Ambassador Series: The Life-Changing Phone Call
March 30, 2021
This post was written by Brian Harris. Brian is an intern with the Alhambra US Chamber.
On February 20th, Ambassador James Smith shared his captivating story and gave insight into ambassadorship during a Q&A hosted by the Alhambra-U.S. Chamber and Moderator Bina Matthews.
James Smith had no previous aspiration to become an Ambassador. Instead, he met Presidential hopeful Barack Obama on a hay bale in Londonderry, New Hampshire in the Spring of 2007. Early in Obama’s first-term campaign, Smith joined Obama’s team and did a lot of surrogate speaking, and campaigned with the team in half a dozen states. After the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, he was asked to be part of the Department of Defence Transition team. Smith joined the team and later worked at Raytheon Technologies. Smith was not looking for a job; he already had one.
People often ask James Smith how he became the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (now former Ambassador), and he tells them one thing: “I answered the telephone.” At the end of April 2009, Smith was in Washington, D.C. because he was sitting on a committee with the National Academy of Sciences. One morning, he received a frantic phone call at 7 am and was told that he needed to see Secretary Hillary Clinton. He then called Denis McDonough (current VA Secretary), who at the time, served as White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama. Mr. McDonough apologized for having forgotten to call him. Soon afterwards, an unexpected voice was heard on the line. To Smith’s surprise, President Obama said, “Jim, I’m going to Cairo to give this speech. Before Cairo, I’m going to go to Riyadh, but I need someone in Riyadh that I know and trust. Will you do it?” Smith said, “Of course!”, and that was how he became the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
In the United States’ system, there is a divide between career foreign service employees who become ambassadors and political appointees who become ambassadors. According to Ambassador Smith, “About 70% of U.S. ambassadors are career foreign service and 30% are political appointees.” He was a political appointee. Smith’s career in the military had given him different experiences and expertise than that of foreign service officers, who get their experience throughout their career. The fact that he was a political appointee also gave him more freedom than career foreign service officers: “In career foreign service, by the time they become an ambassador, they will have already been immersed in the region...Yet fundamentally, they know that their next job is in the State department, which constrains them a little bit. Political appointees do not.” Appointees do not work for the Department of State as foreign service officers do; instead, they work directly under the President.
People looking to join the foreign service or who have other high ambitions in life should know the importance of staying open to even the most wild opportunities that can cross a one’s path, even if it means giving up an existing plan for something better. Ambassador Smith’s story exemplifies the importance of forming connections with people and picking up the phone for unanticipated calls, because you never know who might be on the other line.
If you want to learn more about our Ambassador series and how YOU can get involved, check out our webpage here.
