Top brass changes In US Embassy

Minister Michael Malinowski, chargé d’affaires of the US Embassy in the Philippines, might soon bid farewell to this country and be replaced by purported incoming US Ambassador James Dobbins, presently the assistant secretary of state for European Affairs. However, according to the American Embassy, there is still no clear word from the White House about Dobbins’ appointment. Like Malinowski, Dobbins is also a member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor.

Born in New York City, Dobbins, a close friend of US State Department Secretary Colin Powell, began his career in the Senior Foreign Service after graduating from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1963. Four years later, he tried his hand on the US Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

A bemedalled officer and highly-distinguished government official, Dobbins served three years in the United States Navy and completed two tours of duty in the Vietnam theater aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard. From 1968 to 1969, he became part of the American delegation to the Vietnam peace initiative. It was then when he received the Expeditionary Medal of the Republic of Vietnam, among many others during his service in the Senior Foreign Service department.

But it was in 1991 when Dobbins jumpstarted his career in the Foreign Service when he was designated as American Ambassador to the European Community. From being Senior Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, he became Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the National Security Council Staff responsible for Latin America in the mid-’90s. He was engagedin this work until he was designated Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State for affairs in Kosovo in 1999. It was Dobbins who led the Dayton implementation responsible for the management of the Balkan crisis throughout the year-long conflict in said region.

Dobbins is a well-known troubleshooter. This is probably one of the reasons he is being eyed as the next US ambassador to the Philippines. Judging from his career in government – his involvement in peace talks during the Vietnam War and crisis management in Latin America and the Balkan states – Dobbins perhaps would be a very suitable American ambassador considering the problems our country is facing at the moment.

If and when the appointment of Dobbins is confirmed by the US Congress, he would assume office by the fall of this year. Ad interim minister Malinowski, on the other hand, would assume his duties as the United States’ diplomat for Nepal during the summer. He is expected to leave the country soon.

Malinowski is not new in Nepal, a constitutional monarchy of Southern Asia located north of the mountainous borders of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. From 1991-1994, he stayed in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city, as Deputy Chief of Missions. Accordingly, he spent another three years in the American embassies in Mbabane and Swaziland. Due to his astounding work in these regions, Malinowski received three individual Superior Honor Awards for his work in Kathmandu, on the Gulf War, and in Peshawar. He, too, garnered a Meritorious Honor award for his work as political affairs analyst on South Asia.

A former social worker and teacher in Chicago, Illinois, Malinowski joined the Foreign Service in 1976. From then on, he has served under numerous designations in countries like Mexico, Kabul, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Colombo, Venezuela and Macaraibo. Prior to assuming his current duties as ad interim US Ambassador to the Philippines, Malinowski likewise served as the US President’s Special Envoy to the Afghan resistance, Special Assistant for Near East and South Asian Affairs, and eventually, Office Director for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs of the US State Department. His knowledge of counter-terrorist strategies was best displayed during his stint as Special Assistant for Counter-terrorism to the American Undersecretary of Political Affairs (1989-1991).

It was in late July 1999 when Malinowski began his career in the Philippines as Deputy Chief of Missions, class of Minister-Counselor at the US Embassy in Roxas Boulevard, Manila. On the departure of US Ambassador Thomas C. Hubbard on July 24, 2000, the Deputy Chief of Missions took the helm of the embassy pending the appointment and arrival of the US Ambassador to the Philippines.

More than anything else, it was Malinowski’s sense of connection with our people and understanding of the country’s culture that has made him a friend of Filipinos. For the past three years, he has unswervingly supported our government’s attempts at development and progress through thick and thin, bringing about a partnership that, to this day, remains unparalleled.

Malinowski for his part has been assigned to American missions in troubled spots such as Afghanistan and some South Asian countries, which have given him an even-tempered insight on controversial economic and political issues regarding the Philippines. His calm support has been a very encouraging indicator of the overall sentiment of the US government towards our country. — J.M. Romualdez