A Cosmopolitan Capital City

Howard W. Gutman on Brussels and working for President Obama
Howard W. Gutman is the current U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. Before this position he worked for over twenty-six years as a partner at the law firm Williams and Connolly LLP. In an interview with the HPR, the ambassador spoke about his new position.
Harvard Political Review: How has President Obama’s election changed U.S.-Belgium relations?
Howard Gutman: Some people say that if Barack Obama ran in Belgium, he’d get 90% of the vote. … He’s immensely popular. That had some effect in raising the popularity of the United States [in Belgium]. … There is a huge gap I think between the President’s personal popularity and the reflection of that in the country. … So we’re better partners on climate. We’re better partners on economic recovery, and working transparently and trade. … But, it takes time and it doesn’t just follow from the immense popularity of the President. …. It was far better than it was, but we have a long way to go in amending that relationship.
HPR: Are there any issues that the United States is really taking the lead on in dealing with Belgium?
HG: Belgium is critical in their support and our partnership in Afghanistan. Belgium recently agreed to take a Guantanamo person. They’re critical in that relation. They’re critical along with Europe on climate. So we have a great deal of support. They are one of our greatest allies, traditionally, historically, and currently. But again, you know they’ve been with us. We’ve been together through two world wars and the cold war. But they’re not just going to blindly follow [the U.S.]
HPR: Are the tensions between the French and Flemish regions in Belgium primarily economic or is it also cultural in nature?
HG: First of all, tension is too strong of a word. It’s not tension as in what we had in our country with racial tension, and then we elected an African-American President. So, it’s nothing to that level. … It’s partly linguistic, partly economic. It’s like everything else in the world. It’s complicated to analyze. And it’s really difficult in general because there are so many for whom that [tension] doesn’t exist, particularly in Brussels.
HPR: How would you say the presence of the European Union in Belgium effects local culture, if at all? Do people enjoy being the headquarters of the European Union?
HG: There is pride in being the headquarters of the European Union and the headquarters of NATO, but I think it’s about the effect in Brussels. Brussels is so much like Washington except for the presence of NATO. There’s one couple and she is the French ambassador to NATO and he is the Swiss ambassador to the European Union. It’s like that show “Couple Working from Home”. They live at the same home but they’re both ambassadors from their countries. That’s not uncommon. … Everybody around is a fascinating person in the diplomatic corps, and they’re from a fascinating place.
HPR:. Did you envision yourself transitioning from law to diplomacy?
HG: I clearly had no thought of being an ambassador. … But under President Obama, the ambassador positions today are more substantive, they’re younger. …  We’re all friends. We’re all kids by and large, have known each other for years. … So although I had never thought about doing it, it is the most amazing job to have. It is spectacular. It is representing a country you love, for a President you believe, which you believe to the core.
HPR: Do you have a lot of autonomy in the role, or are you conferring a lot with Washington?
HG: The answer to that is, both. In this regard, what’s true is that if you pick correctly, you sort of get it. You know where we are on climate, you know where we are on economic recovery, you know where we are on the Middle East, you know where we are on Muslim community engagement. … You know what we’re trying to get to, and you know what we’re facing. … So yes, I keep in touch with State carefully.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons