Ambassador Victor Ashe

Greetings from Warsaw!

Throughout the year 2009, the American Embassy in Warsaw and the American Consulate General in Krakow will be joining with the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and institutions throughout Poland to celebrate 90 years of Polish-American Diplomatic relations and 50 years of the Fulbright Program in Poland. I hope that you will join us in celebrating these significant anniversaries. Events throughout the year will highlight important periods in the friendship, such as the founding of the Kosciuszko Squadron by American pilots in the 1920s, Paderewski’s aid to the American poor and artists, President Herbert Hoover’s aid to Poland’s poor, American support for free Poland and Solidarność during the Cold War, and the last 20 years as democratic allies. Celebrations will also include many cultural events highlighting shared contributions to jazz and classical music, visual arts, and the continued role Polish immigrants play in defining American society.

January marked the beginning of events commemorating the 90th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Poland. On January 29, 2009 it's been exactly 90 years to the day since the U.S. government recognized the newly independent Poland. On January 29, 1919, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson extended full recognition to the new Polish Government under the Premiership of Ignacy Paderewski. In his telegram, President Woodrow said: “It is my privilege to extend to you at this time my personal greetings and officially assure you that it will be a source of gratification to enter into official relations with you at the earliest opportunity, and to render to your country such aid as is possible at this time as it enters upon a new cycle of independent life.” In truth, the Polish-American friendship began 400 years ago, when the first Poles arrived in October 1608 at Jamestown, Virginia, which was the first permanent English settlement on the North American continent. Today, the United States and Poland benefit from a successful cooperation in many areas: diplomatic, cultural, military, and educational. We hope to maintain and strengthen this very positive relationship for many centuries to come!

Last month we also celebrated the 50th Anniversary of establishing the Fulbright Educational Exchange Program in Poland. We are particularly proud of this 50th anniversary of Fulbright, as it is a program that has brought together generations of American and Polish scholars. Over the past 50 years, hundreds of American scholars have visited Poland as students, researchers, and lecturers while as many Poles in a broad variety of academic fields have done likewise at universities all over the United States. On January 22, I hosted a reception to celebrate 50 years of the Fulbright Program in Poland. Guests included Fulbright Commission executive board members and alumni, diplomats, local authorities, representatives from different Ministries in Poland, members of the Parliament and Sejm, and numerous other prominent figures from the world of business, culture, higher education, and politics.

January was a busy month for the Embassy. We held a series of events to join the American people in celebrating the swearing in of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, and invited Polish and American citizens in Warsaw to observe the ceremonies. The six hour time difference between Washington and Warsaw actually worked to our advantage. The festivities in Warsaw began in the afternoon when most people have finished their workday, and lasted late into the evening. Joan and I hosted a formal reception for prominent Polish and American guests at my Residence. Politicians, clergy, diplomats, renowned journalists, and key figures from Poland’s business world came to watch the inauguration. Closer to the official part, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Washington time (17:30 Warsaw time), conversation ceased in the adjacent reception room as all the guests took their seats in front of the screen. The other inauguration event was taking place that same evening at the Hard Rock Café in Warsaw, where a bigger group of guests watched the inauguration ceremony on a large screen and smaller screens set up throughout the venue. Later that night, Isis Gee, a Polish-American pop star, performed several hit songs, including those by Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston. The highlight of the evening was the song “Times of Change,” written especially for President Barack Obama and recorded with the world-famous Harlem Gospel Choir. On the night of the inauguration, Isis performed it live for the very first time together with Kiki Lesendric, a Serbian singer and songwriter.

A week later, on January 28, the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw held a special event to showcase the C-130 Aircraft Poland is to receive from the U.S. military. The C-130E aircraft currently operated by the 86th Airlift Wing is a similar model to the five C-130s Polish Air Force will obtain from the United States in a joint effort to enhance Poland’s ability to conduct military supply operations. On January 28, U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft landed in Warsaw delivering an unusual cargo – a truckload of books, toys, and clothes from the Kaiserslautern Military Community for the “My House-My Future” Orphanage in Słupsk. Three children were there to represent their orphanage. It was fun to see the smiles on the kids’ faces as each selected a toy before the other gifts were loaded on the truck to Słupsk. After the ceremony, the C-130 flew to Powidz – with journalists, photographers, and cameramen on board – for military-to-military demonstrations. Ground crews there had a chance to observe USAF standard maintenance procedures and the aircrew could witness a low-level flight in Polish airspace as well as follow mission flight planning on the same computer systems that Poland will be receiving.

Earlier in the month, we received the sad news that Nicholas Rey, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Poland from 1993-1997 and actively supported Poland’s transition to freedom and democracy after the fall of communism, died of lung cancer in Washington on January 13. The U.S. Embassy arranged a Memorial Mass at the historic Church of the Holy Savior in Warsaw (Kościół Najświętszego Zbawiciela) on Monday, January 26. Those of us, who knew Ambassador Rey personally and had the honor of working with him, spoke before the final blessing. Ambassador Rey was a great man who loved Poland and taught others to do the same. I told everyone gathered at the church that of the first calls I received after being appointed U.S. Ambassador to Poland was from Nicholas Rey, who made an extra effort to help me and Joan learn as much as possible about Poland before my tenure here so we could be well-prepared. I encourage all of you to take a moment to read the impressive biography of this great man available on the U.S. Embassy homepage.

In February, we are preparing lectures and events to celebrate the Black History Month. We are also keeping our fingers crossed for Polish contenders in the “Democracy is…” video contest, which encouraged young people across the world to present their definition of democracy in form of a short video. On February 19-20, a Ministerial NATO Conference will take place in Kraków, the hometown of Poland’s Minister of Defense, Bogdan Klich. Twenty-six Ministers of Defense from all member countries will gather to discuss security issues and participate in a press conference. It is important to note that this year, we are also celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO and the 60th Anniversary of the NATO Alliance.

Last weekend, I received a request from Presidential Appointments at the State Department to modify my letter of resignation to the President from the February 6 departure date to become effective "when my successor is confirmed." I am honored to continue as Ambassador to Poland for a while longer. We are not certain when the new Ambassador will be nominated or confirmed and there is much work still to be done on behalf of President Obama and the American people. We will make sure that when the transition to a new Ambassador arrives, it will be as seamless as possible.

I was honored by the Polish Defense Minister to be awarded the Gold Medal of the Polish Armed Forces this month. It is the highest award for non-Polish citizens for praiseworthy service in support of the development and promotion of the Polish Armed Forces abroad. I am certain we can continue a successful cooperation with Poland’s Ministry of Defense towards strengthening the U.S.-Polish ties and further improving Poland’s defense capability.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions about the newsletter and our website and hope to continue to receive your thoughts. I am committed to responding to them personally if you send me a message at: AsheVH@state.gov

Sincerely yours,
Victor Ashe

Embassy News