I waited all day yesterday to see the State Department post pictures
from this event. They finally are up, but so far I do not see a
video. If they do post video, I will add it here. This event was
listed on her Thursday schedule.
6:20 p.m.
Secretary Clinton hosts a gala dinner celebrating the 50th anniversary
of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms and the completion of the Patrons of
Diplomacy endowment campaign, at the Department of State. Secretary
Clinton is joined at the event by former Secretaries of State Henry
Kissinger, Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)
Opening
Remarks at the Gala Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Diplomatic
Reception Rooms and the Completion of the Patrons of Diplomacy Endowment
Campaign
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
October 27, 2011
Thank
you and good evening. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you for
joining us this evening. Thank you, Mr. Franklin, for being here
tonight. I often reference your portrait when we hold events here in
this room named for you, and I never thought I’d be able to thank you in
person for all you have done. (Laughter.) And let us thank again the
incomparable Jesse Norman who has thrilled audiences all over the world.
And I especially wish to thank Secretaries Kissinger, Albright, and
Powell, and representatives of the families of Secretary Eagleburger and
Secretary Christopher.
In just a short time they will all be receiving an award commemorating this occasion of the 50th
Anniversary of the Diplomatic Rooms, and I want to personally thank
each of them for being with us. I also wish to recognize all of our
ambassadors from the diplomatic community and Madam Chen, a special
visitor from China, who are with us this evening.
And I want
especially to thank the chairs of the Patrons of Diplomacy Initiative,
the members of the Endowment Fund, and all of you who have contributed
to these rooms for joining us and being a true patron of diplomacy. You
are making a contribution to the work that we do every single day in
this building and particularly here on the Eighth floor. Because of your
efforts, we are able to celebrate two milestones: the 50th anniversary of these historic rooms, and the $20 million raised for the Patrons of Diplomacy Endowment. (Applause.)
When
I was first honored to be Secretary of State and came here in that
capacity to the State Department, I was surprised to learn there was no
permanent funding to support the Diplomatic Reception Rooms or the
collection that includes such treasures as that desk and the critical
preservation and conservation work that is needed in order to fulfill
our obligations to the stewardship that we hold as we assume this
position. And each year, Marcee Craighill, our curator for the rooms,
was forced to make very difficult decisions about which objects would be
conserved and which would not.
And we thought that it would be appropriate, as we moved toward the 50th
anniversary and commemorated the great work that Clement Conger got us
started on 50 years ago, for I to ask my predecessors to assist us in
this effort. All of them agreed, including those who could not be with
us this evening.
So with Marcee’s guidance and with the
extraordinary commitment of Under Secretary Pat Kennedy, Ambassador
Capricia Marshall, the Office of Protocol, we launched Patrons of
Diplomacy last October. And this special initiative has, for the time,
created this endowment that will care for the preservation and
maintenance of the 42 diplomatic reception rooms here at the State
Department. I am so grateful to each of you. I also hope that at some
time, if you weren’t able this evening to see the new Secretary’s
Terrace, you will take a look there, because thanks to the generosity of
the Endowment Fund and individual donors, we’re now able to make
greater use of one of the best outdoor spaces with clearly the most
amazing views in Washington.
So now we will turn to a great meal.
Chef Jose Andres donated his talents. (Applause.) He and Jason Larkin,
our State Department chef, they have put together a historic meal for
us, which is described in tonight’s program. After dinner we will have a
few additional words from each of our Secretaries. And I just want to
conclude where I started, with a great thank you. We are so appreciative
for your understanding the importance of these rooms to the work that
each of us has been privileged to do on behalf of the country we love.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Closing
Remarks at the Gala Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Diplomatic
Reception Rooms and the Completion of the Patrons of Diplomacy Endowment
Campaign
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
October 27, 2011
Well,
this has been quite an evening and we have thanked everyone for the
extraordinary contributions that each of you has made. I am deeply
grateful. For me, it was such a pleasure to be with my colleagues. When I
was on my way in to becoming Secretary of State, Madeleine held a
dinner at her home and invited all of the other Secretaries of State,
and we sat around her dining room and each proceeded to give me
excellent advice. For example, Warren Christopher told me never plan a
vacation in August because a crisis seems to always happen in August.
(Laughter.) And that has proven to be true, I must say. But it was a
welcome into an extraordinary experience that I have only come to both
relish and cherish even more as the months have gone forward.
It
is, as each – Henry and Madeleine and Colin – have said, the most
wonderful honor to represent our country. Wherever we go, whatever we’re
doing, the fact that we are there on behalf of the United States of
America never ceases to humble me, and also provide an extraordinary
sense of responsibility.
So I am grateful to have this time to
serve in this position. We all want to be good stewards of our capacity
to pass on to those who come after the opportunity to use these rooms
and to be part of the history that they represent. So for all of that we
are each deeply grateful to you, the Patrons of Diplomacy. And on a
personal note, I want to thank one more person for coming, a colleague
in the Cabinet of mine, Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, who is here. (Applause.)
If you’re dealing with
health care as I can attest from experience, Libya, Afghanistan,
Pakistan – they seem easy in comparison. (Laughter.) But we are
delighted Kathleen could join us, and, of course, she has the best seat
in the house some would argue, sitting next to Michael Douglas, who’s
been either referenced or introduced about five times. (Laughter.) But
Michael, thank you for being here as well.
So as you leave this
evening, we promised that it would be an evening that you would
remember, but not be here for breakfast. (Laughter.) And so we have
tried to keep to that promise and to give you a chance to be with those
like you who support this work and understand its importance. We are all
deeply, deeply grateful and we’ll gather again in 10 years for the 60th
anniversary, assuming that then Secretary of State invites us all back.
But for all of us, and those who could not be here with us thank you,
good evening, and god speed. (Applause.)
