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Diplomatic Diversity

An Envoy’s Reappearance | Trump Untweeted | Embassy Websites

PRINCELY�DINNER� Washington is accustomed to revenant ghosts: it certainly sees enough of them. But the re-appearance of Prince Bandar bin Sultan came as a surprise to many of the guests at a recent dinner for Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The focus of the evening was supposed to be the 32-year-old “MBS,” at the start of his charm offensive in seven U.S. cities; but Prince Bandar, a diplomatic fixture in the nation’s capital for more than 20 years, almost stole the show. He was even one of the speakers, paying dutiful tribute to the young guest of honor’s bold and decisive leadership. The assembled company spanned decades of U.S.- K.S.A. relations and brought together some distinguished Washington figures from the past who turned out to be still in the present. Also there: Army Gen. H.R. McMaster, fresh from his firing a few days earlier as Trump’s national security advisor. When Jeb Bush, speaking on behalf of two absent Bush presidents, mentioned McMaster in his speech, the entire hall rose to its collective feet to salute the general with prolonged applause.

MBS, heir to the throne of the richest nation in the Arab world, got red carpet treatment from the administration, with President Donald Trump lavishing praise on his country, and trumpeting the multi-billiondollar weapons purchase the Prince had apparently confirmed. MBS’s main message is of an evolving regime keen to attract Western economic investment. Prior to his trip the prince had released, mostly on payment of a huge ransom, scores of Saudi princes, government officials and business leaders who had been locked up in the luxurious Ritz Carlton in Riyadh. But not the 60 or so human rights activists, journalists, clerics and academics a United Nations report says were rounded up in September. They are still incarcerated – and in nothing like the same gilded surroundings.

IT’S�HOW�YOU�SAY�IT� Meridian House, the long established center for international understanding in the nation’s capital, is stepping up what it calls its “neutral, non-partisan channels” to help foreign diplomats as they strive to explain to their governments the “unpredictability of [Washington’s] political agenda.” As part of the magnified program, a large number of ambassadors representing countries all over the world were on hand at Meridian recently to hear Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross make the administration’s case for increased tariffs on steel, aluminum and other goods. Ross’s reasoned presentation had some envoys wondering whether he was discussing the same issue as his boss’s combative tweets.

WEB�DIPLOMACY� There ought to be a prize for the best embassy website. Once little more than compilations of diplomats’ names and phone numbers, many of these sites have blossomed into elaborate audio-visual self-portraits of the countries they represent, complete with videos, graphics, frequently (but not always) up-to-theminute information and the inevitable ambassadorial tweets.

A quick browse reveals their diversity and inventiveness. The elaborate German Embassy website, surely a prize contender, includes a minicourse in the language. The French site carries reports of President Emmanuel Macron’s recent phone conversations with President Trump. It is also – predictably – cuisine-oriented to the point that it has an archeological report on what dinosaurs ate. The Embassy of Mexico offers information, including a tollfree number, for use by citizens having immigration problems. The Embassy of South Africa previews an international rugby match at RFK Stadium in June between the Springboks (i.e. the South African national team) and Wales. And from the Australian Embassy site we learn that on July 4 Australia and the United States will mark “100 years of mateship”; that Australia has offered to contribute to the cost of repairing America’s infrastructure (!); and that Ambassador Joe Hockey, who recently played a round of golf with Trump, thinks the time it takes to go through border formalities at Dulles International Airport (1 hour 30 minutes) is “an absolute disgrace.”

SERVING�OTHERS� Monsignor John Enzler, president and CEO of Catholic Charities, welcomed more than 1,000 guests to the organization’s annual gala, which raises critical funds for 57 local programs that address hunger, homelessness, employment, and medical, dental and mental health. Enzler called the 90-year-old charitable arm of the Archdiocese of Washington “a lifeline and beacon of hope for the area’s most vulnerable.” The black-tie soirée included such distinguished guests as Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

FOR�YOUR�VIEWING�PLEASURE

The MPAA and National Geographic Channel Screen ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ and Katie Couric’s ‘America Inside Out.’

CATHERINE�HAND’S�PROMISE� If it hadn’t been for Catherine Hand’s bad behavior in the classroom when she was ten, “A Wrinkle in Time” may never have made it to the big screen. The now producer- extraordinaire was sent to the library for talking in class and was handed a copy of Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time.” At a private screening Q&A at E Street Cinema, Hand discussed the experience with Motion Picture Association of America CEO Charles Rivkin. “[The book] just made this imprint on me that would never go away,” she said.

Synopsis: A young girl named Meg Murry and her younger brother Charles Wallace set out to find their father – a scientist who discovered a new planet employing a concept called tesseract to travel there. Guided by three mysterious astral travelers, the children brave a dangerous journey to a planet that possesses all of the evil in the universe.

Hand remembers reading the book after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and feeling the same sadness as grown ups around her. “I had always heard ‘hope’ had died; ‘innocence’ had died,” she said. “That was a very hard thing to hear when you’re ten years old.” The book gave her an indescribable sense of courage, which carried her through the years.

She wrote a letter to Walt Disney about making the book into a movie, but never mailed it. When he died a few years later, Hand felt guilty that she didn’t send it. She promised herself on the day of his death, December 15, 1966, that one day she would take on the task herself. The irony now is that The Walt Disney Company actually owns the rights to the movie. Hand calls the Disney logo that opens the movie her favorite part of the production.

Hand is no stranger to the film world. Her parents, Ann and Lloyd Hand, were close friends of legendary MPAA head Jack Valenti when Lloyd served as chief of protocol under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Early in her career, she worked with award-winning writer/producer Norman Lear and for Francis Ford Coppola’s production company, American Zoetrope.

“A Wrinkle in Time” was released in theaters nationwide on Feb. 26, 2018.

KATIE� COURIC’S� DEEP� DIVE� We caught up with Katie Couric on the red carpet at National Geographic for the Washington premiere of her six-part television series “America Inside Out with Katie Couric” in partnership with NatGeo.

In the show’s first episode, “Re-Righting History,” Couric is smack dab in the middle of last summer’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., which drew protesters in favor of keeping a statue of Robert E. Lee in Emancipation Park.The event turned violent after they clashed with counter-protesters opposing the Confederate imagery.

Ironically, Couric went to the University of Virginia and admits that at the time she was oblivious to the consequences and significance of Confederate statues: “This has been a real awakening for people to understand why these [statues], why our memorial landscape, is so offensive to some people,” she said “because it celebrates, for many Americans, the wrong thing.”

It’s also part of a historical narrative. Statue removal of this kind is something that local jurisdictions and communities are wrestling with: “Should they be put in a museum? Should they be allowed to stand? Should they be allowed to stay with some context?” Couric asks, “And that’s really what this hour deals with.”

The show premiered April 11 on the National Geographic Channel.

SPRING�KICKOFF� The Ambassador of Singapore Ashok Mirpuri and his wife Gouri Mirpuri graciously welcomed guests into their home for a celebration honoring Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The dinner also served as the kickoff event for Harvard Business School’s third annual Leadership Gala, which will be held on June 13 at the Four Seasons and co-chaired by Ambassador Mirpuri. Ross was was feted among friends and distinguished guests including Judge Bill Webster, Annie Totah, Mark Lowham, Susan Carmel, Dale Jones, Elizabeth and Paul Centenari and Diane Brown. Before being seated for a five-course dinner with wine pairings courtesy of Moet Hennessy, guests took advantage of the lovely spring weather on the residence’s patio with glasses of rose champagne in hand.

HONORING SIR TIM RICE

SINGING�HIS�SONGS� Being honored with a Q&A at the British Embassy followed by a VIP reception is an experience afforded to very few indeed and in Sir Tim Rice’s case three Oscars, three Golden Globes, one Tony and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame were reason enough. “He’s part of the soundtrack of our lives,” Ambassador-cum-interlocutor Sir Kim Darroch said before listing Sir Tim’s collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber on “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Evita,” with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA on “Chess” and with Sir Elton John on “The Lion King.” HELPFUL HINT: “The key thing is the story,” the self-styled “failed-solicitor-turnedsongwriter” told the crowd. “Even with a bad score it can be a hit.”

POLLYWOOD

NOROOZ ON THE HILL

LEGISLATORS�FOR�NOROOZ� Members of Congress gathered alongside the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) in the Capitol to celebrate Norooz, the traditional Persian new year and the arrival of spring. Special guests included Ambassador John Limbert, Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and more than 150 Congressional staff. Members in attendance included Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Jamie Raskin, Scott Peters, Zoe Lofgren, Gerald Connolly, Sheila Jackson Lee, Carolyn Maloney, Andre Carson and former Rep. Randy Forbes. PAAIA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonreligious organization that serves the interests of Americans of Iranian descent and represents the community before U.S. policymakers and the American public at large.

VITAL VOICES GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AWARDS

CHANGING�THE�WORLD� Former first lady, Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton headlined the 17th annual Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards (and did not sidestep politics), telling the sold-out crowd: “We are living through a perilous time in women’s rights and we’re seeing a retreat from a commitment to embrace women’s advancements as an objective of U.S. foreign policy.” The event honored women who are triggering change in their communities and around the world as they address violent crime, education, child trafficking and LGBT rights. DOUBLE TAKES: Headturners in attendance included Hollywood icon Sally Field, actress Zoey Deutch and Uber Chief Brand Office Bozoma Saint John.

RUNNING START AWARDS

WOMEN�IN�POLITICS� Seven alumnae of Running Start’s mentorship program, which trains young women to run for elected office, participated in a campaign simulation in which they gave speeches and went table to table asking for votes at the group’s 12th annual Young Women to Watch Awards. Dinner guests cast their ballots via mobile phones at the end of the night, choosing former Obama White House intern and onetime Miss District of Columbia Cierra Jackson as the organization’s 2018 #ILookLikeAPolitician Ambassador. The evening was a reflection of the current political climate, Running Start founder and president Susannah Wellford said, adding that this year “we’ve had more women running for office and being appointed than ever before.”

COMMUNITY BUILDERS

Milt Peterson and Dwight Schar helped transform the Northern Virginia landscape and, with Knox Singleton, built a world-class hospital system along the way.

There was nothing,” developer Milt Virginia. “There was no industry, there was no shopping center; it was strictly residential.” In Tysons Corner, all he remembers is a dilapidated general store with a single gas pump out front.

But Peterson saw potential based on proximity to Washington. “I looked at other great capitals of the world — London, Paris, Moscow — and said, I think this place is going to grow. Great countries have great capitals. So, that’s why I stayed in Northern Virginia.”

The ability to pinpoint potential and see it through is one thing Peterson shares in common with his friends, fellow Virginia businessmen Dwight Schar and Knox Singleton. Peterson has 50 years in the development business under his belt, building up major retail/ residential projects like National Harbor and Fairfax Corner through his Chantilly-based Peterson Companies. Schar is part owner of the Washington Redskins, a noted philanthropist, founder of Ryan Homes and owner of Reston-based NVR Inc., the nation’s fifth largest homebuilder. Singleton was, until his recent retirement, the longtime CEO of Inova Health System, which is fast becoming a major health research presence and is already one of the largest employers in the region. To hear them speak is to observe three great minds at work.

“I don’t know if Dwight remembers this, but we met on a bus doing work for the United Way,” Singleton reminisces. It was in the mid ’80s and, though he didn’t get to know Schar very well that day, he saw enough to make him take notice.

“I saw how he operated. He didn’t just talk about things. He brought people together and made things happen.” He says the same about Peterson, who serves on the board of Inova.

Most recently, the can-do trio collaborated on the acquisition of ExxonMobil’s 117-acre campus in Merrifield to create a research center for genomic medicine, a success story that was no small feat and featured talks with

Dick Cheney and George W. Bush in attempts to convince Rex Tillerson, then EVP of ExxonMobil to sell to them.

“I bought property for over 50 years and this was by far the hardest to get,” Peterson says.

“We could write three books on how hard it was to acquire,” echoes Schar.

“The process [took] a long time. George Bush came to my house for lunch and we tried to get him to talk to Tillerson,” he recalls. “And then we went to see Dick Cheney, who is a friend. We had lunch with him.”

Since Cheney had his heart transplant at Inova, they thought he’d be the perfect person to convince Tillerson. Over lunch, Peterson and Cheney bonded over their admiration of Winston Churchill, Peterson’s personal hero. But Bush and Cheney were unsuccessful. The person who finally pushed the deal through was none other than Terry McAuliffe, Virginia’s business-savvy governor. “It was a joint effort,” Schar says, “but the governor closed the deal.”

“The secret [to success] is getting the right people around the campfire to talk about how are we going to make this happen,” Singleton observes. “That’s why Inova is what it is today” — a health system that touches two million lives a year, that’s on its way to becoming the preeminent healthcare and research center between Baltimore and Durham, and is currently the largest employer in Northern Virginia. Schar’s $50 million gift to establish a cancer center was a big help.

“Remember this: success is the degree to which you meet your potential,” Peterson says. “Inova, now, because it has that property, can meet its potential.”

Thanks to the generosity and innovation of three wise men, Northern Virginia is no longer simply a place to sleep outside of the District.