delivered 17
January 2025, C Street Lobby, Harry S. Truman Building, Washington, D.C.
Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Please, take a
seat.
To John Bass, I will be forever indebted for your
partnership, for your leadership, for your friendship. No finer Foreign Service
officer in this generation than John Bass.
And if you’ll allow me the privilege of just
mentioning a few people as we get started, people who have been with me every
step of the way, starting with the heart and soul of this institution, my chief
of staff, your chief of staff, Suzy George.
Tom Sullivan, my extraordinary policy partner,
every step of the way these last four years.
Jess Wright, our unflappable problem solver, every
single day.
To two extraordinary leaders, our Deputy
Secretaries Kurt Campbell, Rich Verma. And their extraordinary predecessors,
Wendy Sherman and Brian McKeon.
To our remarkable under secretaries and assistant
secretaries and all the leadership of this department.
To my executive assistant Paul Narain and our
special assistants.
To Juliet, to Tina, to all the OMS who have kept
us going every single day. And probably to everyone in this room today.
Thirty-two years ago I walked through those C Street doors. I took the elevator
up to the sixth floor to the front office of what was then the Bureau of
European and Canadian Affairs. I walked into my new office. Its previous
occupant had been a very large safe. There was barely room for a desk. Those of
us who are old enough to remember one of those huge Wang computers. And as I
like to say, over 32 years I moved up one flight from the sixth floor to the
seventh floor and got some windows, so not bad.
The Cold War was over. We were entering a new era, a time of hope, possibility,
what was famously thought to be the end of history. It didn’t quite turn out
that way, but here we are 32 years later, and that post Cold War era that was
just starting when I started is over. We’re in a new time, a moment where
there’s an intense competition going on to try to shape what comes next.
Revisionist powers challenging us and the rules of the road that have governed
how we’ve lived and operated for so many years. Global challenges that affect
every single one of our citizens and from which no one is immune. We have new
actors who, whether they’re a corporation, an NGO, a group, individuals, all now
super-empowered by technology and by information. If we can bring them together,
we can solve problems much more quickly, much more effectively, but they also
have a greater ability than ever before to disrupt and to derail what we’re
trying to do.
In short, this is a period -- and in my experience over 32 years I’ve never seen
anything quite like it -- where there’s a greater multiplicity, complexity,
interconnectedness of challenges than ever before, moving at warp speed. We’re
in a world that’s more combustible and more contested -- a world of change.
But even in that world of change, I hold onto some core beliefs, some constants,
that I wanted to share with you today.
I believe in the power, in the necessity of U.S. engagement and U.S. leadership.
We know when we’re not engaged, when we’re not leading, then likely someone else
is, and probably not in a way that advances our interests and values. Or maybe
no one is, and then you’re likely to have a vacuum that’s filled by bad things
before it’s filled by good things.
But equally I believe in the power, in the necessity of cooperating and working
with others, of our alliances and our partnerships -- our comparative advantage
around the world. America is so much better off when we’re working with others,
finding common cause, finding common purpose. And I believe in our ability, when
we’re at our best -- unlike any other country -- to rally others in common cause
and common purpose.
But maybe most important, I believe in you, in each and every one of you in this
institution. You’re the ones who are showing that engagement and that leadership
every day. You’re the ones who are building those partnerships, strengthening
our alliances. You’re the ones who are rallying the world in common cause when
we need it most. You’re driven by passion, commitment, expertise, patriotism. We
come from different places, different experiences, different motivations and
backgrounds. But I think what brings all of us together in this place, in this
time, is that unique feeling that you get going to work every single day with
the Stars and Stripes behind your back.
I’ve watched you; I’ve worked with you; I’ve been inspired by you. I’ve seen you
run into the burning buildings, not away from them. I’ve seen you get that peace
agreement across the line at the last minute. I’ve seen you make sure that food
and medicine can get to people who need it. I’ve seen you get Americans out of
harm’s way and get political prisoners out of jail. You serve in some of the
hardest places. You ask the hardest questions. And you know that you have the
extraordinary privilege of representing this country, representing our fellow
citizens, every day around the world.
I believe in this community -- because that’s what it is, a community. Whether
you’re in DS or driving our cars; whether you’re a political econ officer;
whether you’re a political appointee; whether you’re here issuing passports and
getting visas to people; whether you’re in Public Affairs, Administration,
Protocol, Human Resources; whether you’re an EFM or an LES, a family member,
because you, too, serve and sacrifice -- you’re a community. And I’ve seen you
come together time and again as a community, and I believe in you.
As I look out at this incredible group -- and some of you have heard me say this
before -- I often think of my favorite movie, one that back in the day if you
were turning the channels of the TV you couldn’t avoid during Christmastime:
It’s a Wonderful Life. And for those of you too young to really know the movie
or remember the movie, simply put, at the start a character, George Bailey, is
thinking of taking his life because he thinks he’s been a failure. He thinks
he’s let down his town, his community, his family. And then an angel taps him on
the shoulder and shows him, through the course of the movie, what life would
have been like in Bedford Falls for his family, for his community, for his town.
And we see the difference that George Bailey made every single day.
You -- You are the George, the Georgette Baileys of our time. Without you in the
picture, this world, our country would look so much different. With you in the
picture, both are so much better. You’re working every day to make things just a
little bit better, a little bit more peaceful, a little bit more full of hope,
of opportunity. That’s your mission, and you do it so well.
Now, this is a time of transition. And when we talk about transitions, sometimes
we talk about passing the baton. That’s what I’ll be doing, but that’s not what
most of you will be doing. Most of you come Monday, you will keep running. And
what gives me more confidence than anything else is to know that that’s exactly
what you’ll do.
I return to the highest calling in a democracy, that of being a private citizen.
I’ll no longer have the privilege of leading this institution. But I want you to
know I’ll be its champion -- I will be your champion -- forever. You, the
custodians of the power and the promise of American diplomacy
Carry on.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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