On May 8, 2019, the Diplomacy Center Foundation hosted a celebratory luncheon to dedicate the Founding Ambassadors Concourse. The Dedication was held in the newly dedicated Founding Ambassadors Concourse, located in the lower level of the 21,000 square foot glass entrance pavilion of the United States Diplomacy Center (USDC)* at the US Department of State.
This special dedication honored our Founding Ambassadors: individual donors who have received presidential appointments and donated $100,000 or more to the creation of the museum. To date, 66 Founding Ambassadors have raised a combined total of over $10 million. The Founding Ambassadors include two former US Secretaries of State, one former US Secretary of Defense, and 63 former US Ambassadors. The Founding Ambassadors initiative is chaired by Ambassador Stuart Bernstein (ret.), who also serves on the Foundation Board of Directors.
The Foundation welcomed more than 100 guests that included Founding Ambassadors, additional donors to the Foundation, and members of the diplomatic community. Ambassador William C. Harrop (ret.), Founding Ambassador and chair of the Foundation Board of Directors, offered the Dedication’s opening remarks. He recognized the significance of the occasion and thanked all those who support the creation of the Diplomacy Center, including Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley (ret.) for her efforts in raising the first $50 million for the Diplomacy Center.
Ambassador Harrop also spoke on the importance of American-German relations in light of the upcoming 70th anniversary of the end of the Berlin Airlift on May 12, 2019. The Dedication featured several objects from the Diplomacy Center’s collection that showcase decades of American-German relations. An Operation Vittles Cookbook was one of the objects exhibited. The Operation Vittles Cookbook was compiled by American women during the 1949 Berlin Blockade to create recipes using the limited resources available to them. The Foundation was grateful to have Boris Ruge, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany, in attendance at the Dedication.
The Foundation was also honored to welcome Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering (ret.), who is a Founding Ambassador and vice-chair of the Diplomacy Center Foundation Board of Directors. Ambassador Pickering’s remarks touched on the crucial role American diplomacy plays in advancing prosperity in the US and around the world. He also thanked guests for their support “in this particular endeavor of telling Americans what diplomacy does for them and what they can do for diplomacy.”
Speakers also included Diplomacy Center Director Mary Kane. Mrs. Kane spoke about the outstanding education programs currently available at the Diplomacy Center and updated guests about the ongoing exhibit planning for the Diplomacy Center.
Ambassador Stuart A. Bernstein (ret.) concluded the Dedication by emphasizing the importance of diplomacy in maintaining a peaceful international order and the need to communicate this message through a museum dedicated to American diplomacy. He stated, “There are hundreds of museums that are dedicated to military and war–over 400–and not a single one to diplomacy. […Therefore,] when Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley asked me to support the building of this museum, I did not hesitate.” In his closing remarks, Ambassador Bernstein officially dedicated the space to the Foundation Ambassadors.
The Diplomacy Center Foundation would like to thank all our guests for attending this special dedication. We also extend our deepest thanks and gratitude to our Founding Ambassadors for their generous contributions and support for creating the first museum dedicated to telling the story of American diplomacy.
The Founding Ambassadors Concourse Dedication took place as part of the Wunderbar Together “Celebration of American German Relations.” The “Celebration of American German Relations” is part of the Deutschlandjahr USA 2018/2019 – Year of German-American Friendship. This initiative is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, implemented by the Goethe-Institut, and supported by The Federation of German Industries (BDI).
*On November 5, 2019, the US Diplomacy Center formally changed its name to the National Museum of American Diplomacy.
