It’s not every day a politician becomes a diplomat, and then decides to switch careers entirely and reinvent herself as an artist. But that’s the path Moldova’s Cristina Balan has chosen, and she doesn’t regret it for a minute.
Larry Luxner
Miami native Larry Luxner, a veteran journalist and photographer, has reported from more than 100 countries in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia for a variety of news outlets. He lived for many years in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the Washington, D.C., area before relocating to Israel in January 2017. Larry has been news editor of The Washington Diplomat since 2005.
Lithuania’s Jovita Neliupšienė, the EU ambassador to the United States, faces two crises at once: Trump’s tariff threats and Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The 12th Annual AAM Awards Dinner attracted some 200 people, including the DC-based ambassadors of Azerbaijan, Egypt, France and Israel. The gala honored four outstanding media leaders and creative talents “whose work exemplifies the power of media to inform, educate and empower.”
Dutch-speaking Suriname is the smallest independent nation in South America. Rainforests cover 94% of its area, and its biodiversity is
Some 250 executives explored business opportunities during last month’s Libyan-American Forum for Development and Reconstruction in Washington DC.
Hanène Tajouri Bessassi, Tunisia’s envoy in Washington, discusses her country’s priorities at our April 3 Ambassador Insider Series event.
Eleven new ambassadors recently won accreditation to represent their countries in the United States—but any casual observer would be hard-pressed to find a more controversial group of diplomats based on a quick online search of their past public and private comments.
Gustavo Petro, 62, is a former M-19 guerrillero who in 1985 was captured and tortured by the army, served 18
Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, Pakistan’s new ambassador in Washington, was the focus of our first Ambassador Insider Series of 2025.
Mpho Churchill Mophuting, Botswana’s new ambassador in Washington, says his country must end its near-total economic dependence on diamond exports.
As conflicts in the Mideast, Ukraine and elsewhere grab headlines, the Philippines is increasingly alarmed by Beijing’s provocations in the South China Sea.
Pjer Šimunović, Croatia’s ambassador to the US, says stopping Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is among his nation’s highest priorities.
Against the backdrop of 16 huge photographs depicting the architectural splendor of Kyiv, some 200 dignitaries gathered Oct. 22 at the Italian Embassy here in advance of a July 2025 meeting in Rome to finance the rebuilding of Ukraine—even as its devastating war against Russia rages on.
Evangelos Savva, the Cypriot ambassador in Washington, reflects on 50 years of Turkish occupation.
Washington’s newest crop of ambassadors includes five women, two diplomats who have previously served here, and one son of a former ambassador. They represent a variety of countries ranging from the world’s most populous, India, with just over 1.45 billion inhabitants, to one of its smallest—tropical Barbados—with only 282,000.
Prominent scientist, diplomat, conservationist, artist and poet Joseph Edsel Edmunds, a former ambassador of St. Lucia to the United States, died July 21 at the age of 89.
