Elizabeth Bagley | |
|---|---|
 Bagley in 2023 | |
| United States Ambassador toBrazil | |
| In office February 3, 2023 – January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Todd C. Chapman |
| Special Advisor forSecretary's Initiatives | |
| In office January 20, 2014 – January 20, 2017 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Herself |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| In office October 2010 – September 2013 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Herself |
| Special Representative forGlobal Partnerships | |
| In office June 18, 2009 – September 2010 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Kris Balderston |
| United States Ambassador to Portugal | |
| In office September 21, 1994 – October 3, 1997 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Sharon Wilkinson(Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Gerald McGowan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elizabeth Frawley (1952-07-13)July 13, 1952 (age 73) Elmira, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Regis College (BA) Georgetown University (JD) |
Elizabeth Frawley Bagley (born July 13, 1952) is an American diplomat, attorney, political activist and philanthropist who had served theUnited States ambassador to Brazil in theBiden administration. She previously served as theUnited States ambassador to Portugal from 1994 to 1997.
Bagley was born the second child of eight children to Judge John D. Frawley and Rosemary Frawley. In 1974, Bagley graduatedcum laude with aBachelor of Arts degree in French and Spanish fromRegis College in Weston, Massachusetts. She is a 1987 graduate of theGeorgetown University Law School, where she obtained aJuris Doctor in international law. She also attended university and law school in France, Spain, and Austria, where she studied international trade law and public international law.
Bagley has served in four presidential administrations as a diplomat.
During theCarter administration, she served as Congressional liaison officer for The Panama Canal Treaties in the Department of State. Additionally, she was special assistant toSol Linowitz, a top diplomat for PresidentJimmy Carter, for theCamp David Accords from 1979 to 1980. In the twilight of Carter's presidency, she was the Congressional liaison to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe from 1980 to 1981.
In theClinton administration, she was appointed to serve asU.S. Ambassador to Portugal from 1994 to 1997. She later served as senior advisor under Secretary of StateMadeleine Albright, where she established and headed the Office of Media Programming Acquisition for the newly independentBalkan states. She also served as aUnited States Senate liaison for NATO Enlargement.
As an international law attorney, she was adjunct professor of law atGeorgetown University in Washington from 1991 to 1993.
In theObama administration, she twice served as the special advisor for Secretary's Initiatives, and was appointed by President Obama as the U.S. Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2012. Prior to assuming those posts, she was the Special Representative forGlobal Partnerships in the Office of theSecretary of State.
PresidentJoe Biden nominated Bagley to be the next United States Ambassador to Brazil on January 19, 2022.[1] Hearings on her nomination were held before theSenate Foreign Relations Committee on May 18, 2022.[2] The committee was deadlocked on her nomination on June 23, 2022. Her nomination was considered controversial as comments came to light that were linked to anti-Semitic tropes, including acknowledging Israel's capital of Jerusalem as "stupid."[3] Her nomination was discharged from the committee by a unanimous consent on December 6, 2022. TheUnited States Senate confirmed her nomination byvoice vote on December 14, 2022.[4] On January 9, 2023, she was sworn into office by Vice PresidentKamala Harris.[5] She presented her credentials to PresidentLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva on February 3, 2023.[6]
Bagley is a member of both Massachusetts and District of Columbia bar associations. She wasThe American Ireland Fund's Nantucket Celebration honoree in 2009 for her philanthropy towards theRepublic of Ireland for more than 30 years. She also serves on the Board of Directors ofthe National Democratic Institute.[7]
In 1997, Bagley was awarded the Grand Cross ofPrince Henry the Navigator, the highest civilian honor inPortugal. She received aLegum Doctor (LL.D.) fromRegis College in 2003. In 2005, she was the recipient of the Global Democracy Award from theInternational Women's Democracy Center in March and theEllis Island Medal of Honor in May of the same year.
Bagley is a major political donor and fundraiser who "over the years [has] raised millions of dollars for Democratic candidates."[8] Her late husband, Smith W. Bagley (1935–2010), was an heir to theR. J. Reynolds tobacco fortune and a Finance Chair for theDemocratic National Committee,[9] and the Bagleys were regarded as "two of the heaviest financial hitters in the [Democratic] party."[10] Closely associated with theClintons sinceBill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign,[11] She was a major fundraiser duringHillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns in2008 and2016.[12] Additionally, she and her husband have contributed over $1,000,000 to theClinton Foundation.[13] She was also "part of the national finance team for theObama campaign, having personally raised over $350,000" as of August 2008.[8] Bagley also "raised the maximum $600,000 for President Obama'sinauguration events" in 2009.[14] President Obama visited her residence in theGeorgetown neighborhood ofWashington D.C. in 2011, and First Lady Michelle Obama was the main speaker at a fundraiser at her home on Mothers Day, May 2012.[15]
She is a board member for The American Ireland Fund, theNational Democratic Institute for International Affairs and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
On December 17, 1983, she marriedSmith Bagley, a social activist, Democratic fundraiser, business executive, and the grandson ofR.J. Reynolds. He died in January 2010 at age 74.[14]Together, they had two children: Vaughan Elizabeth Bagley and Conor Reynolds Bagley.
She resides in Washington, D.C.[15] She also owns a house inNantucket.[16]
Bagley and her children own the operations ofcell phoneoperatorCellular One in NortheasternArizona and northwesternNew Mexico, under theholding company Smith Bagley Inc. whichdoes business as Cellular One of East Arizona.[17]
Current United States ambassadors toLatin America | ||
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| Chargé d'Affaires | | |
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| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | ||
| Minister Plenipotentiary | |
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| Chargé d'Affaires | |
| Minister Resident |
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| Minister Resident/Consul General | |
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | |
