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“TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE STEPHEN LOW” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S15904-S15905 on Dec. 18, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE STEPHEN LOW
Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate a distinguished former member of the Foreign Service, the Honorable Stephen Low, on the occasion of his recent 80th birthday on December 2, 2007. He has rendered many years of service to our Nation, and I am honored to celebrate this milestone and his achievements.
Upon receiving his doctorate from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1956, the future Ambassador joined the Department of State as an Intelligence Research Officer in what was then the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs. In the years that followed, Ambassador Low served as the Economic-Labor Officer in Kampala, Uganda; the Chief of Political Section, Dakar, Senegal; the Special Assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; and the Counselor for Political Affairs in Brasilia, Brazil. He then returned to Washington where he was named the Director of Brazil Affairs in the early 1970s.
During the Ford administration, Stephen Low advised our Nation's policymakers on the National Security Council as the senior staff member for Latin America. He then returned to service abroad, as the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria. Three years later he served as Ambassador to Zambia. Ambassador Low performed these duties admirably, receiving the Department of State Distinguished Honor Award and two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards.
In 1982 Ambassador Low became the Director of the State Department's Foreign Service Institute, the Federal Government's primary training institution for officers and support personnel of the U.S. foreign affairs community. His commitment to education has been steadfast ever since. In addition to teaching and administrative posts at the Johns Hopkins University and other schools, Ambassador Low was named President of the Association of Diplomatic Studies and Teaching, an office he held until 1997.
Today the Ambassador continues his active career. As President and Founder of the Foreign Affairs Museum Council, Ambassador Low worked with members of Congress and all living former Secretaries of State to improve public understanding of the role of diplomacy and the Foreign Service. As he has stated:
Many Americans have little idea what an embassy is, or what an ambassador does. Nor are they aware that our diplomats and other Foreign Service personnel work 24/7 around the world in the interest of the American people.
His subsequent advocacy and leadership in the planning of a National Museum of American Diplomacy at the Department of State has helped to ensure that our Nation honors the past achievements and ongoing service of our country's diplomats.
I congratulate Ambassador Low on his 80th birthday and his lifetime of achievement. I wish him many more years of good health and active service to our country.
I ask that the attached resolution be printed in the Record.
The material follows.
Congratulating Hon. Stephen Low on a lifetime of service to the cause and promotion of American diplomacy, and on the recent passing of his 80th birthday on December 2, 2007;
Whereas throughout his years as a career Foreign Service Officer, Ambassador Low served as the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and the U.S. Ambassador to Zambia;
Whereas while advising the National Security Council, Ambassador Low served as a senior staff member for Latin America;
Whereas Ambassador Low has received the Department of State Distinguished Honor Award and two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards;
Whereas in his commitment to education, Ambassador Low has served as the Director of the State Department's Foreign Service Institute, President of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, and several teaching posts in the United States and abroad;
Whereas Ambassador Low continues to be active in the creation of a museum and center for the study of American diplomacy at the Department of State: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Committee on Foreign Relations expresses to Ambassador Low deep appreciation for his service to the Department of State and the United States of America.
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