Diplomatic
A Business, Diplomacy & Foreign Policy Publication
JULY – AUGUST 2016 • $7.95
BUSINESS • POLITICS • TRAVEL • ENTERTAINMENT • CONGRESS • MILITARY & DEFENSE
GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL
NORWEGIAN AMBASSADOR’S RESIDENCE
TRAVEL TO OTTAWA, CANADA
AMBASSADOR FRANCISCO BORJA CEVALLOS EMBASSY OF ECUADOR
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MEDICAL EXPERTS
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Letter From
the
Publisher
This issue covers the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II to thirteen days later a global reaction to Brexit, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Read about the topic of immigration playing a far greater role than economics in this colossal event that has caught the attention of every nation in the world. Keeping in sync with our usual format, we engage in a thoughtprovoking conversation with the Ambassador of Ecuador, Francisco Borja Cevallos. His homeland was devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April, which saw 700 people lose their lives, 30,000 made homeless and countless more hit economically. Ambassador Borja discusses the disaster as well as gives us insight into Ecuador’s relationship with the U.S., including the two countries’ viewpoints on immigration. Washington, D.C., is home to some of the world’s most beautiful embassies and diplomatic residencies. It is our treat to give you an exclusive look into the newly renovated Norwegian Ambassador’s Residence. Functional and uncluttered without being austere, the home’s essence is a fusion of modern pieces with classic accents (think antique chandeliers and mirrors). Enjoy photos of this stunning space as well as an article highlighting the residence’s notable art and décor. We have coverage of another prominent birthday happening in the Commonwealth — the 150th anniversary of Canada. Our pages feature an in-depth look at Ottawa’s rise from muddy logging town to worldclass capital. You’ll undoubtedly learn a few new facts, such as why The Netherlands gifted Canada with 100,000 tulips and the reason Ottawa was purposely built away from the U.S. border. For those of you who enjoy a good night out, I’m very pleased to announce four upcoming Diplomatic Appreciation Receptions. Mark your calendars now to be sure you don’t miss out on some of the diplomatic community’s most anticipated events: October 17 in Washington, D.C.; October 20 in Chicago; November 3 in Beverly Hills and November 17 in New York. If you’ve attended before, you know what an occasion it is and if you’ve never been, be sure to join us for a memorable night. Warmest regards,
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dawn Parker DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS Lauren Peace BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVES Evan Strianese, Scott Goss, Evelyne Ustarroz DESIGN & CREATIVE Betty Watson CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Larry Smith DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENTS and CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Roland Flamini, James Winship, PhD, Monica Frim EVENT COORDINATOR ASSISTANTS Victoria Akosile, Sarah Albright and Ms. Abby
To contact an advertising executive CALL: 202.536.4810 EMAIL: info@diplomaticconnections.com DIPLOMATIC CONNECTIONS WEBSITE DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT IMS (Inquiry Management Systems) 304 Park Avenue South, 11th Floor New York, NY 10010 Marc Highbloom, Vice President marc@ims.ca Maria D’Urso, Project Manager Mariad@ims.ca CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHY Christophe Avril; Dr. John Frim; Paula Morrision To order photos from the events go to: www.diplomaticconnections.com Send any name or address changes in writing to: Diplomatic Connections 4410 Massachusetts Avenue / #200 Washington, DC 20016 Diplomatic Connections Business Edition is published bi-monthly. Diplomatic Connections does not endorse any of the goods or services offered herein this publication. Copyright 2016 by Diplomatic Connections All rights reserved.
Dawn Parker, Publisher Diplomatic Connections
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Diplomatic
UPCOMING DIPLOMATIC CONNECTIONS’ October 17 in Washington, D.C.
November 3 in Beverly Hills
INTERNATIONAL RECEPTIONS
November 17 in New York
October 20 in Chicago
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Cover photo credits: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Ambassador of Ecuador to the United States, Paula Morrision, Diplomatic Connections; Ottawa, Canada, Dr. John Frim/Monica Frim, Diplomatic Connections; Embassy of Norway, Ambassador’s Residence, Paula Morrision, Diplomatic Connections
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D I P L O M AT I C C O N N E C T I O N S BUSINESS EDITION
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APARTMENTS, CONDOMINIUMS and HOUSING
HOSPITALS and MEDICAL CENTERS
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Cancer Treatment Centers of America . . . . . 7
Metropolitan Pacific Properties . . . . . . . . . 76, 77 & 78 RESIDENTIAL SALES 50 United Nations New York . . . . INSIDE FRONT COVER and 1 COMMERCIAL SALES GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL
Rudder Property Group. . . . . . . . . . . . 46 TURNKEY fully furnished apartments . . . . . 49 866 United Nations Plaza, 866UNPlaza.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Featured Physicians . . . . . . . . . . . 6 & 7 Cleveland Clinic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Featured Physician 8 Johns Hopkins Medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Featured Physicians . . . . . . . .2 through 5 HOTELS, DINING and ACCOMMODATIONS aka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 The Concordia Hotel . . . . . . . . . . 50 & 51 [The] Fairfax at Embassy Row . . . . . . . . 69
AUTOMOTIVE - CARS and LIMOUSINE SERVICES
Fairmont Washington, DC – Georgetown . . . 35
BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BACK COVER
Holiday Inn Cleveland Clinic . . . . . . . . . 11
Admiral Leasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
InterContinental Cleveland Clinic . . . . . . . 10
BMW of Rockville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The Peninsula Beverly Hills . . . . . . . . . . 80 The Ritz-Carlton PENTAGON CITY. . . . . . . 74
AMBASSADOR FRANCISCO BORJA CEVALLOS EMBASSY OF ECUADOR
CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES
The Watergate Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Furla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 LINENS CONCIERGE SERVICES
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HOTELS, DINING AND ACCOMMODATIONS Holiday Estates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
SECURITY SERVICES TULLIS Worldwide Protection . . . . . . . . . 46
EDUCATION – INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
TRAVEL TO OTTAWA, CANADA
Le Lycée Francais de Los Angeles . . . . . . 46
WATCHES, TIMEPIECES and LUXURY ITEMS
Randolph-Macon Academy . . . . . . . . . . 47
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Rudolf Steiner School - New York City. . 15 & 47 FEATURED ARTICLES FINANCIAL SERVICES United Nations Federal Credit Union UNFCU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
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ECUADOR PICKS ITSELF UP
AFTER EARTHQUAKE AND ECONOMIC TREMORS AN INTERVIEW WITH ECUADOR’S AMBASSADOR TO WASHINGTON, FRANCISCO BORJA CEVALLOS BY ROLAND FLAMINI
On one afternoon in May, Ecuador’s Washington Embassy had the appearance of an office in the throes of a major move. Corridors and hallways were stacked high with big boxes seemingly waiting to be trucked away. Which was the case, but the different black markings scrawled on the boxes offered a further clue: “zapatos,” which is Spanish for shoes, “mantas” (blankets) and “ropa” (clothes). Propped up in one corner were dozens of crutches, tied in bundles. The contents of the boxes were destined for the survivors of the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Ecuador’s coast on April 16. In response to the embassy’s relief appeal, clothes and food had poured in, Ecuador’s Ambassador Francisco Borja Cevallos told Diplomatic Connections in a recent interview; one big container had already been filled and dispatched, and a second was due to be shipped later in the same month.
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side from its tragic human consequences, the earthquake was an economic setback for Ecuador in the form of lost tourist revenue, damage to businesses and the grim prospect of massive reconstruction costs at a time when the tumbling price of oil had resulted in a seven percent drop in the country’s GDP in 2015. But Ambassador Borja said he was optimistic that Ecuador would recover, pointing out that austerity measures had significantly slowed the precipitous economic slide and the major infrastructure improvements undertaken in the commodity boom years, plus other incentives, made the country attractive to new investment. The political landscape remains somewhat blurred, however, with elections next year in which Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s populist two-term president (since 2007), has said he will not run again leaving an open field. But constitutional changes ending term limits on the presidency and other measures boosting the presidential power were going ahead. The ambassador raised the possibility that Correa could run again at some time in the future. Ambassador Borja, 67, a former journalist, was Ecuador’s ambassador to Chile for seven years before being appointed minister of culture in 2014, a post he held until coming to Washington in May 2015. Diplomatic Connections: How much damage was done by the recent earthquake? Ambassador Borja: Nearly 700 people died, 30,000 people were left homeless and many businesses were destroyed. The stricken area is the most important in the Ecuador fishing industry. The earthquake destroyed about 75 percent of the shrimp industry, and the coffee, chocolate and cocoa industries as well. Our president [Rafael Correa] has established a recovery fund of about $3.5 billion dollars. Diplomatic Connections: I understand that the embassy is a collecting point for humanitarian aid. Ambassador Borja: We issued appeals for help in social media and the response has been huge, not just from 22
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Ecuadorians in the United States, but from other Latin American people and from Americans. We’ve already sent one container with about 35 tons of water, food, clothes and sleeping bags. For the past few weeks, embassy staff and volunteers have been here until 9 p.m., weekends included, sorting gifts and packing them in boxes as contributions kept coming in. Diplomatic Connections: Is the search for victims continuing? Ambassador Borja: No. The first step was to rescue survivors and recover the dead. The second was to deliver enough food and medicine to the people who had lost their homes. Our second container will probably be the last from Washington. Now we’re initiating reconstruction plans for homes and businesses and to help the people to start their lives again. About 12,000 homes were destroyed or damaged. So now we’re encouraging people who want to help to donate money and have opened two accounts, one at Citibank and the other at Bank of America. Diplomatic Connections: Was there any damage to historic sites? Ambassador Borja: Yes. We don’t yet have an inventory of the damages. The evaluation is going on as we speak, but we know there was damage. This was an area where ancient indigenous cultures have existed for thousands of years so there are archeological sites and also museums. Diplomatic Connections: Has Ecuador ever had an earthquake on this scale in recent history? Ambassador Borja: The last big earthquake was in 1949, and it completely destroyed a small town called Pelileo, which disappeared. Since then we’ve only had small tremors, nothing like this one. Diplomatic Connections: What was the impact of the most recent earthquake on tourism to Ecuador? Ambassador Borja: It did have an effect at first because the coast is a tourist area, with beautiful beaches and friendly people. Now we’re telling people that the best way to support Ecuador is to visit it. But, of course, we also have the highlands, with completely different people and different food, and the Amazonic jungle on the other side of the country. Diplomatic Connections: Were the Galapagos Islands affected? Ambassador Borja: No, Galapagos is in the north, about two hours’ flight from Guayaquil.
Diplomatic Connections: Was there political fallout from the disaster? Ambassador Borja: I don’t think so. I think the country has been united in coping with the tragedy. But we’re in an electoral year, so, of course, anything can be used for that purpose by some people. But I will say that there were very few people who tried to introduce politics into the situation. The nation rallied to help the homeless. Diplomatic Connections: Earlier in the millennium, Latin American countries, with a few exceptions, showed promise in developing democratic systems, building their economies and starting to address their enormous social problems. Seen from Ecuador’s perspective, where does that evolution stand now? Ambassador Borja: The last decade was a Latin American decade, mainly because of the high prices of the commodities that Latin America exports. With the drop in commodity prices across the board, that situation is finished. We cannot rely any more on that high income. The difference is how the respective countries invested those funds. In Ecuador, we felt it was important to improve infrastructure and education. These were the main challenges we took care of in the last eight to nine years. We have now a great infrastructure, putting the country in a situation to receive investment — brand new roads, construction of eight or nine hydroelectric plants, a new airport in [the capital] Quito. The other priority was education. We created four new universities, one devoted to the arts, another to train teachers, one for hi-tech and one for biology in the middle of the jungle to study the rainforest. We now send 10,000 young Ecuadorian students on scholarships to universities around the world, including the United States. They have to return to Ecuador after finishing their studies for double the time that they were outside it. Diplomatic Connections: How many Ecuadorians and people of Ecuadorian descent live in the U.S.? Ambassador Borja: It’s a very important presence. We don’t have exact numbers, but it’s about 1.2 million, more than half of them in the area of New Jersey and New York. Diplomatic Connections: The obvious follow-on, of course, is where does Ecuador stand on the immigration debate in this country, and how to confront the problem of illegal immigrants? Ambassador Borja: We prefer to call them undocumented or irregular, rather than illegal. Of course, we are opposed to risky emigration as happens now through Mexico; Ecuador favors legal, organized, regular emigration. There is
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Edu Leon/LatinContent/Getty Images Meridith Kohut/Bloomberg via Getty Images
People loot what was left of a store after an earthquake struck Ecuador on April 21, 2016 in Pedernales, Ecuador. More than 650 people were killed after a 7.8-magnitude quake.
Rafael Correa, president of Ecuador, hugs a young girl during a visit to communities severely damaged by an earthquake in Jama, Ecuador on April 22, 2016. World leaders from the Vatican to Washington offered support to Ecuador as casualties mounted following one of the strongest earthquakes to strike the South American country in decades. 24
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Meridith Kohut/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A young boy eats food after a helicopter delivery of humanitarian aid in Chebe, Ecuador, on Sunday, April 24, 2016.
Edu Leon/LatinContent/Getty Image
A kid is seen sleeping a on a mattress on the side of a road on April 26, 2016 in La Chorrera, Ecuador.
Edu Leon/LatinContent/Getty Image
Residents recover their belongings days after an earthquake on April 22, 2016 in Pedernales, Ecuador.
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Europa Press/Europa Press via Getty Images
(L-R) Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia of Spain and Ambassador of Ecuador Miguel Calahorrano Camino attend a tribute Mass for the earthquakes victims in Ecuador at La Almudena Cathedral on May 17, 2016 in Madrid, Spain.
naturally a lot of interest in President Obama’s immigration reform proposals, legalizing all those people who have no documents is in everybody’s interest, giving them the right to work — and the obligation to pay taxes. But it’s not an issue that we can decide. We hope that the United States can find the best way to organize, to regularize, the people that are already in the country. Diplomatic Connections: Is there a unified approach on this issue to the United States by Latin American and Central American governments? Ambassador Borja: Immigration would be an important issue to discuss with the U.S. as a continent, but it doesn’t happen that way yet. Perhaps it could be done through UNASUR [Union of South American Nations] or the CELAC [Community of Latin American and Caribbean States]. I’m in favor of that dialogue, and it would be easier with CELAC. 26
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That’s why CELAC was created, after all, to discuss with the United States, with Europe, with Asia as a whole continent. Diplomatic Connections: But so far this united front is not functioning. Ambassador Borja: But I think we will find common ground. We all have many of the same problems, after all. Diplomatic Connections: Meanwhile, how would you characterize bi-lateral relations with the United States? Ambassador Borja: We respect the U.S. and the U.S. respects us. We always say that we don’t always agree with the international point of view of the United States government, and the United States government doesn’t always agree with our policies. But we can talk, and it’s friendly. That’s how we manage the relationship, frankly and directly, and I think that’s working. I’m very happy with the improvements.
Diplomatic Connections: Isn’t one of the existing problems the continued asylum of Julian Assange, the leading perpetrator of Wikileaks, in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he has now been for four years? Ambassador Borja: That’s not really an issue with the United States. That’s more a problem with the United Kingdom and Sweden. I can tell you that during the year I have been here, this issue has not been brought up by any U.S. official. It’s something that’s being discussed between Ecuador, the United Kingdom and Sweden. My government has said that Assange can stay there as long as he wants to stay. Diplomatic Connections: Suppose Assange had sought asylum in this embassy, here in Washington, what do you think would have happened? Ambassador Borja: Our government would have taken the same position, because it’s a question of principle. Diplomatic Connections: And what about reports some while back that the surveillance whistle blower Edward Snowden would also be granted asylum in Ecuador. Ambassador Borja: That was a complicated story at one moment, but it had a satisfactory solution. Everything happened so fast, but Ecuador never offered him asylum. Juan Cevallos/AFP/Getty Images
Diplomatic Connections: What foreign policy differences would Ecuador have with the United States? Continue to page 32
JuanJo Martin - Pool/Getty Images
Local residents participate in a mass officiated in a public square.
Ecuador’s ambassador in Spain Miguel Calahorrano speaks during the tribute Mass to earthquake victims of Ecuador at the La Almudena Cathedral on May 17, 2016 in Madrid, Spain.
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Insights/UIG via Getty Images
Cocoa pods on trees (Theobroma cacao) growing in the cocoa plantation of Hacienda San Rafael, Guayas, Ecuador.
Ecuadorian Pacari Chocolates employees take out chocolates from molds at the factory in southern Quito.
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Rodrigo Buendia/AFP/Getty Images
Ecuadorian Pacari Chocolates employees select organic cocoa beans at their factory in southern Quito. Pacari Chocolates is a family-owned company which produces gourmetquality chocolate with native flavors and has won several international awards.
To order Ecuadorian chocolates online, go to: www.pacari.com
Ecuadorian Pacari Chocolate is seen at the factory in southern Quito.
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Toucan and Owl Photos: Alejandra Parra/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A black caiman, the largest predator in the Amazon basin, remains on a lake in the Ecuadorian Yasuni National Park, Orellana province, Ecuador.
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Pablo Cozzaglio/AFP/Getty Images
A toucan is seen in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest in Coca, Orellana Province, Ecuador.
Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
Ecuador, Amazon Basin, Rio Napo, Rainforest, Striped Owl Pseudoscops clamator.
A monkey is seen in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest in Coca, Orellana Province, Ecuador.
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NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
President of Ecuador , Rafael Correa, welcomes the Chilean President Michell Bachelet at the headquarters of UNASUR for the start of the Fourth Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States ( CELAC ) , in Quito ( Ecuador ), January 27 , 2016.
Ambassador Borja: Sometimes we don’t agree with reports about our country, and sometimes we disagree on U.S. actions, such as in Iraq and Libya. We don’t support the idea of conflict in other territories. Diplomatic Connections: Human rights? Ambassador Borja: We have no problems over human rights. Diplomatic Connections: There are reports that press freedom has been curtailed, and is likely to be tightened even more. President Correa, in his weekly broadcasts, has been quoted as using strong language in criticizing the press. Ambassador Borja: That’s a complicated issue. Media is free in Ecuador. Recently, the U.S. Ambassador [Todd] Chapman said as much. We have a communications law. As far as I can see, the media say whatever they want to say. There have been suits against journalists but they were resolved. Nobody is in jail, and nobody is punished. Still that is one of the issues on which we have differences [with the U.S.]. There is a difference in point of view.
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Diplomatic Connections: For some years there was a debate in your country over whether Ecuador would extend exploration into the Yasuni Natural Park, which is part of the Ecuadorian rainforest. What is the current situation? Ambassador Borja: There is exploration going on, and probably in a few months we will have the first oil coming from that field. But it involves only about 0.1 percent of the area — and using the best modern technology to minimize the risk of damage to the park. There are, of course, protests, and we respect that point of view. Diplomatic Connections: Ecuador’s petroleum-driven economy has enjoyed a long period of economic growth and low unemployment. How is Ecuador confronting the present decline in oil and commodity prices? Ambassador Borja: Actually, the economy has received two strong hits. One is the decline in oil prices, and the other is the effect on our currency, the U.S. dollar, of our neighbor countries devaluing their own currencies, making our exports less competitive than they were before. In 2015, the decline in oil revenue cost us $7 billion, which
was about seven percent of our GDP, which was about $100 billion. So we’re not living in an easy time, and it’s a difficult situation for our economy. We’ve cut our budget six points of the GDP [$6.2 billion], the highest cut in all of Latin America. We’re looking for ways to transform our energy matrix and our productive matrix in a search for new sources of income. We’re looking for new investment, both foreign and local. The country is set up for investors, not only because of the new infrastructure, but also because we have the dollar as our local currency. A few months ago, we approved a law making possible joint ventures between the public and private sectors. Diplomatic Connections: Is President Correa going to run for a fourth term? Ambassador Borja: He is not. He could run in the election after that in 2021, but this term is his last consecutive term according to the constitution. So who is going to be the next president? There are a few candidates, the former vice president and the current vice president have been mentioned. President Correa will probably go back to
teaching, that’s what he said, not necessarily in Ecuador. His wife is Belgian, so it could be abroad. Diplomatic Connections: When you look at today’s Latin American landscape, what lessons do you think Ecuadorians should take away from the increasingly serious situation in Venezuela, another oil-producing country? Ambassador Borja: An ambassador is not supposed to express an opinion on how another country is doing, good or bad. But what I can say is that Ecuador has its own approach. We believe in a free-market economy in which the private sector and the public sector have different responsibilities; we believe that the public sector should be responsible for education, everything else is the private sector’s responsibility, and we don’t believe in state intervention. Diplomatic Connections: Where do you see your country in ten years’ time? Ambassador Borja: I am very positive about it. I think we are facing a very difficult moment, but at the same time our economy has doubled in GDP from eight years
The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, center, next to the heads of state of the 33 member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the official portrait of the Fourth Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Quito (Ecuador), January 27, 2016.
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ago — from $15 billion to more than $100 billion. Our infrastructure is one of the best in Latin America. I think the country will probably recover from this critical moment. If we succeed in changing the productive matrix, we should recover. Politically, the future is harder to predict. Probably, the government candidate will win the coming election, but perhaps not. And after that, who can tell? In every country, but more in Latin America, change is always waiting around the corner. Diplomatic Connections: Border problems? Colombia?
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Ambassador Borja: As the Colombian negotiations continue and a peace agreement is reached, we have to be aware that some of the groups who, for some reason, are not included in the peace agreement may become a danger for us. They might try to operate from our own border areas. A significant part of our budget goes to securing our border. But that’s been a long problem. Diplomatic Connections: How different is it being ambassador in Washington than in another capital?
Ambassador Borja: Washington is the biggest economy in the world, our main commercial partner and that makes a difference; but in other respects there’s not much difference. My duties are more or less the same.
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Alejandra Parra/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Workers sit near an oil pipeline that runs through the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest near Yasuni National Park in Orellana Province, Ecuador. The Ishpingo-Tambacocha-Tiputini field contains an estimated 950 million barrels of oil.
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BY MUNCH AND QUISLING’S CARPET AT THE NORWEGIAN RESIDENCE
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t’s not surprising that Norway’s newly renovated embassy residence at the northeast corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 34th Street is tasteful, understated and functional — with a few whimsical touches. Nobody sees the Norwegians as flamboyant, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington certainly reflects this. The ornamental limestone building of English Georgian inspiration was completed in 1931 by the prominent Washington architect John J. Whelan. Unlike many other Washington embassies that had once been the homes of rich Americans showing off their wealth, it was purpose-built as Norway’s embassy. Fittingly, a portrait of King Haakon VII dominates the entrance hall leading to the broad curved staircase. For one thing, Haakon was the country’s first monarch following the dissolution of Norway’s union with Sweden in 1905 and its emergence as an independent nation. Norway had been united with Denmark from 1381 to 1814, and then with Sweden from 1814 to 1905. Then too, the Norwegian artist Brynjulf Strandnaes, who painted the portrait, was among the numerous Norwegians who settled in the United States. In addition, the Norwegian royal family has close wartime ties to the embassy. For example, the female sculpture in the jaunty hat that stands in the residence driveway is of Crown Princess Martha. She took refuge in Washington with her three children (including the future king, Harald V, the present monarch), following the German invasion of her country in 1940. The work of the wellknown contemporary Norwegian sculptor Kirsten Kokkin, the statue was unveiled in 2005. The Norwegian royals lived for a while in The White House as guests of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt before taking up residence in the embassy. To this day, spaces occupied by the crown princess and her son on the second floor, where Ambassador Kåre R. Aas and his family have their living quarters, are still referred to as “The King’s Room” and “The Queen’s Room.” The mahogany desk on the ambassador’s ground-floor, oak-paneled study belonged to the crown princess, as did some other items of furniture still in place today. “The starting point of the renovation was to make the building accessible for the handicapped and the elderly to bring it in-line with Norwegian regulations,” explained Washington architect Eric Morrison whose firm, Morrison Architects, did the work. “To go with that, the
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first floor representation rooms were renovated,” he said. An elevator was also installed linking the building’s three floors, and the building’s systems overhauled. Specialists from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs were on-site to ensure that the project conformed to Ministry criteria. “As part of the project, eight paintings that had been here since the 1940s were returned to the National Gallery in Oslo, and then all this new art came,” said Jon-Åge Øyslebø, the embassy’s Minister-Counselor in charge of communications and culture. The result is that the residence’s three representational rooms — library, living room, dining room — now display what is in effect a mini exhibition of works on paper by Norway’s greatest artist, the 20th century Expressionist Edvard Munch. No, Munch’s “The Scream,” one of the milestone works in 20th century art, is not among them. But in addition to his status as a painter, Munch was one of the most innovative
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printmakers of the modern era. Taken together, the group provides a somber narrative of Munch’s anguished, complex, sometimes bizarre view of the human condition, particularly the relationship between men and women. In one well-known print titled “Jealousy II,” a bearded man, apparently the loser in a love triangle as Munch was at the time, stares wide-eyed into nothingness while a woman displays her naked body to another man. The lithograph “Kvinnen” (Woman) shows three women, said by some critics to reference his mother and aunt. “Man’s Head in Woman’s Hair” was one of Munch’s finest woodcuts, and one that reflects his fear of women as engulfing creatures. In the work, Munch makes use of the woman’s red hair cascading over the man’s head to represent the smothering tendencies that he saw in women. “Vampyr” (Vampire) is another portrayal of a woman having a bad hair day. In 2008, a painted version
of this woodcut was sold for $38.2 million, setting a new record for the sale of a Munch painting at auction. The embassy has produced a concise, but useful, guide to the seven Munch works, and hung them on walls repainted in a neutral color palette — Hardwick white in the spacious living room; Oxford stone in the dining room. The residence library has pinewood paneling throughout and retro style Danish-design furniture. A painting by the contemporary artist Svein Bolling, “Kvinne med Stearinlys” (Woman With Candle), hangs above the mantelpiece. In the main dining room the retro table and chairs complement the clean lines of two antique mahogany sideboards. In one corner is a sculpture by Emil Lie, a leading Norwegian sculptor (1897 – 1976). In the spacious living room, or salon, bright sunshine comes flooding through its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Massachusetts Avenue. At the north end of
the room is an unusual, rustic pinewood Biedermeier sofa with, as armrests, demilune cupboards. Above it hangs a landscape by the Norwegian 19th century romanticist painter Hans Dahl (1849 – 1937). Another Dahl landscape of Norwegian fjords, one of his favorite outdoors subjects, is also in the room. The large Persian floor carpet used to be in the office of Abraham Quisling. This is akin to saying that the drapes in The Oval Office once belonged to Benedict Arnold. Why? Quisling was the Norwegian Nazi prime minister put in place by the Germans when they occupied Norway in World War II. At the end of the conflict, Quisling was found guilty of treason and executed for war crimes; and his name entered the English language to describe a traitor, especially one who collaborated with an occupying force. But his carpet was evidently pardoned and “exiled” to Washington. Photos continue to page 45
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CANADA TURNS 150 NEXT YEAR AND OTTAWA IS GETTING IN THE SWING BY MONICA FRIM PHOTOGRAPHY BY DR. JOHN FRIM AND MONICA FRIM
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The Canada 150 tulip
The Centre Block of Parliament Hill
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Good Lord, what was Queen Victoria thinking? Why would she choose for a capital city a wild and wintry lumber settlement on a desolate patch of swampland, with few settlers other than boozy raftsmen who swaggered about the whisky-doused taverns and brothels that bordered the Ottawa River? Many loggers were Irish gang members called shiners, who roamed the muddy streets with knives and swords, terrorizing French-Canadian logging rivals as well as the few citizens who tried to eke out a respectable life among the scamps and scoundrels of Bytown, as Ottawa was called before 1855. Brown’s Inlet beside the Rideau Canal
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Ottawa Tourism
Winterlude’s ice sculptures at night
Probably the Queen was not amused. But in 1857, when she declared Ottawa the capital of the Province of Canada (then consisting of today’s Ontario and Quebec), her choice at the confluence of three-rivers—the Ottawa, Gatineau and Rideau—turned out to be a stroke of genius. Queen Victoria may not have realized just how cold the winters of Ottawa got, but she indubitably recognized the area’s potential as a commercial and transportation hub, located at what was then considered a respectable distance from the United States. This was important in the aftermath of the War of 1812 when the US was still considered a threat. Today Ottawa is a mere hour’s drive from the US border and Americans are welcomed with open arms—as in limbs, not muskets. As for the weather, Ottawa’s inhabitants have patterned themselves after their hardy forefathers who learned quickly when life gives you ice blocks, carve them into whimsical sculptures and have yourself a party. Add skating rinks, sleigh rides, snowslides, snowmen and maybe a little Crown Royal whisky, and soon it will grow into the biggest winter festival the western hemisphere has known, complete with art displays, figure skating shows, dogsled- and ski-races, parades, fireworks and other forms of entertainment. It’s called Winterlude and spread in parks
all across the city and surrounding towns. Two thousand truckloads of snow are brought in for the February festival. It’s hard to believe that Ottawa would suffer from a dearth of the white stuff, but apparently the massive ice and snow exhibits in Jacques Cartier Park need more than nature’s stockpile. In Confederation Park, south of the Parliament buildings, a Crystal Garden of ice sculptures adds glam to the festivities, especially at night when the illuminated figures take on a prismatic glow. When the snow melts millions of candy-colored tulips burst through parklands and public spaces, looking for all the world like giant lollipops in leafy repose. The most brilliant concentrations are at Major’s Hill and at Commissioner’s Park on Dows Lake, the headline locations of the annual Canadian Tulip Festival. In gratitude for Canada’s help during World War Two, the Dutch government gifted Ottawa with 100,000 tulips after liberation. Princess Juliana added a personal gift of 20,000 tulips to thank Canada for having declared her hospital suite “extraterritorial” so that her Ottawa-born baby, Princess Margriet, could maintain Royal Dutch status. The gift just keeps on giving as the Royal family continues to send tulips each year. For Canada’s 150th birthday, a unique species of tulip—white with licks of red resembling the maple leaf
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on the Canadian flag—has been developed. Appropriately named the Canada 150, about 300,000 Canada 150s will join next year’s bevy of colorful blooms. In any season, Ottawa’s feature drawing card is its walkability. Prime attractions—government buildings, museums, galleries, convention center, parks and promenades, international eateries and assorted shops and boutiques—are within a snowball’s throw of each other. Visitors of every stripe—from culture hounds and history buffs to gourmands and outdoor enthusiasts—will find Tulips on Major’s Hill their druthers within steps of their hotel in the downtown core. Situated alongside the Rideau Canal next to Canada’s parliament buildings is Ottawa’s most iconic hotel, the Chateau Laurier. Named for Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Canada’s Prime Minister at the time of the hotel’s opening in 1912,
The emblematic roof of the Library of Parliament
Skating on the Rideau Canal
The locks of the Rideau Canal
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the Chateau Laurier was built by the Grand Trunk Railway specifically to give clout to the old loggers’ town turned capital city. Laurier considered the hotel integral to his plan to turn Ottawa into “The Washington of the North.” Like many important buildings in Ottawa, the Chateau Laurier was built in the Scottish Baronial style, which borrowed from medieval castles and French Renaissance chateaux as part of the neo-Gothic trend that was popular in 19th century Canada. Its commanding presence on the banks of the Rideau Canal next to Parliament Hill and only steps from the ByWard Market, National Museums and Shaw Centre makes it a favorite among visitors and locals who come for high tea in Zoé’s Lounge or a meal in Wilfrid’s Restaurant. It’s here the elite meet—politicians and the journalists who follow them, celebrities and international heads of state. The ByWard Market
It’s a five-minute walk from the Chateau Laurier across the canal to Parliament Hill where visitors can amble among the grounds, ascend the 302-foot Peace Tower that dominates the neo-Gothic government buildings with their copper-clad roofs and turrets, or tour the Centre Block that houses the Senate, House of Commons and Library of Parliament. In summer, the Changing of the Guard takes place daily at 10:00 a.m. At night, images are projected onto the walls in a spectacular outdoor Sound and Light Show. But the best day of the year for fanfare and flourish is Canada Day, July 1, when Parliament Hill is abuzz with free concerts, the Mounties’ Musical Ride, Snowbirds’ stunts and phenomenal fireworks. Between the Hill and the Hotel, the Rideau Canal slices through the heart of the city all the way to Dow’s Lake, part of the 125-mile waterway that links the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario. This is Ottawa’s most renowned recreational strip and world’s longest naturally frozen skating rink. Stretching for 4.8 miles, or roughly the size of 90 Olympic size pools, this is the king of rinks, lording over 220 lesser outdoor rinks, with refreshment booths and toilet facilities along its entire length. When the ice melts, skaters turn to kayaks, canoes, paddleboats or stand-up paddle boards, and larger boats can continue through the locks where the canal meets
the Ottawa River. Joggers, walkers, skateboarders and cyclists follow along the adjacent path, stopping for picnics or to simply lie in the grass and laze. The canal wasn’t always a pleasurable route. It was built after the War of 1812 under the supervision of Lieutenant-Colonel John By for the more utilitarian purpose of safely transporting troops and supplies to Kingston and Montreal. Progress was slow and fraught with disasters. During construction, between 1826 and 1832, about one thousand canal workers died, most as victims of a malaria epidemic. Beside the canal locks, Ottawa’s oldest stone building and former Commissariat now houses the Bytown Museum. Inside artifacts and stories of Ottawa’s colorful past begin with the arrival of Colonel By, who also laid out plans for the eponymous Bytown needed to house the early canal workers and ensuing lumbermen. The museum is reputedly haunted by the ghosts of By and his assistant General Duncan McNab. Beware of electronic mishaps and moving dolls. Ottawa still retains most of By’s original street layout, but with today’s ByWard Market having turned yesterday’s sleaze into Ottawa’s spiffiest tourist-drawing card. Now the market district boasts fashionable boutiques and fascinating foodstuffs where locals shop and dine as much as visitors. In summer, the outdoor patios of pubs on Clarence Street are packed to the curbs with city folk there to be seen, and visitors there to experience Canadian tippling al fresco. But the must-try restaurants are concentrated on Murray Street, aka
Ice Skating: Ottawa Tourism
The Fairmont Chateau Laurier
High Tea in Zoé’s Lounge. Each diner receives her own 3-tiered stand laden with desserts, dainty sandwiches and scones. D I P L O M A T I C C O N N E C T I O N S B U S I N E S S E D I T I O N | J U LY – A U G U S T 2 0 1 6
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Guides of The Haunted Walk of Ottawa
Gastro Alley. It is said that the ByWard Market boasts so many eateries that one could eat three meals a day for three months, each at a different establishment and never have the same meal twice. But if you don’t have time to test this hypothesis, two standout eateries are Beavertails (no, not the animal… the sugary fried dough for which President Obama made a special stop during his first official visit to Ottawa in 2009), and Play Food & Wine. The latter serves small plates of surprising combinations of locally grown foods and pairs them with diverse wines. Unconventionally divine! A good way to tour the ByWard Market is with a guide from C’est Bon, a company that offers hands-on cooking classes as well as gourmet food tours. You’ll amble through fresh produce stalls, specialty cheese shops and the upscale grocery stores that fuel Ottawa’s toniest kitchens and restaurants. Discover foodstuffs you may have seen on restaurant menus but would never find in your neighborhood grocery store—fiddleheads, ramps, sunchokes and others. Ottawa has more farms within its borders than any other city in Canada, with producers working in 58
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partnership with restaurants and retailers in an initiative called Savour Ontario. If you’d rather take in the darker side with tales of murder and mayhem of Bytown’s rougher days, or search for the spirits of troubled souls who reputedly haunt many buildings, The Haunted Walk of Ottawa offers a variety of tours through the market area and elsewhere in the city. Ostensibly, the spookiest tour is the company’s Ghosts and Gallows walk, which includes a visit to the former Carleton County Gaol, where Patrick Whelan may have been wrongly convicted yet hanged for the murder of one of Canada’s founding fathers, D’Arcy McGee. It’s supposedly one of Canada’s most haunted buildings, featured on Creepy Canada and The Girly Ghosthunters. Today the jail functions as the HI Ottawa Jail Hostel, but its ghastly 8th floor and death row cells are off-limits to overnighters. Presumably, the antics of inmates’ ghosts are not conducive to sleep. Ghost stories run rampant in Ottawa and some of them feature quite respectable people and places. The Chateau Laurier, Earnscliffe (the British High Commissioner’s home which once belonged to Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir
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The National Gallery of Canada appears dwarfed by Louise Bourgeois’s giant spider sculpture, Maman
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John A. MacDonald) and Laurier House are some of the swanker places whose deceased owners haven’t quite been able to let go. One of the most famous ghosts is that of William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s longest serving Prime Minister, who inherited Laurier House from his predecessor, Canada’s first francophone Prime Minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier and his wife, Zoé. Original furnishings, including a crystal ball owned by Mackenzie King, are on display and can be viewed by the public in summer, including the bedroom in which all three died, though not at the same time.
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The entrance to The National Museum of History evokes a turtle head, native symbol of Mother Earth 60
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Laurier House. Former home of Prime Ministers Sir Wilfrid Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King
The Prime Minister’s Official Residence at 24 Sussex Drive overlooks the Ottawa River.
Ottawa is full of fascinating artifacts and the stories behind them. Twenty-nine museums showcase a variety of subjects such as history, science, nature, technology, aviation, agriculture, dinosaurs, currency and art. In many cases the architecture of the buildings is as captivating as the exhibits inside. This is especially true of the city’s two most iconic museums, the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of History, perched on opposite shores of the Ottawa River. The glass and granite gallery houses the largest Canadian collection, while the history museum’s Grand Hall holds the largest collection of indoor totem poles in the world. There’s not a corner in the structure, a concession to the architect’s belief that spirits hide in corners. Viewed from above or from across the river, the museum’s roof resembles giant canoes turned upside down and held up by pillars in the shape of paddles. It would be a challenge to visit all of Ottawa’s attractions in a typical single visit but one can get a synopsis of the city’s cultural and heritage landmarks with either (or both) an Ottawa River cruise or a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tour. Afterwards you can go back and visit the attractions that you found most appealing—unless they happened to be the
The Embassy of the United States
Prime Minister’s residence or the ambassadorial mansions of Rockcliffe Park. As Ottawa prepares to take center stage for the nation’s 150th birthday, it seems as if the entire city is aspiring to revamp, refresh and refurbish. Cranes brood over the city and webs of scaffolding enfold many historical buildings. Restaurants plan specialty menus, hotels create celebratory programs, and businesses forge new relationships with organizations to initiate special 150 projects. Signature events and celebrations will take place along with special exhibits at museums and galleries. One hair-raising activity scheduled for March 2017 is the Red Bull Crashed Ice world championships where skaters hurtle down a massive ice track of vertical drops and hairpin turns above the Rideau Canal locks. It’s billed as the fastest sport on skates. Other events include Ignite 150, a series of epic stunts and gatherings that includes a gourmet dinner 164 feet (50 metres) in the air. Underground, a world first interactive sound and light multimedia fantasy voyage will take place in an unfinished light rail transit tunnel. New initiatives are in continual development during the countdown and beyond. Ottawa is expecting a record number of visitors and it’s beefing up the stage. Queen Victoria would be proud.
At Nepean Point, 17th century explorer Samuel de Champlain appears to be holding an astrolabe upside down. One explanation is that the sculptor didn’t know what an astrolabe was.
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Parliament Hill as seen from the Ottawa River.
Rideau Falls on the Ottawa River
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At the solemn service of thanksgiving in St. Paul’s Cathedral on June 10 to mark Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, declared that the queen had sustained the nation “through war and hardship, turmoil and change.” Little did he know that his words foreshadowed a political storm – fresh turmoil on a scale never before experienced in her long reign.
HISTORIC MONTH FATAL DECISION THE UNITED KINGDOM VOTES TO LEAVE THE EUROPEAN UNION BY ROLAND FLAMINI
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British Prime Minister David Cameron, accompanied by his wife Samantha, announces his resignation at Downing Street after the British people voted in the British EU Referendum to leave the European Union in London, United Kingdom on June 24, 2016.
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Edward Richard George Heath (1916 - 2005), then British Prime Minister, arrives at a polling station. He led Britain into the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, which later became the EU in 1993.
Ray Tang/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Carl Court/Getty Images
UKIP party leader Nigel Farage greets supporters before a press conference in Westminster after British people voted in the British EU Referendum to leave the European Union in London, United Kingdom on June 24, 2016.
Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler arrive at the polling station on June 23, 2016 in London, United Kingdom.
In that landmark week-end the queen took the salute at the annual birthday parade, the Trooping the Color ceremony. The longest reigning monarch in British history has attended the intricate military choreography involving hundreds of bearskin clad troops from the so-called
Household Brigade – the queen’s royal guards – for 64 years since her coronation in 1952. Following the parade, the Queen appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with members of the family, including her husband Prince Philip, who had reached 95 the previous day, her son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, her grandson Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton, with their two children Princess Charlotte and Prince George, third in line to the throne. The frieze of royals on the balcony embodied the succession to the British monarchy for three generations possibly even into the next century. In the evening, to the cheers of thousands of her subjects, she attended a gigantic – if rainy – street party in the Mall opposite Buckingham Palace. Commentators spoke of how the queen’s birthday united the nation in a remarkable outpouring of affection for their monarch, but thirteen days later deep fissures would open up in that same nation even as Britons voted in a referendum to end its 43-year membership of the European Union. World reaction was first astonishment
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and then near panic as the so-called Brexit vote won comfortably by 52 percent to 48 percent. Always punctilious in her behavior as a constitutional monarch, Queen Elizabeth had expressed no public preference in the political debate leading up to the referendum. It was history playing one of its ironic tricks that the national celebrations of her 90th bringing people together should be juxtaposed with the vote that divided the country on many levels. The British vote to leave the European Union opened up a seismic crack in the European surface, with Britain on one side and Europe on the other. But it is also a narrative of serious disconnect on many levels in the United Kingdom itself -- geographically, generationally, and politically. Many commentators are calling it the beginning of the end of the United Kingdom: Scotland, which voted to remain in the EU, is threatening to hold a second vote for its independence (in 2014, Scots voted 53.3 percent to 44.7 percent to remain in the UK). Northern Ireland, which has benefitted from virtually open borders with the Republic of Ireland and which voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU, was questioning the wisdom of remaining tied to England and Wales. In England itself, the big “Leave” vote came in economically stagnant areas of the north which had benefitted least from globalization and economic liberalization, as against prosperous London, which had delivered a strong vote to stay in. Perhaps the saddest aspect of the referendum result was its exposure of a generation gap. In the vote, Britons between the ages of 18 and 34 overwhelmingly supported remaining in the EU, while the over 55s voted to leave. The result has left younger Britons uncertain of the future, and bitter about lost opportunities offered by membership of Europe. Politically, the country was in disarray because the electorate had pushed back against the urgings of the leaders of both the Conservative government and the opposition Labour party to vote against Brexit. His legacy tarnished beyond repair, Prime Minister David Cameron, who proposed the referendum in the first place, immediately declared he would step down in October after the Conservatives had chosen a new leader at the annual party conference. But the likelihood of Cameron surviving for another four months as prime minister seemed unlikely, and the Tories were already locked in a battle over the succession. For a while, Labour leader 68
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Jeremy Corbin continued to cling to his position, but he was a man hanging from a cliff with a crumbling edge, and it was a matter of time before he lost his grip and plunged into political obscurity. There is no doubt that the Brits have shot themselves in the foot: the question now is how serious is the injury. The mood across the land is a bizarre mix of triumphalism and gloom. “Monday morning quarterbacking” on a wide scale has resulted in a petition for a second referendum, which is a non-starter. Counties and organizations that had benefitted for years from an EU lifeline of financial aid were pleading with Brussels for at least one final payment. From the economic point of view, predicts Sebastian Mallaby, an economics specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, the “uncertainty is going to be prolonged and profound.” Sterling was trashed (down more than 7 percent); markets plummeted around the globe. The dire warnings of economists in the run-up to the referendum were being borne out with a vengeance. But immigration, not economics, was the driving force behind the exit vote – a reaction to the flood of East Europeans, taking advantage of the EU’s open border policy to seek a better life in the United Kingdom, and to the sudden flood of Syrians seeking refuge from their wartorn country. Even so, the vote was emotional rather than statistical. If violence is as American as apple pie, as the writer James Baldwin once said, suspicion of foreigners is as English as steak and kidney pudding. In the referendum, the ghosts of the fallen at Waterloo, the Somme, Dunkirk, stalked the land. Europe was merely where the sun-seeking English went for cheap vacations. Or as the writer and polemicist Malcolm Muggeridge once put it, “None but the Brava, deserve the Costa.” Brexit, of course, didn’t happen in isolation. EU reaction to the British decision has hit Wagerian operatic proportions. For one thing, the vote calls to question Europe’s aim of political and economic integration; for another it resonates with populist movements in other EU member states, with their mistrust of establishment politics and politicians, their lack of faith in the euro, and resentment of Brussels’s increasing control over their affairs. Already, groups in the Netherlands, Sweden, and France have called for similar referendums on EU membership in their respective countries. Like the break-up of any long marriage, divorce negotiations are likely to be lengthy and complicated, Continue to page 73
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The royal family during Trooping the Color, this year marking the Queen’s 90th birthday on June 11, 2016 in London, England. The ceremony is Queen Elizabeth II’s annual birthday parade and dates back to the time of Charles II in the 17th Century when the Colors of a regiment were used as a rallying point in battle.
Queen Elizabeth II and then British Prime Minister Edward Heath (1916 - 2005) attend the ‘Fanfare For Europe’ gala concert, to celebrate Britain’s entry into the EEC, January 3, 1973.
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Queen Elizabeth ll and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, surrounded by troops, travel down the Mall in an open carriage during the Trooping the Color ceremony to mark the Queen’s official 90th Birthday on June 11, 2016 in London, England.
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Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, speaks during a news conference following the U.K. European Union (EU) referendum results at the Chancellory in Berlin, Germany, on Friday, June 24, 2016. German leaders lamented the loss of the U.K. as an ally in the European Union following the decision by voters to leave the 28-member bloc.
The British vote to leave the European Union opened up a seismic crack in the European surface, with Britain on one side
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (3rd L), French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault (2nd R), Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders (R), Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni (2nd L), Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders (3rd R) and Luxembourgs Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn (L) attend a press conference after their meeting to discuss United Kingdom’s decision on leaving the European Union (EU), at German foreign ministry’s guest house Villa Borsig in Berlin, Germany on June 25, 2016. 72
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and Europe on the other.
and could get bitter. And the aftermath could drag on dangerously even longer. The UK has to disengage from numerous laws imposed by the European Court of Justice. Also, one half of Britain’s goods and services are traded in the single market, but it will now no longer be single to the British. New bilateral arrangements will have to be negotiated with all the 27 EU countries, their individual parliaments and the European parliament. Some governments may be cooperative, others will make it hard, in the hope of discouraging more Brexits. The EU’s first reaction was to climb onto its high horse. Cameron is talking about what amounts to a breathing space until October before formal notification of Britain’s intention to depart. Top EU leaders demanded that Britain leave “as soon as possible however painful that process may be.” But painful for whom? The UK is the European Union’s second largest economy and largest military power, so its departure has serious implications for both European economic recovery and Europe’s ability or determination to confront ISIS and Russian expansionism. A more measured approach seems to be emerging in Brussels, helped by Secretary of State John Kerry’s hastily arranged European trip to calm the waters and remind the European Union of its core values and aspirations.
Internally, the EU needs a period of long and hard reflection on how it might have contributed to Brexit, and what should happen to prevent the rot from irreparably setting in. For all the populist calls for more referendums, it is early days yet to talk of a domino effect. As former British Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair summed it up in the New York Times: “If the economic shocks continue, then the British experiment will serve as a warning. But if they abate, then populist movements in other countries will gain momentum.” Meanwhile, more than one European with a sense of the past was probably now reflecting how Brexit’s stunning coup had vindicated Charles de Gaulle’s refusal for years to admit the United Kingdom into what was then the European Economic Community. De Gaulle was skeptical of Britain’s commitment to an integrated Europe. He was convinced that the British would undermine the process, and he saw Britain as a Trojan Horse for U.S. intentions. As for the latter, Washington is already looking up the German translation of “special relationship,” the cliché long used to describe U.S.-U.K. bilateral relations, as it looks to fill the void left by Britain’s shrinking influence – rendered more so by the possible departure of Scotland.
Jesco Denzel/Bundesregierung via Getty Images
Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks with the EU Council President Donald Tusk four days after the Brexit vote was confirmed in the United Kingdom in her office in the Berlin Chancellery on June 27, 2015 in Berlin, Germany.
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Let us provide a peaceful retreat alongside the power of the Pentagon. Let us serve you monumental views from the comfort of our Club Lounge. Let us connect you to 170 world-class stores that share your sense of style. Let us welcome you to the Nation’s Capital with modern luxury and classic elegance.
Experience the legendary service of The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City by contacting our Diplomatic Specialist at 703-412-2727 or waspc.leads@ritzcarlton.com.
© 2016 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC
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WWW.METPACPROPERTIES.COM (212) 944-9100 info@metpacproperties.com
EXPERIENCE METROPOLITAN PACIFIC PROPERTIES, INC. has over 20 years of experience managing residential and commercial properties. Our initial office opened in 1994 and since that time over 1,000,000 square feet have been managed for third parties. Based in New York City, we also have offices in San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Miami and are in the process of opening a second New York office in Roslyn Heights. Located only in the United States, Metropolitan is seeking locations worldwide.
GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT Although Metropolitan started out as a property management firm, our business model has become predominately commercial. We now FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL CLIENTELE and their special needs. Our market is managing buildings for consulates and missions to the United Nations and embassies in the United States and Washington, D.C. Metropolitan manages office and retail space for over 11 different countries. Existing clients are the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Jordan
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and the Kingdom of Morocco. We also have diplomatic relationships with Greece, Ethiopia, Portugal and Tanzania.
DIPLOMACY As ambassadors change every four years, we strive to understand their needs and reduce expenses. Key to our international relationships is the ability to be COMPLETELY
VERSED IN POLITICAL SITUATIONS from the United Nations and the State Department. Our family owned and operated company has specialty personnel to address these specific needs. Their experience fosters transparency in critical transactions and delicate situations.
SECURITY Metropolitan has PARTNERED WITH THE BEST SECURITY COMPANIES in the nation to make sure our clients are safe and enjoy coming to work each day. A free security analysis of your property is scheduled and suggestions are provided by security experts. We have maintained a close relationship with local city police and fire department agencies for over two decades to provide local law enforcement support.
INNOVATION We create new value by developing INNOVATIVE IDEAS that move service, concept and strategy into action.
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY We consistently save our clients money in a wide range
Metropolitan serves as a representative in every property
of operational expenditures while enhancing the value of
situation. Effective communication and continuity of
their assets. Whether securing energy rebates or leveraging
operations is maintained when there are office
our strong purchase power our company has established
personnel changes. PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE delivers
for itself, we always place STRONG EMPHASIS ON FISCAL
the highest level of compliance coverage for your asset
RESPONSIBILITY. We offer management expertise with
which constantly tracks data from multiple government
CUSTOMIZED FINANCIAL REPORTING CAPABILITIES.
agencies. A dedicated in-house compliance officer oversees all operations to ensure property functionality.
PEOPLE, RELATIONSHIPS AND PERFORMANCE are the
The advantage of working with Metropolitan Pacific
foundation for Metropolitan’s continued record of excellence.
Properties’ management team is the personal pride we
We pride ourselves on solutions tailored to meet and exceed
take in our effort to design a strategy and management
our clients’ expectations.
program that successfully meets the needs and requirements of each owner.
For information to create a specialized foundation for your property, please call the below number.
We continuously look to leverage the best technologies and strategies, no matter how simple or complex, to reduce the
(212) 944-9100
environmental impact of our buildings.
D I P L O M A T I C C O N N E C T I O N S B U S I N E S S E D I T I O N | J U LY – A U G U S T 2 0 1 6
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PROUDLY SERVING THE DIPLOMATIC COMMUNITY
From New York to Washington, D.C., Metropolitan
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT ■ Protocol for Embassy and Government
Pacific Properties takes pride in our accomplishments
Institutions ■ Expenditure analysis to ensure reduced costs and
and services provided for the past 20 years. A partial
increase revenues ■ Procure experienced building staff and contractors
range of Metropolitan’s services to support the Diplomatic community are:
SECURITY ■ Analysis of space to assess safety ■ Recommendations for security cameras, identification and access control ■ Provision of security staff for consulate and specialty events
For more information, please visit our website WWW.METPACPROPERTIES.COM, call or email:
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(212) 944-9100 info@metpacproperties.com
FEEL AT HOME IN AS LITTLE AS 48 HOURS
CORT brings comfort and quality to your new home without the cost (or hassle) that comes with purchasing. And, it is a sustainable way to furnish one room or your entire home—quickly. With CORT Furniture Rental, you get: Your choice of thousands of high-quality furniture pieces delivered in a few days
No upfront purchasing costs and zero maintenance, repair, storage or disposal costs
A sustainable alternative to transporting containers from home
Flexible terms – as short as one month Accessories for every room: kitchen, bed, bath, office, electronics and even outdoor living spaces
Browse hundreds of pieces in our online catalog at go.cort.com/embassy or visit a nearby location. © 2016 CORT. A Berkshire Hathaway Company.
D I P L O M A T I C C O N N E C T I O N S B U S I N E S S E D I T I O N | J U LY – A U G U S T 2 0 1 6
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“A Romantic Escape Under the Stars in the Heart of Beverly Hills”
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BMW Special Sales
The Ultimate Driving Machine ®
LUXURY HAS A NEW AMBASSADOR. THE ALL NEW BMW 7 SERIES.
Drive the vehicle that reflects diplomatic status — the all new BMW 7 Series. With best‑in‑class innovation plus features like soft‑close doors and air suspension, BMW’s most advanced sedan sets the standard for luxury. The BMW 7 Series and other eligible models are now available with special diplomatic and embassy incentives. For official‑use vehicles, embassies can benefit from special pricing through the Official Embassy Vehicle Program. For personal use, BMW Special Sales is available to foreign diplomats stationed in the U.S. and returning American diplomats, as well as staff and qualified members of international organizations.
For program details, please contact your local BMW center. ©2016 BMW of North America, LLC. This ad, or any portion thereof, may not be reproduced without the express written permission of BMW of North America, LLC. The BMW name, model names and logo are registered trademarks. All rights reserved.
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