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Interview with Donald McHenry March 29, 2001 By Nadia Crisan
Photo Courtesy of The Pantagraph |
Donald F. McHenry served as Ambassador and U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from September 1979 until January 20, 1981. As Chief United States Representative to the United Nations, he also served as a member of President Carter's Cabinet.
Ambassador McHenry was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1936 and grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois. He graduated in 1957 from Illinois State University and two years later received a Master's Degree from Southern Illinois University with majors in International Affairs and in Rhetoric and Public Address. He has done post-graduate work at Georgetown University. He is the father of one son and two daughters.
Ambassador McHenry is currently Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and President of the IRC Group, an international consulting firm.
Illinois State University: Ambassador McHenry, could you please tell us when you became interested in politics? And did you have any particular reason for choosing foreign affairs?
Donald McHenry: I became interested in politics as a young kid. I remember being extremely interested in 1948, when Truman was re-nominated in the election, and Adlai Steveson ran for Governor in 1949.
Q: How did it feel to be an ambassador?
D.M.: I don't know. It is a great deal of responsibility. There is not much time to think about being an ambassador. We had work to do, to build on a foundation, made by those who came before us.
Q: Ambassador, how was your experience between 1979-81, during the Cold War? That was the time when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
D.M.: I had already held the rank of ambassador 2 years earlier when I was the US Representative in the UN Security Council. Almost everything we did was with the Security Council. We had a number of issues which we had to handle: the Soviets in Afghanistan, the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, the conflicts in Cambodia, the Iran crisis, other problems in the Middle East, Southern Africa, Namibia. The Cold War was a time when you tried to reach agreements with one hand tied. It was not an ideal situation, but not an impossible situation. Sometimes we were successful, sometimes not.
Q: What does it mean to have the veto power? Did you veto any resolutions?
D.M.: The Security Council can not act if one of the Permanent members casts a negative vote. As a permanent member, the United States should vote no only under the most stringent conditions. The United States cast no veto during my tenure. This takes a certain amount of skill. You have to negotiate your country's interest with those of other members. So, you come up with some approach, which has enough common ground.
Q: Do you think the veto procedure is appropriate?
D.M.: It was appropriate for 1945. It is still appropriate. However, for the most part the veto power is not necessary. We are sufficiently important, that countries want to have the US agreement and want to avoid our opposition. On the Middle East, however, the veto has been used by the United States, for domestic political reasons, not substantive reasons, nor foreign reasons. That is unfortunate.
Q: Do you miss your job as ambassador, and how is it to be a professor at Georgetown today?
D.M.: I do not miss it. I stay busy with an even broader rage of activities, non-profit, charitable, corporate, stay close to foreign policy. I have undertaken diplomatic assignments for both the United States and the United Nations. I just returned from Nigeria, where I am helping them to put together policy planning programs. I am not interested in something that is permanent.
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Q: What recommendations do you have for students interested in Foreign Service? D. M.: I think that opportunities in foreign affairs are much broader today than in the past. In addition to government work, there are opportunities in banking, charitable and corporate work. The range is extraordinarily broad. Therefore, preparation for a career in foreign affairs should be equally broad. There is plenty of time for specialization. Liberal arts should be their main foundation. Then, they can specifically focus on issues such as environment, health, trade, transportation, and all areas that no longer respect borders. |
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Q: Did you enjoy being the US ambassador at the UN?
D.M..: Yes, I did. The handicap of the Cold War was a greater opportunity to have an impact.
ISU: If you would have a chance to start again, what would you change?
D.M.: Young people coming along have opportunities that I did not have. There are opportunities for internships, to travel abroad, and to get enormous experiences. These are great contributions. If I could go back, I would spend every vacation interning or traveling somewhere.
Q: Out of all the countries you had a chance to travel to, which one is your favorite?
D. M.: It is hard to say. You do not get to see all the places to which you travel. Most of the time I am in the airport or in the foreign office. I used to take one of the children with me on almost every trip. It was a great way of exposing them. As for tourist destinations, I particularly like Southern France. I enjoy museums and antiques. I also go to the United Kingdom. Then, I like nature and Southern Africa or a fishing stream in New Zealand.
Q: Going back to your family, I know you have a son and two daughters. How did you manage to be an ambassador and spend as much time as possible with your family?
D.M.: With difficulty at the beginning; I was divorced when the youngest kids were not quite teenagers, the other in college. I had the two girls and we made it. It was a great adventure. You have to make time. You have to schedule the time. Once, I was interviewed by the "Boston Globe", and they discovered that I did not go out for dinners or receptions on Mondays and Thursdays because I needed to spend time with the girls. To the Globe, therefore, I was such a workaholic that I scheduled my children! The description was okay with me. I believe you have to concentrate when you do your work. We made a lot of mistakes in that adventure, but there was no permanent damage.
Q: Are any of your children involved in diplomacy?
D.M.: One girl wanted to go into the Foreign Service but she changed her mind, and today she is a TV producer. But my son is in the Foreign Service. He is a Middle East specialist. The other girl is a professor of American literature.
Q: Are you happy with your current work?
D.M: I do the best I can. I stay quite busy.
Q: What is your main contribution to US Foreign Policy?
D.M.: I hope that somewhere along the road I have impressed people with the importance of carefully analyzing problems respectfully from the perspective of each party. That is the starting point for resolving any problem. Anyway, those who have worked with me will say that has always been the essential part of my approach.
Q: What are you most proud of?
D.M.: I have not spent time thinking of what I was most proud . I have done the best job I could under the given circumstances. I am always aware that somebody else can do a better job than I, but I want to be able to say to myself that I have done the best I can in given circumstances.
Q: What is your best memory as ambassador?
D.M: From the Security Council, the resolution settling the conflict in Namibia. Also, the way we handled the Iran hostage crisis, at least my portion.
Q: What is your diplomatic legacy?
D.M.: That is for others to determine.
Q: What was your "diplomatic slogan"?
D.M.: Manage the problem while you search for a solution.
Q: What is your hope for the future of the International Community?
D.M.: I hope that we are all aware of the increasing interdependence that exists today, where people live and work together peacefully, respect other cultures and the rights of individuals.