India Abroad - December 30, 2011

AZIZ HANIFFA
Erstwhile career diplomats and former senior administration officials have hailed President Barack Obama’s
nomination of Nancy Powell, 64, as Indian
envoy. But some sources have expressed
concern that she might not have the ear of
the President, unlike a political
appointee close to him.
Sources told India Abroad that
Obama first tapped former Senators
Charles ‘Chuck’ Hagel, a Republican
from Nebraska and now chairman of
the Atlantic Council, and Paul Sarbanes,
a Democrat from Maryland living in
retirement, for the post to succeed
Timothy Roemer, who left in June.
Veteran career diplomat Peter Burleigh
was appointed as Charge D’Affaires.
Hagel and Sarbanes were both mem-
bers of the powerful Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, much respected
by colleagues and close friends of India.
After their refusal, the White House —
in no mood to get into a confirmation
battle with Republican Senators of the
Foreign Relations Committee with a
political appointee — had decided to
ride it out with Burleigh till the end of
the 2012 presidential elections.
Sources said they had to change their
minds following angst in many quarters,
including Delhi that the non-appoint-
ment of an ambassador for nearly six
months could be perceived as a dissipa-
tion of the priority accorded India. The
State Department then pushed for
Powell, who if confirmed by the Senate,
expected to be a formality, will be the first
woman ambassador to India.
She will be the first career diplomat to
occupy Roosevelt House since 2007 when
Frank Wisner, completed his term as only
the sixth career diplomat posted to Delhi
among the 22 US envoys since 1947.
Experts hail Nancy Powell’s
nomination as envoy to India

Nancy Powell
Powell has served as ambassador to
Pakistan (2002 to 2004) and Nepal (2007
to 2009). In her junior years as a diplomat,
she was a political counselor in New Delhi
and consul general in Kolkata. She also
served in Dhaka and Ottawa and had
ambassadorial stints in Uganda (1997 to
1999) and Ghana (2001-2002). She is cur-
rently director general, Foreign
Service, a job she has held since her
Senate confirmation in July 2009. She
was conferred the personal rank of
Career Ambassador in January 2011.
Besides her South Asia assign-
ments, Powell’s other assignments at
the State Department included refugee
assistance officer, principal deputy
assistant secretary for African affairs,
acting assistant secretary for interna-
tional narcotics and law enforcement
activities. She was also the national
intelligence officer for South Asia at
the National Intelligence Council.

MIAN KHURSHEED/REU TERS

in the State Department. She is one of a
small band of diplomats — like Howie
(Howard C Schaffer) and (his wife) Tezi
(Teresita) who were among the earliest
group of the South Asianists among the
career diplomats at State.”
He added, “The system and the White
House wanted a tested hand at the wheel
who could handle the range of advances
that have been made over the past few years
and now need to be managed and built.
Nancy will do that superbly. From the
nation’s heartland in Iowa and as a former
high school teacher, Nancy brings a real
sense of America and American interests to
her position. She knows how to get the best
out of people. The embassy staff are getting
a person who combines a tough demand for
achievement with the decency of a person
concerned about the well being of people.”
The Schaffers agreed it was “a great
appointment.”
They said, “The important thing is that
she knows all the issues and is well placed
to try to get them dealt with. Her big chal-
lenge will be to keep the tops of both gov-
ernments engaged.”
Lisa Curtis, a former CIA South Asia ana-
lyst and State Department official who now
heads the South Asia bureau at the conser-
vative Heritage Foundation, said Powell’s
“extensive experience on South Asia,
will provide a steady hand in India to nur-
ture relations during what could be an
unpredictable time for the region, as the
US draws down forces in Afghanistan and
US-Pakistan relations deteriorate.”
‘An outstanding graduate, energetic volunteer and loyal supporter’
GEORGE JOSEPH
“Rakesh Chawla was an outstand- ing graduate, energetic volun- teer and loyal supporter of the
McIntire School. He was somebody that
people really liked,” Carl Zeithaml, dean,
McIntire School of Commerce, University
of Virginia remembered.
Chawla, 36, managing director,
Greenhill & Co, a New York-based inde-
pendent investment bank, died in a plane
crash December 20. He died along with
Jeffrey F Buckalew, 45, another managing
director and his wife Corinne, and their
two children, Jackson and Meriwether.
The single engine Socata TBM 700 tur-
boprop plane, which belonged to
Buckalew, an experienced pilot, crashed
about 14 minutes after taking off from the
Teterboro Airport in New Jersey at 9:50
am. It crashed on Interstate 287 in
Harding. Witnesses reportedly said the
plane appeared to have broken up in
flight.
Buckalew complained of icing condi-
tions with flight controllers, officials
said. The plane was en route to DeKalb-
Peachtree Airport near Atlanta for offi-
cial work.
Zeithaml said though Chawala left
McIntire in 1996, and later earned an
MBA from Wharton, he continued his
association with his alma mater till his
death. He served as an alumni trustee
and consistently engaged in alumni ini-
tiatives in New York. He returned fre-
quently to the university and recruited
students to his firm.
Scott Bok, chief executive officer,
Greenville, said, “When I think of
Rakesh I think of his earnestness, which
you can read on his face. Like many who
come from immigrant families, he want-
ed to improve. Regardless of what praise
we would give him, he would always ask
what could he do to perform better. And
he was just as quick to seek advice on
raising his three girls, getting them the
right education, etc. My all-time favorite

Rakesh Chawla
REUTERS
promotion was making Rakesh a
managing director a while ago. I
know that was a goal of his, and I’m
glad he was able to enjoy achieving
that.”
He added, “Our firm is like a fam-
ily, which is why it hurts so much to
lose two longtime members. We will
always remember our two partners,
and we will find a proper way to
honor each of them.”
Chawla, who had worked at
Credit Suisse and Blackstone,
joined Greenhill eight years ago. A
financial services specialist, he
helped advise the Treasury
Department on managing and dis-
posing the government’s majority
stake in American International
Group Inc, the New York-based
insurer bailed out during the 2008
financial crisis.
Chawla lived with his wife
Cathleen and daughters in
Manhattan.

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