Morale at the US State Department is reportedly in ruins, with the agency beset by spending cuts, firings and resignations, diplomatic posts going unfilled, and applications to join the service greatly reduced.

Laurence Pope ’67 is a thirty-one year veteran of the Foreign Service and a former US ambassador to Chad. Pope was called out of retirement in 2012 by the Obama administration to serve as senior US envoy in Libya following the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Pope was a guest this week on Maine Public Radio’s weekday call-in program Maine Calling, along with former US ambassador to Haiti and Gambia, Pamela White.

The role of the State Department today, and what reforms may be necessary for it to prosper in the future, were the topics up for discussion. Listen to Laurence Pope on Maine Calling.