{"id":31105,"date":"2021-01-27T15:07:18","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T23:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=31105"},"modified":"2021-01-27T18:07:58","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T02:07:58","slug":"secretary-antony-j-blinken-to-state-department-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=31105","title":{"rendered":"Secretary Antony J. Blinken To State Department Employees"},"content":{"rendered":"
1\/27\/2021 11:08 AM EST<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State<\/p>\n

Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

C Street Lobby Harry S Truman Building<\/p>\n

AMBASSADOR SMITH:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Good morning, everyone, and welcome.\u00a0 It is my honor and privilege today to welcome back to the Department of State our new Secretary of State Tony Blinken.\u00a0 Secretary Blinken is a familiar face in these halls having served previously first in the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs and most recently as Deputy Secretary of State.\u00a0 He is, as we say in the department, well and favorably known to the Department of State and to our career professionals, and we are excited to have him as our new Secretary of State.<\/p>\n

This is an unusual event today.\u00a0 Normally this room would be packed with thousands of cheering State Department employees.\u00a0 I assure you, we had to take extraordinary measures in order to keep them away at this time, but don\u2019t let that deceive you in any way.\u00a0 There is enormous enthusiasm on the part of the career professionals who have known and worked with Secretary Blinken over the course of his career.\u00a0 He is a man of honor and integrity, vision, and character.\u00a0 And he will lead this department and advance the interests of the American people with great vigor and great passion.<\/p>\n

So on behalf of the career professionals of the Department of State, Foreign Service, Civil Service, our locally employed staff around the world, it is my great honor and privilege to present to you the 71st Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken.<\/p>\n

SECRETARY BLINKEN:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Thank you.\u00a0 Dan, thank you so much for that incredibly warm welcome \u2013 and more importantly, for serving as Acting Secretary of State, for leading the transition here at the State Department.\u00a0 The Department\u2019s been in excellent hands with you, and I thank you very, very much for that.<\/p>\n

I am honored to begin work as our nation\u2019s 71st Secretary of State.\u00a0 I\u2019m excited about all that lies ahead.\u00a0 It\u2019s a new day for America.\u00a0 It\u2019s a new day for the world.<\/p>\n

And today does feel a little bit like a homecoming.<\/p>\n

Twenty-eight years ago I walked through those doors for the first time to start my job as a special assistant in the EUR front office, a little awed, a little bit intimidated by a legendary institution and a new culture.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take me long to figure out one thing, and that\u2019s how much the talent and expertise that resides in this building is so important, and it\u2019s so important to listen to the men and women of the State Department when thinking about America\u2019s place in the world and our foreign policy.<\/p>\n

Your knowledge, your experience, your generosity was the springboard that brought me and landed me here today.<\/p>\n

Two decades later, as a proud husband, I watched my wife Evan Ryan lead the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and I gained an even deeper appreciation for how people\u2011to\u2011people exchanges bring our world closer together and convey the best of America to the world, especially to its young people.<\/p>\n

As Deputy Secretary of State, I learned what it means to help lead an institution as vital as this one \u2013 how to safeguard what makes it great, invest in its future, and leave it just a little bit stronger than when you found it.\u00a0 I take that work very seriously.\u00a0 As Secretary, I will not let you down.<\/p>\n

To all the State Department personnel worldwide, to the men and women of USAID whose work exemplifies America at its best, I want you to know how proud I am of every single one of you and how proud I am to be on your team.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re diplomats or development workers, members of the Foreign Service or the Civil Service, locally employed staff, contractors, you do hard things very, very well.<\/p>\n

These jobs demand sacrifice.\u00a0 They can be dangerous.\u00a0 The names engraved on the walls here in our lobby remind us of that every single day.\u00a0 We honor them by coming to work every day and doing our absolute best for the American people and for each other.<\/p>\n

I know the State Department that I\u2019m walking into today is not the same one that I left four years ago.\u00a0 A lot has changed.\u00a0 The world has changed.\u00a0 The department has changed, and we need only look around to see that.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m speaking, as Dan said, to a nearly empty lobby.\u00a0 The people who are here are all wearing masks.\u00a0 To date, the pandemic has claimed the lives of five State Department American employees and 42 locally employed staff around the world.\u00a0 Many more have gotten sick.<\/p>\n

And outside our doors, our government buildings are surrounded by new barricades.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve never been in a moment quite like this before.\u00a0 The President is committed to getting us through it as quickly as possible, so that very soon, we can all gather in person again and have confidence that the foundations of our democracy are strong.<\/p>\n

We at State have a role to play in all of this, and I believe it starts with rebuilding morale and trust.\u00a0 This is a priority for me, because we need a strong department for the United States to be strong in the world.<\/p>\n

To that end, we have to invest significantly in building a diverse and inclusive State Department.\u00a0 We need the most talented people.\u00a0 We need the most creative workforce.\u00a0 We cannot do our job of advancing America\u2019s interests, values, and commitment to democracy without a State Department that is truly representative of the American people.<\/p>\n

Now, I can\u2019t promise that you will support every choice I make as your Secretary.\u00a0 But I can promise an open door and an open mind.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be forthright with you, because transparency makes us stronger.\u00a0 I\u2019ll seek out dissenting views and listen to the experts, because that\u2019s how the best decisions are made.\u00a0 And I will insist that you speak, and speak up, without fear or favor.\u00a0 And I will have your back.<\/p>\n

One of the great attributes of our Foreign and Civil Services throughout history has been your nonpartisanship.\u00a0 You serve Democratic and Republican presidents alike because you put country over party.\u00a0 All we ask is that you serve the United States, the Constitution, and the President to the best of your ability.\u00a0 I know you\u2019ll do that.<\/p>\n

The world is watching us intently right now.\u00a0 They want to know if we can heal our nation.\u00a0 They want to see whether we will lead with the power of our example, if we\u2019ll put a premium on diplomacy with our allies and partners to meet the great challenges of our time \u2013 like the pandemic, climate change, the economic crisis, threats to democracies, fights for racial justice, and the danger to our security and global stability posed by our rivals and adversaries.<\/p>\n

The American people are watching us, too.\u00a0 They want to see that we\u2019re safeguarding their wellbeing, that we care about their interests, that our foreign policy is about them and their lives.<\/p>\n

We will do right by them \u2013 by pursuing a foreign policy that delivers real benefits to American families, protects their safety, advances their opportunities, honors their values, and leaves their children and grandchildren a healthier and more peaceful world.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019ve got our work cut out for us.\u00a0 But I am confident we will succeed.<\/p>\n

The United States has enormous sources of strength \u2013 we\u2019re going to build upon them.<\/p>\n

America\u2019s values are noble and powerful \u2013 and we will recommit to them.<\/p>\n

And America\u2019s leadership is needed around the world, and we\u2019ll provide it, because the world is far more likely to solve problems and meet challenges when the United States is there.\u00a0 America at its best still has a greater capacity than any other nation on Earth to mobilize others for the better.<\/p>\n

The State Department will be central to all of this.\u00a0 I know you\u2019re ready.\u00a0 I am too.\u00a0 We\u2019re in the arena together.\u00a0 We do work that matters.\u00a0 So let\u2019s meet this moment \u2013 our moment \u2013 with joy.<\/p>\n

Thank you all for being part of this great endeavor.\u00a0 I am honored to be your Secretary.\u00a0 Now let\u2019s get to work.\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 (Applause.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1\/27\/2021 11:08 AM EST   Antony...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s-a","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31106,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31105\/revisions\/31106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}