Hall of Achievement inductee Krueger was in the room through four decades of foreign service

Karen Krueger ’72 was in the room.

Maybe not for decisions as big as Alexander Hamilton’s plans for a national bank, but the career of the recent Monmouth College Hall of Achievement inductee fulfilled her desire to be the proverbial fly on the wall for some very important conversations with implications for U.S. international relations.

“I loved history,” Krueger told a group of Monmouth students in an “International Organizations” class she visited on the afternoon of her Sept. 30 induction. “I wanted to be a part of it, but not the part that already happened. History as it was happening. And I was a part of it, even if it was a teeny part of it.”

Krueger had a 41-year career with the U.S. Department of State. She retired twice — first, from the foreign service in 2005, and again in 2018, after 13 years as a civil servant. As a foreign service officer, Krueger was stationed in Mexico, Spain, Nicaragua, Switzerland, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Canada.

“I preferred to be in the background,” said Krueger. “I did things that nobody knows about or that got recognized. I don’t have any giant peaks in my career, just lots of little ones. My proudest moment then, is just knowing that I did the best I could and that I made a difference. I had an impact, and I made friends for the United States.”

While studying government at Monmouth, Krueger said she “had two dream jobs — to be a diplomat overseas and to work on the Hill (in Washington, D.C.). And by gosh, I did both of them.”

Her time on the Hill came first. As an aide to a new congressman who was “learning the ropes,” Krueger provided counsel on a wide range of issues related to international affairs, trade and security, among others.

“At the age of 25 or 26, I had more power — more influence — than I’d have until 20 or 30 years later,” she said.

Krueger did that work for three years and would’ve stayed longer on the Hill, but the foreign service called. She told the class that in her role as a foreign service officer, she had a clear mission.

“I was to evaluate and report on key issues in the country, gain support for U.S. initiatives and, depending on the position, assist U.S. citizens and businesses,” she said. “I could provide insights that government officials weren’t getting from anyone else.”

Krueger, whose travels took her to all seven continents, told the students tales of drama and patriotism that the average person would never experience. For example, not many can say they flew to Antarctica to observe scientific research being conducted at the South Pole. Fewer still can say that flying conditions weren’t ideal on that journey and that turning back to Christchurch, New Zealand, for safety was discussed — except for the fact that the plane had crossed “the point of no return.”

While a U.S. delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Krueger’s Chilean colleagues asked her to translate in their meeting with a representative of a U.S. non-governmental organization. The rep she translated for turned out to be former President Jimmy Carter.

And that wasn’t the only time Krueger’s path crossed directly with a U.S. president.

“The coolest person I met was President Clinton,” she told the class, recounting the experience of coordinating Clinton’s visit to New Zealand for an APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting.

Later that evening, Krueger shared two takeaways during her Hall of Achievement induction speech.

“Humanity has much more in common than we often realize,” she said. “But we also need to recognize the differences and work to bridge them. ... Each of us can play a role, large or small, in making this world a better place. I chose public service.”

– Barry McNamara