Kelly Knight Craft may not be the U.S. Ambassador to Canada for much longer, but she should read The Art of Diplomacy from Bruce and Vicki Heyman. Craft might learn what an ambassador does or even to find out there are cool places in Canada.
Bruce Heyman was the U.S. Ambassador to Canada under President Barack Obama from 2014-2017. With Craft's hundreds of reported absences, Heyman has served as a de facto ambassador in numerous TV appearances.
The Art of Diplomacy makes clear that Bruce and Vicki Heyman were both ambassadors, staying away from the co-ambassador concept. The chapters alternate between the voices of Bruce and Vicki. This is important to remember: otherwise, you might think Bruce got on the back of a Vespa scooter with Sophie Gregoire Trudeau at the helm.
The book is described as a "love letter to Canada, our neighbor and best friend." The couple, when approached for a ambassadorship, wanted to put Canada for each of the top 3 choices. This is a surprise since at the time, all we knew about Bruce Heyman was Goldman Sachs.
Turns out Vicki's great-grandparents on her father's side came from Belarus to Canada. Bruce's work also took him to Canada.
Even if they knew a bit about Canada, Bruce's strategy was to ask several U.S. departments to "tell me what you know about Canada." They had a lot of downtime to prepare since the process took a year from nomination to confirmation. U.S. ambassadors have to go to Charm School in the Virginia suburbs of the U.S. capital.
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Bruce and Vicki try to get off to a good start by bringing Timbits and coffees to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa. Bruce talks about the 2-mile (3.3-km) walk from their residence near 24 Sussex Drive to the U.S. Embassy. I've walked that route when I was in Ottawa. His story brought back a nice memory of that walk in the Canadian capital.
There were certainly mistakes and other oddities: all part of the story. They describe how the Harper Government froze them out over not approving the Keystone XL pipeline.
They took advantage of being frozen out by the Harper Government to travel in Canada. They went to the 7 consulates in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal, Quebec City, and Halifax. Their first trip through Canada went to 7 provinces and 15 cities in 21 days. They talk of adventures in the Yukon; Tuktoyaktuk (700 miles north of Yellowknife); Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation (3-hour plane ride north of Thunder Bay); and Kenauk, Quebec.
They talk about meeting and talking with Ken Taylor, the Canadian ambassador to Iran who rescued the Americans during the hostage crisis. They sought out friendship with then Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau. Bruce spoke of the protocol to first dine with the prime minister and spouse but they had been frozen out by the Harpers.
The Harpers finally invite the Heymans only after the 2015 election cycle started. The couples ended up bonding over hot sauces. Gardens, bees, art, and hot sauces serve as ways to tell the story about their adventures in Canada.
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We were impressed when David Jacobson started a blog about Canada as President Barack Obama's first U.S. Ambassador to Canada. The Heymans stepped that up with their interaction with Canada.
We have been critical of U.S. Ambassadors not having much of a connection with Canada. Turns out Bruce and Vicki Heyman made up for that lack of Canadian connection. Bruce Heyman has also been an asset for the relationship between the countries in the last few years when American voices were invisible or incendiary.
As for The Art of Diplomacy, the book gives an insight into the world of being an ambassador, ups and downs. The pace of the book is very conversational with a very easy read. The book then becomes a resource to remind ourselves of happier times in the U.S.-Canada relationship.
Disclosure: I met Bruce and Vicki Heyman at a Canadian Thanksgiving event two years ago. I did meet them briefly at a book signing. I'm not sure either of them would remember meeting me.
photo credit: The Art of Diplomacy book
After reading this Book review it seems to me should read it.
Posted by: Lucas | July 16, 2019 at 06:05 AM