![Bureau of Human Resources Deputy Assistant Secretary Philippe Lussier gave remarks at the locally employed (LE) staff nameplate unveiling ceremony last December. The event honored the lives of seven LE staff who worked for the Department of State and U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) at U.S. Embassies abroad when they lost their lives. Representatives from the USAGM attended, as well as principal officials from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and each of the regional bureaus of the LE staff honored. “[LE staff] are truly the backbone of our institutions. Their work is indispensable to advancing our foreign policy goals at more than 276 embassies and consulates worldwide,” said Lussier.](https://statemag.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IB-LE-Staff-265x198.jpg "Department honors lives of fallen LE Staff")
Education helps displaced communities return home
To help facilitate the safe return of Iraqis displaced by the Islamic State group (IS), commonly referred to as ISIS, the Department of State supports explosive hazard risk education that equips displaced communities with...
From Health to Space
By Hillary LeBail and Gavin Piercy
Science envoys are preeminent American scientists and engineers who, at the request of the Secretary of State, agree to volunteer their time and utilize their scientific renown to further...
Appointments | March 2019
Donald A. Blome - U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia
Donald A. Blome (SFS) of Illinois is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia. Blome is currently the chargé d’affairs at the...
In Memoriam | March 2019
Dianne Marie Andruch, 68, died Sept. 4, 2018 in Tucson, Ariz. She was a Foreign Service officer, both as an office management specialist and later as a consular officer, serving in Indonesia and Mexico...
Retirements | March 2019
Civil ServiceAlfonso, Mary S.Alix, Cathy D.Athanasaw, Yvonne A.Baden, Barbara J.Bautista, Darlene Y.Bridges, Judith M.Brown, ReneeBurnside, Sharon C.Catington, Susan M.Chodzko, Thomas H.Denver, Thomas J.Flaggs, Christopher H.Gambrill, Paula M.Gniewek, Larry F.Graham, Terrence A.Gravallese, David M.Gromoll, Robert...
Prioritizing People
By Jacqueline Mourot
“The work of being a Public Affairs Officer was not going to wait for me to translate training into real tactics in the field as a first time PAO in a...
Ebenezer Bassett
By Christopher Teal
When President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Ebenezer D. Bassett as Minister Resident (Ambassador) to Haiti in 1869, Bassett made history. As the first African-American diplomat, Bassett paved the way for others with...
Leading the frontline on all-government sanctions
By Tarek M. Fahmy
The economic pressure campaign against the Iranian regime, nuclear weapons in North Korea, ruthless dictators in Venezuela, human rights violators in South Sudan and corruption in Russia are some of the...
Journalists address responsibility in an age of disinformation
By Joshua Kreiser
The Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists convenes journalists from around the world to examine free and responsible reporting and to help those journalists build networks with media professionals in the United...