1993 to 1997: US. Ambassador to Austria

My four-year tenure in Vienna was a success: to Austrians, I was a “refreshing American.” I had a weekly newspaper column and a monthly radio spot. In a shocking departure from protocol, top officials and cab drivers called me “Swanee.”

While I fulfilled my diplomatic duties representing U.S. interests to Austria and its people, they fully appreciated that I was driven day and night to stop a horrific war as Yugoslavia, our neighbor, fell apart.

witnessWitness (1994)

My photographs, organized around common human values of innocence, bonding, vitality, hardship, wisdom and solitude, were exhibited in a dozen places. A set was featured in a US paper, with my journal documenting a week in war-wrecked Sarajevo.

View the photo essay, Window on Sarajevo: A Personal View

A Bosnian woman holds a cloth embroidered with the name of a loved one who perished in Srebrenica.

Remembering Srebrenica (1996)

“If there’s one more thing you can do, remember the survivors of Srebrenica.” The speaker was a Serb, from the ethnic group that perpetrated the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys. Everyone I asked to help commemorate the victims said yes, including Queen Noor of Jordan. When I asked a grieving Muslim widow if we could invite Serb women, she said, “We are all mothers.”

Vital Voices (1997)

We organized three days to promote East-West learning, with 320 women leaders in business, law, and politics. The meeting spawned the award-winning PBS film “Voices;” an initiative co-led by First Lady Clinton and Secretary of State Albright; and a robust non-profit organization.

 

Mom, God help her, was surrounded by Democrats as Vice President Al Gore swore me in.

Mom, God help her, was surrounded by Democrats as Vice President Al Gore swore me in.

Swanee Hunt briefing President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office.

My role included briefing President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office before he sat down with Austrian Chancellor Vranitsky.

We needed troop protection along the entire road as we drove to the Srebrenica ceremony. Cease-fires had come and gone before.

We needed troop protection along the entire road as we drove to the Srebrenica ceremony. Cease-fires had come and gone before.

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton spent a rare week with us in Austria, mixing serious meetings with down home fun.

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton spent a rare week with us in Austria, mixing serious meetings with down home fun.

Queen Noor in mourning white, holds a cloth embroidered by a woman with the name of a murdered brother, son, father, or husband. The stadium was blanketed with thousands of these reminders.

Queen Noor in mourning white, holds a cloth embroidered by a woman with the name of a murdered brother, son, father, or husband. At the one-year anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, a stadium was blanketed with thousands of these reminders.

Hillary Clinton and Swanee Hunt onstage together at the Vital Voices conference, Austria, 1997.

The First Lady, along with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, keynoted Vital Voices.

Unbelievable. I organized a drive through “Global ReLeaf” to replace trees in Sarajevo, almost all chopped down to make coffins. The principal of the primary school told me that when they dug a hole for the ceremonial planting, they found a landmine planted by the door, waiting for the children’s first exciting day of school.

Unbelievable. I organized a drive through “Global ReLeaf” to replace trees in Sarajevo, almost all chopped down to make coffins. The principal of the primary school told me that when they dug a hole for the ceremonial planting, they found a landmine planted by the door, waiting for the children’s first day of school.

Rather than try to fit into the feminine equivalent of a diplomat’s pinstriped suit, I decided to refashion the job… to forge paths into this new frontier, paths that others could follow. Transforming my worst fears into a vision based on strengths, I was ready to take on the unknown.S.H.