He was seen as a hardliner in Colombia’s fight against leftist rebels and spent much of his tenure directing Colombia’s fight against the FARC. “I want to...put pressure on illegal armed groups," he said upon his appointment as defense minister. "I want Colombia to be the most hostile territory in the world to the drug trade.” It was under his leadership that the Colombian military also scored successes against the ELN and BACRIM criminal organizations.   read more

Beginning in 2000, Chalyi was an adviser to Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, on foreign relations issues. In 2009, he went to work for President Viktor Yanukovych as deputy minister for foreign affairs. Chalyi resigned in 2010 in protest of Yanukovych’s policies. Yanukovych was chased from office in 2014 for siding too closely with the Russians as Ukraine oriented itself toward the West. Chalyi returned to the Razumkov Center as its deputy director general for foreign policy.   read more

In 2013, bin Mubarak was named secretary general of the National Dialogue Conference, which worked for more than a year to establish a new political system for Yemen. He worked hard to have women included in the new government, urging that a quota for women’s participation be set. In October 2014 he was appointed prime minister. However, he resigned after 33 hours because of opposition from Houthi rebels, who were to withdraw from the capital Sana’a upon the appointment of a prime minister.   read more

Phokeer started in politics around 1983 when he joined the MSM (Militant Socialist Movement) party, led by Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth. Phokeer won a seat in parliament in 1991. The MSM lost power in 1995, but when it won elections in 2000, Phokeer was appointed ambassador to Egypt, where he served for four years. He returned to Mauritius in 2004 and was appointed special adviser to the minister of agriculture.   read more

The race was an odd one: Michaud ran as an anti-abortion Democrat and faced a pro-choice Republican, Kevin Raye. Michaud won the election, which was the closest one he had in his congressional career. He became the first Franco-American elected to federal office from Maine. Late in 2013, as he ran against Maine’s Republican governor, Paul LePage, Michaud came out as gay. He did it, he said, because of rumors about his sexual orientation and he wanted it not to be an issue in the election.   read more

For a time, Faye held the Gambian record in the 100 and 200 meters and he competed internationally, even representing his country at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles as the Gambian team captain. He went into the Gambian National Army in 1983, leaving in 1994, about the time it staged a coup installing Yahya Jammeh as the country’s leader. Faye ended up in Atlanta, Georgia, where, some sources say, he sought asylum. He worked as a security guard and utility-line locator in the United States.   read more

In August 2000, he became director general of International Economic Affairs and Coordinator of the negotiations of the Free Trade Agreement with Mexico. He was named ambassador to the Netherlands in August 2003, and permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the International Criminal Court. On July 11, 2005, Gianelli was named ambassador to the United States for the first time. He served in Washington until July 2012, when Carlos Pita replaced him.   read more

Newman began practicing law in Botswana in 1983. He became a managing partner in Collins Newman & Co., a well-connected law firm in the capital city, Gaborone. Newman was appointed to the high court in 2005. Newman is close to Botswana President Ian Khama, and is considered to be a member of Khama’s inner circle. He was a shareholder in a company involved in some questionable land sales in 2006 involving the government. Newman is believed to be one of the richest people in Botswana.   read more

Lansing took over as Scripps’ senior vice president for television in 2001 and was in charge of the 10 television stations the company owned at the time. He moved over to Scripps Networks, which managed cable television programming, in 2004. There, he was in charge of channels such as Food Network, HGTV, the Travel Channel, and others. It was a good time for Scripps Networks; revenue tripled under Lansing’s watch to $2.1 billion in 2012.   read more

Thomas had to handle an angry town hall meeting of Foreign Service officers who objected to the G.W. Bush State Dept's plans for Iraq, including ordering people to serve at diplomatic posts. Thomas tried to quell the anger by explaining the department was not getting enough volunteers to go to the war-torn country. When one officer called an assignment to Iraq “a potential death sentence,” producing considerable applause, Thomas responded: “OK, thanks for your comment,” and ended the meeting.   read more

During her term as ambassador, Stewart focused on helping to remove unexploded ordnance left over by the U.S. and other countries during the Vietnam War and broke ground on a new U.S. embassy in Vientiane. She also performed in a rap video—in Lao—for a local crowd. Stewart returned to Washington in 2013 to serve as political adviser to the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Supreme Allied Commander Transformation.   read more

In his confirmation hearing on Nov. 17, 2015, Califf drew opposition from Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders on his ties to the drug industry. “At a time when millions of Americans cannot afford to purchase the prescription drugs they need, we need a new leader at the FDA who is prepared to stand up to the pharmaceutical companies and work to substantially lower drug prices,” Sanders said. “Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that Dr. Califf is not that person.”   read more

He served as a second lieutenant in Cambodia’s army from 1972 to 1975 as a military police officer, with training in the United States at Fort Gordon, Georgia. When the Khmer Rouge took over the country in 1975, Bun Rong initially went into hiding, then was imprisoned by the regime. He told journalists, according to his biography, “I basically thrown away my uniform and escaped into the jungle feeding myself with insects and roots to survive.”   read more

Sayavongs began working with Laos’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1982. He was sent to the then-Soviet Union for education, earning an MA in international relations in 1988. Upon his return to Laos, Sayavongs was a desk officer in the ministry’s Department of International Organizations. He took time to earn another MA, this one in Asia and international studies from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, in 1996.   read more

He came home in 2006 to serve as executive assistant in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. He was sent back to Mozambique the following year, this time as Deputy Chief of Mission. He did a tour in Kabul, Afghanistan, as senior diplomatic coordinator for economic affairs, from 2010 to 2011, where he helped administer $4 billion in economic assistance.   read more

In 1988, Greenberg joined the Center for Law and Social Policy, where he wrote extensively on federal welfare policies. He was on hand for the welfare reform signed into law by President Clinton. “This is not a proposal that provides or creates jobs for people. It simply pulls out the rug from under them,” said Greenberg in 1993. “So long as we have a society with unemployment, there are going to be people who cannot find jobs. Under this proposal, they and their children are going to be hurt.”   read more