Trust and Leadership with Foreign Service Officer Katharine Beamer

I’m Katharine Beamer, I am a career Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, and I am currently spending a year as a National Security Affairs Fellow at the Hoover Institution. 

So, how did a California native and Stanford graduate become interested in a life of diplomacy?

Well, thanks to the values my parents and grandparents instilled in me, I felt a deep need to serve in some capacity. My grandpa said that in his small town growing up in North Dakota (X?), his parents told him the most respected positions were teachers, doctors, and priests. My sister became a teacher, my brother became a doctor, and instead of a priest, I became a diplomat.

While studying at Stanford I was captivated by my International Relations courses and decided that instead of reading about theory, I wanted to be out in the world actively serving my country. I took the Foreign Service exam (more info available at careers.state.gov) and after graduating, moved to D.C. to begin my exciting new career. 

I started on September 10, 2001. On my second day, I evacuated the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center when it became clear that America was under attack. The world changed that day, and with it, the future of diplomacy. The post-cold war peace of the 1990s was over, and the war on terror had begun.

The Department of State’s mission is to lead America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance. It advances the interests of the American people, their safety, and our economic prosperity.

I have served the bulk of my 20+ year career as a Political Officer in the Foreign Service. Political Officers are negotiators who keep a trained eye on the political climate in the host countries we serve in and decipher events as they relate to U.S. interests, negotiations, and policies. Often working behind the scenes to analyze and report on local issues and events, we use our in-depth knowledge of local culture and history to help policymakers in Washington D.C. better understand significant events and then tailor U.S. responses most effectively.

My day-to-day work is largely spent making friends and influencing people in pursuit of U.S. interests. I typically spend as much of my time outside of the Embassy with foreign contacts as I do inside our Embassy. I champion core American values such as respect for human rights, the rule of law, freedom of the press, and democratic institutions. I work with people across the political spectrum, from opposition groups and government officials to the business community and opinion makers. And I advocate for a level playing field for U.S. business interests, helping to generate jobs back home.

There are some cocktail parties, to be sure, but there is a lot of “representing” the United States in ways you wouldn’t expect. I’ve attended trials of alleged genocidal generals and served as an election observer in Latin America. I’ve hosted congressional delegations pressing Europeans on respect for minority rights and advocated for U.S. positions at the UN and the Organization of American States with the highest levels of foreign governments. I’ve also tended to U.S. citizens in the middle of the night who were victims of mental illness, domestic violence, or other crimes, and urgently needed protection while in a foreign country.

While I have only served in Latin America and Europe, my colleagues and I all agreed to “Worldwide availability” when we signed up and can be sent anywhere our service needs us. Most of the time, we take our immediate families with us for three-year assignments. Much of the time, we leave dear friends and full, happy lives behind. All of the time, this is a sacrifice that we bear willingly; one that our families are forced to accept.

As the late, great Secretary Shultz often quoted, “trust is the coin of the realm.” I’ve had the pleasure to serve four Presidents and seven Secretaries of State. Foreign Service Officers faithfully serve the U.S. national interest and execute the policy of the elected President regardless of political affiliation. We are a small cadre of dedicated patriots from across the country and from a wide array of diverse backgrounds. Most Americans will never meet one of us. I would like those of you who don’t, to know that it is a great honor to represent you, the American people, and our shared values, to the world.