ultimately, you need to adopt their style so they’re comfortable with their engagements with foreign governments.

Diplomatic Connections: When you say to visiting leaders as they get off the plane, “Welcome to the United States,” what do they usually reply?

Ambassador Selfridge: I would say that almost without exception they all seem pleased or excited to be here, so they smile and thank me. A few might have questions about what’s coming when they get to the White House the next day. There’s a spectrum of how pleased they might be. Some are here on emergency visits. But the U.S. is an important partner to a lot of countries in different corners of the world.

Ambassador Selfridge: I disappoint everyone with my answer to this because I’m so focused on what happens next, making sure the program unfolds as we laid it out, that I don’t get a chance to stop to soak up the moment. But I am very, very impressed with the pope. I love the issues that he’s focused on. He was an exceedingly generous, thoughtful and kind person.

Diplomatic Connections: This book that you are presumably going to write, Selwa [Lucky] Roosevelt [chief of protocol in the Reagan presidency] has pre-empted one title. She called her book “Keeper of the Gate.” If it was still available, would you have considered that title?

Ambassador Selfridge: Not necessarily.

Diplomatic Connections: What do you do in your spare time, presuming you have any?

Ambassador Selfridge: I don’t have much any more. Once a week there’s a basketball game that pulls in people from all over the administration that started in the second week of the Obama administration. I join that when I can. It’s actually really competitive, but it’s fun. And we have an old house that I spend a lot of time trying to work on…

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Diplomatic Connections’ International Correspondent Roland Flamini with United States Chief of Protocol Mr. Peter Selfridge at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.

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House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi Receives High Honor for Her Role in Strengthening the United States’ Relations With Japan

By James A. Winship, Ph.D.

House of Representatives Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Ambassador of Japan to the United States Kenichiro Sasae

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Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Emperor of Japan Akihito

Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), leader of

juncture for U.S.-Japan relations as the two countries

the House of Representatives and former Speaker of

— once enemies and now among the closest partners

the House, received Japan’s Grand Cordon of the Order

— observe the 70th anniversary of the end of World War

of the Rising Sun “in recognition of her significant

II and as they seek to reshape their security alliance to

contribution to strengthening and deepening the Japan-

meet the 21st century’s changing global realities.

U.S. relationship.” This honor is bestowed at an important

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epresentative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), leader of the House of Representatives and former Speaker of the House, received Japan’s Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun “in recognition of her significant contribution to strengthening and deepening the JapanU.S. relationship.” This honor is bestowed at an important juncture for U.S.-Japan relations as the two countries — once enemies and now among the closest partners — observe the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and as they seek to reshape their security alliance to meet the 21st century’s changing global realities.

The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun is among the highest decorations that the Emperor of Japan can bestow upon a non-Japanese. Originally established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji, Japan’s great modernizer, the Order of the Rising Sun was intended both to nationalize and legitimate Japan’s “restored” government under the rule of the Emperor. At the same time, the decoration was intended to build Japan’s global presence by demonstrating both its national power and its civilized character to the representatives of foreign powers. Today the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun is awarded to individuals who have made distinguished achievements in international relations as well as other fields of endeavor.

“More than one century ago [1912],” Pelosi recalled, “the Japanese people presented the capital of the United States with the sakura [blossoming cherry trees]. Each spring, these cherry blossoms are a beautiful reminder of our friendship. Seventy years after the end of World War II,” she emphasized, “the United States and Japan have worked together to build a more peaceful and prosperous world.”

Japan’s Ambassador to the United States H.E. Kenichiro Sasae recently hosted a celebration of Leader Pelosi’s decoration in Washington, D.C. The Ambassador used the example of a white pine bonsai tree dating back to the early 1600s that had been donated to the National Arboretum 40 years ago. The remarkable thing about the tree, he noted, was not simply its age but the fact that it had survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima . . . and ended up thriving here in the United States. That tree, he suggested, is symbolic of the devastation and the richness that have marked the relationship between the United States and Japan.

A Basis for Friendship and Enlightened Understanding

highest ever sitting official of the

The honor was conferred upon House Democratic Leader Pelosi by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a spring ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Japan. Expressing her gratitude at receiving the Imperial Decoration, Pelosi assured the Japanese people that the award “will hold a place of pride and prominence in my heart.”

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Pelosi made history in 2008 as Speaker of the House of Representatives by becoming the U.S. government to pay her respects at Hiroshima.

Koji Sasahara/AFP/Getty Images

The citation accompanying conferral of the Japanese Ambassador Sasae recalled that in his speech to the decoration notes that Pelosi was the first woman to serve U.S. Congress earlier this year, Japanese Prime Minister as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Abe referred to the relationship between Japan and the Early in her career, Pelosi was a co-sponsor of the Civil United States as an “alliance of hope.” He lauded Pelosi Liberties Act of 1988 which re-examined the internment of for her role in building that hope. Just as the bonsai tree is Japanese-Americans during World War II and acknowledged a blending of art and nature that requires careful tending, that the actions of suggested Ambassador the United States Sasae, so too does the government in this relationship between context represented “race Japan and the United prejudice, war hysteria States require such and a failure of political active care and concern, leadership.” The act the kind of concern further presented the demonstrated by Leader official apology of the Pelosi’s willingness to U.S. government and invest time and energy offered restitution to in deepening the Japanthose who U.S. relationship. were interned.

Even as she Soon after being thanked Ambassador elected Speaker of the Sasae for his words of House of Representatives praise, Pelosi recalled a Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) shakes hands with U.S. Congressional Representative Nancy Pelosi prior to their meeting at Abe’s offi cial residence in Tokyo on May 8, 2015. in 2007, Pelosi hosted porcelain Japanese doll, the Japanese Prime Minister at a bipartisan meeting of the one of several over the years, given to her father Thomas leaders of the House and the Senate. Later that year Pelosi D’Alesandro, Jr. during his time as Mayor of Baltimore met with her counterpart, then-Speaker of the Japanese (1947 – 1959). The beautifully dressed and carefully coifed House of Representatives Mr. Yohei Kono, to discuss dolls were proudly kept in the D’Alesandro living room for the possibility of holding an upcoming meeting of the invited guests to see. These “exquisite” dolls, said Pelosi, parliamentary speakers from the G-8 states in Hiroshima, were her first exposure to Japanese culture and tradition, Japan — site of the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Plans and they made the receipt of this award “very personal.” included a visit by the eight speakers to pay their respects A Record of Concern to the atomic bomb victims by placing flowers at the First elected to Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

Congress in 1987, Pelosi made history in 2008 as Speaker of the House Pelosi represents of Representatives by becoming the highest ever sitting California’s 12th official of the U.S. government to pay her respects at Congressional Hiroshima. She visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial District, which encompasses the city Museum dedicated to the memory of those who died of San Francisco and much of the San Francisco and to the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons from Bay area. The district includes a significant Japanesethe conduct of international relations. She recalls that American population. Pelosi has repeatedly shown great experience as “transformative,” noting that the visit to care, not only for her Japanese-American constituents and Hiroshima pointedly reminded her of the destructive power their heritage, but also for the nuances of the economic of nuclear weapons and convinced her that promoting and national security issues that are of vital importance to peace and building a better more stable world was an the two countries. urgent challenge facing all nations.

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Leader Pelosi’s role in coordinating hearings, exploring issues and seeking further guarantees that the agreed upon terms of the TPP will be enforced by all parties to the agreement will be crucial to any final approval of TPP, a centerpiece of the Obama administration’s security policy “pivot” toward Asia.

At the same time, Leader Pelosi will undoubtedly play an important role in another decision facing the Obama administration during its last year in office. The G7 Summit will be held in Japan in May 2016, and there is serious discussion about whether President Obama, given his strong non-proliferation agenda and his commitment to the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons, should become the first sitting American President to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Museum [NOTE: Both former Presidents Carter and Nixon have visited the site, Nixon before assuming the presidency and Carter only after he was out of office]. Pelosi says she would encourage such a visit by the President.

U.S. House of Representatives then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (C) listening to the director of the A-bomb Museum, Koichiro Maeda (L), speaking about the atomic bomb blast in 1945, during a visit to the site in Hiroshima, western Japan.

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Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images

As leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi has never stopped showing a great interest in Japan-U.S. relations. She has continued to make trips to Japan to discuss issues and to share in detail the concerns of the United States government as well as to listen to and closely consider the concerns of the Japanese government and its people. This is not to say that the conversations between Leader Pelosi and her Japanese counterparts are always easy, but they are always direct and respectful on both sides.

During her most recent trips to Japan, Pelosi has been a forceful and candid advocate for protecting workers’ rights and preventing environmental degradation. She described these issues as “bumps in the road” regarding the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) Trade Agreement recently negotiated between the United States and 12 major Asian trading partners. Congress will take up consideration of the proposed TPP agreement through the fall and winter months following difficult leadership and budget decisions.

Bestowing National Honors

U.S. House of Representatives then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi lays a bouquet at the altar for the atomic bomb victims. Pelosi was, at the time, the highest ranking sitting U.S. official to visit the site of the nuclear attack at the end of World War II -- in Hiroshima, western Japan, on September 2, 2008. Pelosi was there for a meeting of parliament speakers from the Group of Eight major industrial nations.

Presentation of national honors to respected foreign leaders is a frequent practice in diplomatic relations. These awards, however, can sometimes seem little more than hollow gestures intended as genuine expressions of affection and respect but having little impact on policy formation or the actual conduct of diplomacy. Nothing could be further from the truth in this case. The friendship between Leader Pelosi and the people of Japan is one of long standing. It reflects the realities of the congressional district she represents, acknowledging the leadership she provides in the House of Representatives and in the Democratic Party. It encourages the frank exchange of ideas and reciprocal concerns between the United States and Japan, and daring to build bridges of deepened understanding across the historical chasms of war, trade frictions and frequent misunderstanding.

Receiving this award from the Japanese government, Leader Pelosi noted that Prime Minister Abe had called the Japan-U.S. alliance a “miracle of history.” But alliances, unlike miracles but very much like ancient bonsai trees, require careful tending to preserve the past and assure the future.

With that thought in mind, Pelosi reiterated the words of the new Joint Vision Statement agreed to between the United States and Japan earlier this year, “The experience of the past should inform but not constrain the possibilities for the future.” Underscoring that realization is reason enough for this award.

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Shayma Kazmi, M.D., RPh Dr. Shayma Kazmi is a Medical Oncologist and Hematologist at Cancer Treatment Centers of AmericaŽ (CTCA) Eastern Regional Medical Center, located in Philadelphia. She began her career by receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy with High Honors from Rutgers University. As well as membership in multiple honor societies, she received the CVS Pharmaceutical Excellence Award and Excellence in Pathophysiology and Pharmacology Award. To prepare for a career in medicine, Dr. Kazmi immersed herself in research as a Society of Toxicology fellow and neurotoxicology research intern. Dr. Kazmi then received her Medical degree from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

During her time as a medical student, Dr. Kazmi served as chairperson for the American Medical Student Association. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She finished her specialty fellowship training in Hematology/Oncology at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey where she also served as the Chief Fellow. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Throughout her career, Dr. Kazmi has written abstracts and conducted numerous cancer research studies.

To learn more or request an appointment: 1-215-537-6950 www.cancercenter.com

Shayma Kazmi, M.D., RPh

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For advertising opportunities, please contact 202.536.4810 extension 3 or Evan@diplomaticconnections.com

State-of-the-art cancer care. world - class personalized service .

Discover cutting-edge cancer treatment and advanced technologies—with five-star patient care and service—at Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) in Philadelphia.

customized care on an efficient timeline

first-class, personalized services

These advanced treatment and comprehensive clinical care options are all available at the state-of-the-art CTCA facility in Philadelphia: • Chemotherapy • Surgery • Radiation therapy • Advanced genomic testing • A dedicated international medical team • Nutrition counseling • Physical and rehabilitative therapy • Pain management

• A dedicated, multilingual international team coordinating care • On-site medical interpreters • Private inpatient rooms with private en-suite bathrooms • Individually prepared meals made according to your needs • 24-hour concierge services that can arrange accommodations, transportation services and shopping or sight-seeing excursions for patients or caregivers

Your dedicated medical team at CTCA® will customize a plan to treat your specific cancer. Treatments will be coordinated to fit your schedule and help you and your caregivers return home quickly.

Our world-renowned physician teams can review your medical records and have an appointment scheduled in as little as 24 hours.

© 2015 Rising Tide

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INTERCONTINENTAL CLEVELAND. WORLD-CLASS HOSPITALITY ON CLEVELAND CLINIC’S MAIN CAMPUS.

World-class hospitality meets world-class care. We are connected to Cleveland Clinic via skywalk and just minutes from museums, sports, shopping, theater, galleries and unique dining destinations. When you stay with us, you’ll experience exceptional accommodations and guest services that are unparalleled in the area. We welcome guests from across the country, and around the world, every day.

• 27 Spacious Suites • Multilingual Staff • Concierge Services • Club InterContinental® • 24 - Hour In-Room Dining • Award-Winning Table 45 Restaurant and Bar • Complimentary Fitness Center

Do you live an InterContinental life?

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• Valet Parking

For more details, please call 855.765.8709 or visit hotelsclevelandclinic.com

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Maan Fares, M.D. Cleveland Clinic’s Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute is a leader in the heart field, ranked #1 in heart care by U.S. News & World Report for 21 years in a row. Its long history of innovations, from the first cardiac catheterization to new diagnostic imaging approaches and treatments for heart disease – provides a legacy of excellence in patient care, research and education.

Cleveland Clinic’s Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine has physicians in every cardiovascular specialty working to offer the latest medications and interventional heart disease procedures. Whether you’re coming to Cleveland Clinic from Cleveland, California or Croatia, our team provides you with the best and most appropriate treatment options available – using minimally invasive approaches, whenever possible. The end result — better heart care outcomes for our patients.

To learn more or request an appointment: 1.800.659.7822 (U.S. Toll-Free) clevelandclinic.org/heart

Maan Fares, M.D. Staff Physician, Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine Vice Chairman, Global Patient Services

For advertising opportunities, please contact 202.536.4810 extension 3 or Evan@diplomaticconnections.com

MEDICAL • MEDICAL • MEDICAL • MEDICAL

MEDICAL EXPERTS

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