State Side

Walter Love talks to SUSAN M. ELLIOTT, UNITED STATES CONSUL GENERAL in BELFAST.

Susan Elliott took up her appointment here last September having just
completed a Washington assignment as Deputy Executive Secretary, with main areas of responsibility including Europe, and South and Central Asia. We met at the United States Consulate in Belfast to discuss aspects of her role in Northern Ireland. I asked her first to define the role of the Consul General.

“I think the role of the Consul General in Northern Ireland is probably a little different than in our other Consulates around the world. I say that because usually there’s a Consulate established because there’s either a large number of American citizens present or we do a lot of consular visa work. So, if you think about a large country like Mexico, if I were a Consul General in Monterey, Mexico, my main focus would be consular work.

“In Northern Ireland, while our top priority anywhere is to serve US citizens, one of my main focuses is to be the US government’s representative here. In the past it’s been in helping move forward on the peace process because we’ve been so interested in that. Now, while we still want to maintain the peace process, it’s helping the current government and the people of Northern Ireland to take the next step in whatever it is that they want to do. I think the focus of the government, of course, has been on economic development. So I see my role as supplementing the ambassador in London as someone who can be a conduit to the people here. And then, because we have a special envoy, we are a little bit different. I report directly to Washington as well.”

Do you have contacts with the Embassy in Dublin too?

“I do have contacts with them. If you recall Ambassador Foley has come up here several times. He’s been here once since I arrived and brought a delegation of US businessmen who are doing business in the Republic of Ireland to look at business opportunities here, and at the same time in October, Ambassador Tuttle from London brought US companies here and they met with the First Minister, the Deputy First Minister, Minister Dodds and others from Invest Northern Ireland to look at Northern Ireland as a place to do business.”

So in a sense it’s a two-way process?

“Yes it is. While I report to London I do have a lot of contact with Dublin. We keep in close contact not only with the ambassador but with others in the embassy there. I’ve been to Dublin once since I’ve been here at the invitation of the ambassador to go to an event that he had.

“We have very strong presidential links with America here in Northern Ireland. So many of the former presidents had roots here. I didn’t realise until President Clinton started to come here that he had even traced his roots back to Northern Ireland, and has come here several times since he’s been president. The first time I ever came to Northern Ireland was in 1995 and I was part of the advance team preparing for President Clinton’s visit.”

You have been in a very interesting position witnessing all the changes which have happened in the last few years.

“The Northern Ireland of 1995 is completely different from the Northern Ireland that I see today. When I first came and stayed at the Europa hotel I didn’t venture far from the hotel especially by myself. You really had the feeling that this was kind of a conflict zone. And then I came back in 2000 and found a completely different feeling, more of a feeling of hope, of moving forward even though there wasn’t a government formed. And now I’ve just seen further progress. It’s incredible what change has happened here in the last fifteen years.”


There are still a few problems to be ironed out obviously, but there’s a much more positive feeling. You would share that, would you?

“I definitely would share that and I’ve met since I’ve been here with Minister Paisley and Minister McGuinness together and I felt a positive atmosphere from them. But also from others in the government that I’ve met. I think it’s a remarkable move forward that the people of Northern Ireland should be very proud of. And as I talk with you, the meeting of the First and Deputy First Ministers with President Bush is about to take place.

“I think that this is also a historic event because while President Bush and President Clinton have visited here, both of the ministers while they’ve been to Washington or elsewhere in the United States separately, they’ve never been together as part of a shared government of Northern Ireland. I think their focus is going to be on economic development, but I also think they’re going to meet with people in the Congess, with the President and the Secretary of Commerce. They’re going to have a very full schedule and I think it will be a very productive visit for them and for us as well.”

Many American people, including all those presidents I referred to, have Irish connections. Do you have any Irish blood in you?

“I don’t think so although I think that what I need to do is to try to trace my roots because my predecessor Dean Pitman wasn’t aware of all the Irish roots he had until he came here. But I don’t think that I do. I think that on my father’s side I have actually English and Scottish roots, and on my mother’s side as well. But I’m going to look into it while I’m here.

“There are certainly plenty of Elliotts here. I have already met some and we’ve tried to decide if we’re related, but so far I haven’t met any relatives. That’s one thing on my agenda to look into.”

What was it that led you into the work that you do?

“I came into the diplomatic service in a circuitous route. My husband’s also in the foreign service. He joined first. I don’t have a foreign affairs background to be honest. I was a professor in a school of nursing so I was a college professor and taught nursing until my husband joined the foreign service. Once I began to see the job and see the kinds of things we could do as diplomats overseas, I decided to join as well. So I don’t have your typical diplomatic background although I think the educational background and the things that I learned in my previous profession have really helped me because I think that diplomacy is all about trying to understand other people’s points of view. And I think I’m pretty good at that.”

I’d be interested to hear about some of the other countries in which you’ve served your country.
“My last overseas posting was in Greece where I was stationed for four years. I did some economic and consular work there. In fact we were there in the run up to the Olympics and I was involved in helping get prepared for that. Prior to that overseas posting I served in Moscow right after the fall of the Soviet Union, and I’ve served in Honduras and in Lima, Peru. I’ve been in the foreign service about seventeen years and in between times I’ve had Washington postings.”

The world changes very fast nowadays and you’ve been in a position to witness that increasing rate of change.

“Probably the biggest change that I have seen since I’ve been in the foreign service is the fall of the Soviet Union, and having served in Moscow just after the fall, and seeing the changes that have happened there over the last fifteen years, has been very interesting for me. When I went back to Washington when I left Moscow I worked on regional conflict within the Soviet Union. That was my portfolio. I’ve been very interested in seeing the progress of the former republics of the Soviet Union and seeing the different things that have happened whether it’s Central Asia, the Caucusus or the Baltic countries.”

And having seen all the changes in Northern Ireland, would you say that it’s a good place to be posted?

“I’d say it’s a phenomenal place to be posted. There was a lot of competition to get the job and, as I mentioned before, it’s just a very interesting place because people in Washington care about what goes on here. They’re interested in political and economic issues. We also have American citizen’s service and visa issues and I’ve been very well received by the people of Northern Ireland. More well received than any other posting I’ve had overseas.”

Are you an optimist about the future here?

“I’d say I am an optimist and some of my optimism comes from what I’m hearing from the people that I meet with because I not only meet with people from the government. I’ve met with people who are working in the community and I’ve been amazed at how much is going on behind the scenes which, I think has contributed to the overall peace process. People trying to bring those of different backgrounds together at the community level.

“When I was in the former Soviet Union sometimes you would hear people talking about a longing to go back to the old days, but I haven’t heard anyone with a longing to go back to the way things were here. People are looking forward and asking how can we make Northern Ireland a better place to live.”

This is particularly true for younger people here. Have you had much contact with younger people in Northern Ireland?

“We work with Boston College on their exchange programmes and I’ve been to an integrated school and I’d like to visit more. I do think that there is an optimism and in talking with students at Queen’s University and the University of Ulster I find that instead of looking outward to leave to find gainful employment and a career, people are looking to stay here and seeing bright opportunities for the future.”

You’ve travelled a lot in the world, but if I ask you where you regard as home, where would that be?

“I would say that my home is probably now in Northern Virginia in the suburbs of Washington DC because I’ve lived there on and off for the last twenty years. I grew up in upstate New York outside of the capital Albany, but I was born in Pennsylvania. We moved two or three times for my father’s work when I was young, but more recently I’d say it’s Northern Virginia. It’s where I own a home and it’s where I talked my parents into moving there so that they would be there when we were there as well.”

And there are strong links with Northern Ireland in that part of the United States and elsewhere aren’t there?

“Definitely. I’ve been amazed at how many links there are to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the US. People usually think of Boston, New York and Chicago possibly as where people of Irish descent live. But really in the Washington DC area and all over the US there are strong links to Ireland.”
Your job would create many pressures on you, so how do you relax when off duty?

“Well I would say that my staff here haven’t allowed me to have much time to relax. There are so many interesting invitations to visit places. I enjoy exercising and hiking. I haven’t had a lot of time to do fun things, but I do try to keep fit while I’m here because the food is good and people invite me out. So I try to keep in shape.”

When you are overseas do you still feel it important to celebrate Thanksgiving each year?

“I’d say it’s extremely important. And for me last November I was here without my sons and my husband, so I had a Thanksgiving dinner at my home and invited people that I’d met from Northern Ireland most of whom had never had a Thanksgiving dinner before, although our Thanksgiving dinner is similar to what Christmas dinner is here. But it’s very important and on almost every posting that I’ve had overseas, even if I had my family with me, we always would invite people from the country to come and celebrate a holiday that’s truly American.