F OCUS - American Foreign Service Association
F OCUS - American Foreign Service Association F OCUS - American Foreign Service Association
Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, and other organizations. A past president and treasurer of AFSA, he currently serves as treasurer of its political action committee, AFSA-PAC. He has also participated in numerous corporate and nonprofit boards, including the State Department’s Leadership and Management Advisory Council. He is married to Maxine Shearwood and they have five children. Foreign Service Journal Editor Steve Honley interviewed Amb. Boyatt on April 21. FSJ: Congratulations on your award for lifetime contributions to American diplomacy. What would you say have been your main strengths as a diplomat? TDB: I would say that the thing that distinguished my career was that I was not like most diplomats. I spoke in the active voice, using short sentences to get to the point and take a stand. One of my Princeton friends called me the most undiplomatic person he had ever known. FSJ: Maybe that’s a good lead-in to a discussion of your role in making AFSA what it is today: an organization that defends the importance of diplomacy and takes stands on behalf of its members. When did you first realize that there was a need for an advocate like AFSA to ensure that diplomacy functions effectively? TDB: Very good question. You have to go back to what the world was like when my generation came into the Foreign Service in the 1950s. We had observed that the China hands were decimated in the late 1940s during the administration of an arguably great president and a very decent man, Harry Truman. And then Eisenhower came in — another arguably great president and a decent man — and the Foreign Service was decimated all over again by McCarthyism. 14 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JULY-AUGUST 2008 “We ‘Young Turks’ decided to convert AFSA into the vehicle for self-defense.” — Amb. Thomas Boyatt Since it was clear that we could not depend on our political masters to defend the Foreign Service when the going got tough, we “Young Turks” decided to convert AFSA into the vehicle for self-defense. We created an entire parallel universe in which we were still Foreign Service people but were not under the thumb of the State Department hierarchy. Because we were elected by our own people and made our own decisions, we would use AFSA to fight our own fights. In a very real sense, my entire career has been devoted to defending that universe. When we say “Never again” to those who would destroy the Foreign Service, we can make it stick. But it takes political strength, financial strength and institutional strength to do that. It’s taken 50 years, but AFSA now has all three elements. FSJ: Let’s take each of those in turn. You were the driving force behind the establishment of AFSA’s political action committee, AFSA- PAC, six years ago. I know you encountered a lot of resistance to that initiative; why did you feel so strongly it was the right thing to do? TDB: Because it makes eminent sense. My father taught me to play poker so long ago that I don’t remember exactly when I learned. One of the things he taught me was: “Son, you’ve got to play the hand they deal you.” And in the Foreign Service, in our governmental system, there is a certain way that you deal with Congress. There’s nothing illegal or fattening about it: it’s just the way it is. And we have as much right to petition the Congress as anyone else. We need to do it in the way Capitol Hill understands, which is to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. FSJ: Have you been satisfied with the amount of influence AFSA has gained with key players on the Hill on both sides of the aisle thus far? TDB: There’s still much to do, of course, but we’ve made a lot of progress in just a few years. Before we set up the political action committee, AFSA dealt almost exclusively with legislative staffers. There were a few exceptions, such as Sen. Claiborne Pell and a few other longtime friends of the Foreign Service. But on a regular daily basis, we didn’t have access to key members. Now, the president of AFSA routinely sees committee chairmen. The fact that AFSA-PAC’s bylaws stipulate that contributions must go equally to key members from both parties has helped a lot in giving us credibility. FSJ: What would you say to any AFSA members reading this interview who have been reluctant to make a contribution to the PAC because they don’t think it would make a difference, or because they believe it makes us look like moneygrubbers who are only interested in overseas comparability pay? TDB: I would respectfully ask them to help us help the Foreign Service by contributing. If they have concerns about their funds being spent well, let me assure them that we comply with all the rules and regulations of the Federal Election Commission, just like any other political action committee. As for effectiveness, in just six
Ambassador Thomas Boyatt. years AFSA-PAC has made a real, tangible difference in our ability to promote our legislative agenda. We played a role in winning support for the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative, which substantially increased resources for the State Department. And we’ve played a very big part in the fight for overseas comparability pay, a battle we’re still fighting. Two other points: AFSA- PAC’s impact is cumulative over time. You have to be patient and keep working at it. We have a good case to make to Congress, both on resources and on overseas comparability pay, and I am confident that sooner or later, we’re going to get over the hurdles. FSJ: You also cited financial strength. As a past AFSA president and treasurer, and a current member of the Finances and Audit Committee, talk a bit about the organization’s progress since it became a union in 1973. TDB: When AFSA became a union 35 years ago, our audit fit on a single page. Our staff was one officer and two others, and most of the work was done by volunteers. Obviously, we’ve grown in every sense. We now have a large staff and a $3.5 million operation. But all of these changes happened more quickly than AFSA developed the ability to cope with them in a professional way. After I retired from the Foreign Service in 1985, I spent several years in the private sector. When Tex Harris asked me to become treasurer in 1995, I saw an opportunity to put into practice the financial lessons I had learned. At the time, AFSA had less than $2 million in the scholarship fund, no reserve fund, and neither organization nor discipline in its financial management. Today we have over $6 million in the scholarship fund, $2 million in the reserve fund, an annual JULY-AUGUST 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 15
- Page 1: A TIRELESS “AFSA-CATE” ■ HONO
- Page 6 and 7: CONTENTS AFSA NEWS DISSENTERS HONOR
- Page 8 and 9: Getting History Wrong I was astonis
- Page 10 and 11: Forgetting History The April Cybern
- Page 12 and 13: National Security Infrastructure: D
- Page 14 and 15: Saharan Africa, where the number of
- Page 18 and 19: udget of $3.5 million, and a profes
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- Page 22 and 23: aircraft was an American flag carri
- Page 24 and 25: of State’s attention to managemen
- Page 26 and 27: In recent months, the growing secur
- Page 28 and 29: Commission and the Judicial Reform
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- Page 40 and 41: institutional memory, as well as th
- Page 42 and 43: ise of the Taliban. This has been b
- Page 44 and 45: Durand Line broke the region’s do
- Page 46 and 47: Center, that the TTP is bound to re
- Page 48 and 49: On Sept. 7, 1948, Secretary of Stat
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- Page 52 and 53: What I want to get at is a problem
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- Page 56 and 57: in turn, the enthusiastic applause
- Page 58 and 59: authority and against the advice of
- Page 61 and 62: AFSANEWS American Foreign Service A
- Page 63 and 64: V.P. VOICE: STATE ■ BY STEVE KASH
- Page 65 and 66: 2008 AFSA CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT AWAR
Ambassador Thomas Boyatt.<br />
years AFSA-PAC has made a real,<br />
tangible difference in our ability to promote<br />
our legislative agenda. We played<br />
a role in winning support for<br />
the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative,<br />
which substantially increased resources<br />
for the State Department. And<br />
we’ve played a very big part in<br />
the fight for overseas comparability<br />
pay, a battle we’re still<br />
fighting.<br />
Two other points: AFSA-<br />
PAC’s impact is cumulative over<br />
time. You have to be patient<br />
and keep working at it. We have<br />
a good case to make to Congress,<br />
both on resources and on overseas<br />
comparability pay, and I am<br />
confident that sooner or later,<br />
we’re going to get over the hurdles.<br />
FSJ: You also cited financial<br />
strength. As a past AFSA president<br />
and treasurer, and a current<br />
member of the Finances and Audit<br />
Committee, talk a bit about the organization’s<br />
progress since it became a<br />
union in 1973.<br />
TDB: When AFSA became a<br />
union 35 years ago, our audit fit on a<br />
single page. Our staff was one officer<br />
and two others, and most of the work<br />
was done by volunteers. Obviously,<br />
we’ve grown in every sense. We now<br />
have a large staff and a $3.5 million<br />
operation. But all of these changes<br />
happened more quickly than AFSA<br />
developed the ability to cope with<br />
them in a professional way.<br />
After I retired from the <strong>Foreign</strong><br />
<strong>Service</strong> in 1985, I spent several years<br />
in the private sector. When Tex Harris<br />
asked me to become treasurer in<br />
1995, I saw an opportunity to put into<br />
practice the financial lessons I had<br />
learned.<br />
At the time, AFSA had less than $2<br />
million in the scholarship fund, no<br />
reserve fund, and neither organization<br />
nor discipline in its financial management.<br />
Today we have over $6 million<br />
in the scholarship fund, $2 million<br />
in the reserve fund, an annual<br />
JULY-AUGUST 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 15
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