Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, the new U.S. ambassador to Brazil, arrived in Brasília in the early hours of Wednesday, February 1.
A long-time fundraiser and supporter of the Democratic Party, she was confirmed in December by the U.S. Senate, after a protracted discussion.
Ms. Bagley is the first non-career diplomat to be nominated U.S. ambassador to Brazil since 2006, when George W. Bush nominated business executive Clifford Sobel to head the embassy in Brasília. From 2009 to 2021, the embassy was led by four consecutive career diplomats. As a rule in U.S. diplomacy, political appointees are given the most prestigious embassies, notably in rich countries, while career diplomats lead almost all posts in Africa.
Last month, Vice President Kamala Harris condemned the attack by radical supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro on government institutions in Brazil’s capital, and said that Ms. Bagley is ready to work with the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration.
The new U.S. ambassador has served as a diplomat under three presidents, starting with Jimmy Carter. She is the owner and a board member of Cellular One, a mobile communications provider founded by her late husband, Smith Walker Bagley (1935-2010), and based in Arizona.
Brazilian diplomacy in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has recently given its agrément to Brazil’s next ambassador to Washington, Maria Luiz Viotti. She recently served as ambassador to the United Nations and Germany.
Earlier this year, the Brazilian Foreign Affairs Ministry moved to change the leadership of the country’s diplomacy in the U.S., relieving the country’s ambassador and New York general consul from their duties. Both were thought to be close to Jair Bolsonaro. Their removal was published on January 9 but was made three days earlier, having no relation with the Brasília riots.
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