Smart
Power
“We must use what has been called “smart power”:
the full range of tools at our disposal --
diplomatic, economic, military, political,
legal, and cultural -- picking the right tool,
or combination of tools, for each situation.
With smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard
of foreign policy. This is not a radical idea.
The ancient Roman poet Terence, who was born a
slave and rose to become one of the great voices
of his time, declared that “in every endeavor,
the seemly course for wise men is to try
persuasion first.” The same truth binds wise
women as well.”
On January 21, 2009, Hillary Rodham Clinton was
sworn in as the 67th Secretary of State of the
United States. Secretary Clinton joined the
State Department after nearly four decades in
public service as an advocate, attorney, First
Lady, and Senator. In her welcoming remarks to
State Department employees, Secretary Clinton
stated: "President Obama set the tone with his
inaugural address. And the work of the
Obama-Biden Administration is committed to
advancing America's national security,
furthering America's interests, and respecting
and exemplifying America's values around the
world."
"For women her own age,
who had put their most audacious ambitions on hold while
they raised a family, she was a promise that there was
still time to do something amazing, even if you were
starting over at 40, or 50, or—what the heck, it’s the
21st century—60. When she ran for president, so many
people expected her to deliver that holy grail of a
woman in the White House. She lost, but in the process,
she did something that might be just as important. She
got the country used to the idea of a female president.
It seems normal to us now, and that’s Hillary’s gift."
Gail Collins - Columnist, New York Times
Related Works (Books)
It
Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us
(1996)
Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets
(1998)
An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History
(2000)
Living History (2003)
Melanne
Verveer - Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's
Issues
Melanne
Verveer is chairperson of the Board and
co-founder of Vital Voices Global Partnership,
Washington, DC, an international NGO dedicated
to supporting emerging women leaders, building
democracies and strong economies, and expanding
women's roles in politics and civil society. Ms.
Verveer served as assistant to the President and
chief of staff to the First Lady of the USA in
the Clinton Administration. In that role, her
responsibilities included overseeing First Lady
Hillary Clinton's global initiatives on women's
rights as human rights, democracy building,
micro-enterprise development, and the education
of women and girls. She also spearheaded the
establishment of the President's Interagency
Council on Women, which served as a model for
governments to address issues of concern to
women. Previously, Ms. Verveer served as
executive vice president of People for the
American Way, a constitutional liberties
organization. She is a frequent speaker and
consultant on public policy issues. She received
B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Georgetown
University, Washington, DC.
Christiane Amanpour -
Chief International Correspondent
Christiane Amanpour joined ABC from
CNN, where she was most recently
the network's Chief
International Correspondent and
anchor of "Amanpour," a daily
half-hour interview program.
Upon becoming an international
correspondent for CNN in 1990,
her first major assignment was
covering the Gulf War. She has
since reported on and from the
world's major hot spots
including Iraq, Afghanistan,
Iran, Pakistan, Somalia, Israel,
the Palestinian territories,
Rwanda, the Balkans, and the
U.S. during Hurricane Katrina.
After 9/11 she was the first
international correspondent to
secure interviews with British
Prime Minister Tony Blair,
French President Jacques Chirac,
and Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf. She has interviewed
other world leaders from Europe,
Africa, and the Middle East,
including Iranian Presidents
Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, as well as the
presidents of Afghanistan,
Sudan, Syria, and Palestinian
leader Yassar Arafat among
others.
Nelson
Mandela is a South African leader who
spent years in prison for opposing
apartheid, the policy by which the races
were separated and whites were given
power over blacks in South Africa. Upon
his release from prison, Mandela became
the first president of a
black-majority-ruled South Africa in
which apartheid was officially ended. A
symbol of hope for many, Mandela is also
a former winner of the Nobel Peace
Prize.
Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership
1. Courage
is not the absence of fear — it's
inspiring others to move beyond it.
2. Lead from the front — but don't leave
your base behind
3. Lead from the back — and let others
believe they are in front
4. Know your enemy — and learn about his
favorite sport
5. Keep your friends close — and your
rivals even closer
6. Appearances matter — and remember to
smile
7. Nothing is black or white
8. Quitting is leading too
Smart
Power
Melanne
Verveer is chairperson of the Board and
co-founder of Vital Voices Global Partnership,
Washington, DC, an international NGO dedicated
to supporting emerging women leaders, building
democracies and strong economies, and expanding
women's roles in politics and civil society. Ms.
Verveer served as assistant to the President and
chief of staff to the First Lady of the USA in
the Clinton Administration. In that role, her
responsibilities included overseeing First Lady
Hillary Clinton's global initiatives on women's
rights as human rights, democracy building,
micro-enterprise development, and the education
of women and girls. She also spearheaded the
establishment of the President's Interagency
Council on Women, which served as a model for
governments to address issues of concern to
women. Previously, Ms. Verveer served as
executive vice president of People for the
American Way, a constitutional liberties
organization. She is a frequent speaker and
consultant on public policy issues. She received
B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Georgetown
University, Washington, DC.
