Michael Guest
 Michael Guest    (diplomat) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1957 |
| Alma mater | Furman University, University of Virginia |
| Partner | Alex Nevarez |
| Party | Republican Party (United States) |
U.S. Ambassador to Romania during the George W. Bush presidency, at a time when the CIA built secret torture prisons in the country for extraordinary rendition.
| |
Michael E. Guest was a U.S. Ambassador to Romania during the George W. Bush presidency,[1] at a time when the CIA built secret torture prisons in the country for extraordinary rendition.
His partner Alex Nevarez was acknowledged by Powell at the swearing-in ceremony in the State Department Diplomatic Reception Room. LGBT rights groups viewed Guest's appointment, and Powell's remarks, as historic and indicative of greater recognition of gay State Department employees and same-sex couples. Socially conservative groups expressed opposition to Guest's appointment and to Powell's gesture.[2]
Ambassador
A Foreign Service officer since 1981, Guest was among other things Political Officer, Moscow, the Soviet Union 1987-89; Deputy Director for Political Affairs, Office of European Security 1989-91; and Deputy Political Counselor, Paris, France 1991-94.[3]
Guest was the first publicly gay man to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate and serve as a U.S. Ambassador.[4] Guest resided together with Nevarez at the residence of the American Embassy in Bucharest until 2004 when his appointment came to an end. Romania's last anti-gay law, Article 200 of the Penal Code, which criminalised public manifestations of homosexuality, was repealed shortly before Guest's arrival as ambassador in 2001.
During his tenure as ambassador, Guest was outspoken against public corruption, which he said had impeded Romania's development since the fall of communism. At the same time, his ambassadorship was characterized by strong relations between the U.S. and Romania, and let the U.s. build secret torture camps in the country. Romania committed troops to support U.S.-led efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Romania was also admitted into NATO and intensified negotiations that would eventually lead to the country's accession into the European Union. President George W. Bush made an official visit to Bucharest in 2002.
Before Guest's departure from Romania at the end of his duties in 2003, then Romanian President Ion Iliescu awarded him the Romanian "Order for Faithful Service in the Rank of Grand Cross" in appreciation for his "high professionalism, dedication to his mission ... and for his personal contribution to the strengthening of the Romanian-American partnership."
Retirement
Guest retired from the State Department, where he last was as a dean at the Department's Foreign Service Institute. At his retirement ceremony on November 20, 2007, in the Treaty Room, Guest publicly criticized Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the issue of discrimination against gay employees and specifically the benefits denied to same-sex partners of department employees. He remarked, "I've felt compelled to choose between obligations to my partner – who is my family – and service to my country. That anyone should have to make that choice is a stain on the Secretary's leadership and a shame for this institution and our country."[5][6][7]
On December 5, 2008, the Associated Press reported that Guest had been selected as a member of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team at the State Department.[8]
Also in 2008, Guest co-founded the Council for Global Equity (a coalition of human rights and LGBT advocacy organizations seeking U.S. support for LGBT-fair policies abroad), for which he is a senior adviser.[9][10]
In early 2016, at a Council for Global Equity reception in Washington, D.C., Guest spoke against the anti-immigrant "hateful rhetoric" that Republican candidates had been using on the campaign trail.[11]
In November 2020, Guest was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of State.[12]
References
- ↑ http://www.nndb.com/people/249/000126868/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20030310001505/http://www.cultureandfamily.org/articledisplay.asp?id=217&department=CFI&categoryid=cfreport
- ↑ https://www.nndb.com/people/249/000126868/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20050611081519/http://www.commondreams.org/news2001/0925-01.htm
- ↑ http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/unequal-treatment-at-the-state-department
- ↑ http://thinkprogress.org/2007/12/04/michael-guest/
- ↑ http://www.newsweek.com/gays-and-state-department-94905
- ↑ http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/clinton-loyalists-state-dept-staff-article-1.356569
- ↑ https://photos.state.gov/libraries/adana/5/bios/Guesti_Michaell_bio.pdf
- ↑ http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=3298
- ↑ http://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/03/01/michael-guest-anti-immigrant-rhetoric-painful-to-hear/
- ↑ https://buildbackbetter.com/the-transition/agency-review-teams/
This page imported content from Wikipedia on 07.07.2021.Wikipedia is not affiliated with Wikispooks. Original page source here
