Ambassador Tom Foley
Politics & Public Services
With the emphasis shifting from political stability to the economy in Northern Ireland, and the Celtic Tiger cooling down in the Irish Republic, U.S. Ambassador Tom Foley, a graduate of Harvard Business School, with 25 years of management and investment experience, is the right man for the job. On the phone from Dublin with Irish America in February, Foley talked about Northern Ireland and the idea that political stability is enhanced when the economy is good and unemployment rates are low.
"We have moved into that mode and we had an investment mission that Ambassador Tuttle [U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. ] and I sponsored up there in October. And now we're preparing for the larger U.S. Northern Ireland investment conference in Belfast on May 8 and 9," he said.
Having a business background, Foley has more understanding than your average diplomat about foreign investment, and he also has contacts. "I just happen to know people from my business days who are now on Wall Street or running companies, so I've had contacts that I've been able to use to recruit people to come to the conference."
Rita O'Hare, Sinn Fein's person in America and not someone who is easily impressed, said of Foley, "He's accessible, and very down to earth. The first time I met him I was struck by the fact that he was clearly listening and watching. He doesn't jump in. He's practical and pragmatic, and very interested."
With regard to the slowing down of the Celtic Tiger in the Republic, Foley believes that while there may be a period of adjustment following the very strong period of growth, "all the fundamentals are still in pretty good shape and Ireland is strong relative to other economies in Europe."
Foley had been to Ireland several times before becoming Ambassador but he admits that living there is different from visiting. "When you come as a tourist you have a sense that the people here are very nice and accommodating and that it's beautiful and all that, but you often don't pick up the subtleties of the culture, but in my role you do pick that up and I've been surprised by how different the culture in Ireland really is from the States," he says.
When asked to elaborate he explains: "The language has some subtle differences in the choice of words and means of expression, and one thing I noticed that's different in the States is that people are more open about celebrating other people's success. It's not just Ireland but in Europe, I think there's less willing acceptance of people standing out."
Another thing that has struck Foley is the Irish interest in politics. "I've been on the radio four times in the last three days talking about the U.S. elections. There's a tremendous level of interest here. I think there's something in the blood that makes the Irish interested and good in politics. Also, the world's becoming a smaller place. It matters in Europe who becomes president of the United States," he says.
Public diplomacy has been a challenge in all of Europe in explaining what the U.S. has been up to in Iraq. Foley, who served as the Director of Private Sector Development for the Coalition Provisional Authority and oversaw most of Iraq's 192 state-owned enterprises, from August 2003 to March 2004, is up to the challenge. "I think it helps a lot with the dialogue when people realize that I actually am familiar with the situation on the ground, so when I say something I can say it with more authority than someone who hadn't been there. So that's been helpful. Also, I think that attitudes are swinging back, and are a little less intemperate here and on the continent with regard to U.S. foreign policy. I think part of the reason for that is because things seem to be going better in Iraq," he says.
Foley grew up in Chicago, the fourth in a family of six (he has one brother and four sisters). His Irish ancestors immigrated to the United States during or just after the famine. "My father's family came into New York. And my mother's part of the family ended up pretty quickly out in Wisconsin. The Foleys were from the Waterford area. And my mother's family - their surname was Coleman - were from around Dundalk, Co. Louth. My father's mother's surname was Loughran and they were from Tyrone."
Foley, whose 16-year-old son, Thomas, Jr., loves to visit Ireland, is finding that Irish blood is hard to water down. "When I came here and started getting to know people, I could see resemblances to my brothers and sisters and parents - I don't see that when I'm in France or even in England. There's definitely something in the DNA."
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