Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland visited Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in April 2023, returning to the city where she helped open the U.S. embassy in 1988. “This takes me back to my diplomatic beginnings—to that feeling of excitement when the United States is creating a relationship with a country,” Nuland said during her recent visit, where she posed for identical photos, 35 years apart in Sukhbaatar Square. As one of just two U.S. diplomats on the ground in 1988, she served as political and economic officer, defense attaché, cultural attaché, and junior admin officer. Nuland recalled the vibrancy of the Mongolian people and how eager the country was for a transition to democracy—an evolution that has given Mongolians opportunity, progress, freedom, and the ability to speak their minds and choose their government.
Photos courtesy of Embassy Ulaanbaatar and Victoria Nuland
