FIU to Gain New Diplomat in Residence as Meece Departs for Africa

FIU’s 2003-04 Diplomat in Residence Roger Meece has been named the new ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.

Meece, the former ambassador to Malawi, is wrapping up his FIU outreach work and preparing to move to Kinshasa next month. His appointment to the ambassadorship of the Congo was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 6. He will be sworn in by Secretary of State Colin Powell on June 24 in a ceremony at the U.S. State Department in Washington.

FIU is among a select group of universities around the country to host diplomats from the U.S. State Department. Meece was FIU’s second diplomat in residence with the International Relations Department. Later this summer, FIU will welcome Mark Boulware, the U.S. consul general in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as its third Diplomat in Residence. Prior to his assignment in Rio, Boulware was Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in San Salvador, El Salvador. He has held overseas posts in Cameroon, Mali, Botswana, The Gambia, Burkina Faso, Venezuela and Indonesia.

Meece arrived at FIU last August but his appointment was unexpectedly interrupted last fall when the U.S. State Department summoned him to temporarily serve as the charge d’affaires in Nigeria. Since he returned in January, Meece has been part of the International Relations Department and spent time educating FIU students about internship and career opportunities in the Foreign Service. He also conducted workshops this spring to prepare students for the Foreign Service exam.

Students showed tremendous interest in Foreign Service careers, Meece said. Seventy-eight FIU students registered to take the Foreign Service exam in April and will receive results later this summer. Seven FIU students were selected by the State Department for internships this summer in embassies outside the United States including Nassau, Rome and Kuala Lumpur.

“FIU is quite a remarkable university,” Meece said. “It’s been terrific. I’ve enjoyed contact with the students. They often will approach things or ask questions from an entirely different angle.”

In the Congo, Meece will work with FIU alumnus Antoine Ghonda Mangalibi, the nation’s foreign minister. Ghonda completed his bachelor’s degree in International Relations at FIU but Meece met him years ago through John Clark, chairman of FIU’s International Relations Department, whose research focuses on Congo.

Meece joined the Foreign Service in 1979, inspired by his Peace Corps experience in Sierra Leone. He served as the director of Central African Affairs before becoming the ambassador to Malawi. Meece said there are many challenges ahead for the Congo, a former Belgian colony that spent 32 years under the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko. An estimated 3.3 million people died--many from famine and disease—during the 5-year Congolese civil war that involved six African nations.

Peace negotiations ushered out foreign troops and a transitional government was formed last year. “The transitional government now really represents the best hope in many years for a chance to be successful,” Meece said.

Still, stability in the resource-rich nation remains precarious with conflicts arising this month along the border of Rwanda. Meece said the U.S. is playing an important role in the Congo’s effort to establish democratic governance, promote economic development and address the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

“It is a country with big problems,” Meece said. “I don’t think I have any illusions about that but at the same time I’m looking forward to it. Someone commented to me once: Diplomats are condemned to optimism. It’s a phrase I am happy to live with. You have to believe there are answers and solutions.”