Singapore’s ‘minister mentor’ feted; EU Commission’s ambassador departs for ‘greener’ pastures.

By Gail Scott

Statesman Lee Kuan Yew greets Esther Coopersmith as Ambassador of Singapore Chan Heng-Chee and Sen. Jim Webb look on. (Photo courtesy US-ASEAN Business Council)

VISIONARY LEADER

The US-ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Business Council presented its first Lifetime Achievement Award to Singapore’s legendary first prime minister and now its “minister mentor,” Lee Kuan Yew, at a high- powered black-tie celebration of its 25th anniversary at the Mandarin Oriental on Oct. 25. Luminaries gathered from the foreign policy, government, academic, and business establishments included ASEAN ambassadors, former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George P. Shultz; United Technologies Chairman George David; Sen. Jim Webb (chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs), and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M. Campbell. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush added their congratulations via video.

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During a Hay Adams Rooftop Luncheon Honoring John Grisham, the best-selling author talks to WL about his D.C. roots and how Kindle is changing the book industry

By Michael Clements

A view of the White House from the Hay Adams rooftop terrace.

The Hay Adams has a long history of book salons. Throughout the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, notable authors, including Mark Twain and Edith Wharton, congregated at the home of John Hay and Henry Adams (now the site of The Hay-Adams) to discuss politics, art and literature. The Hay-Adams Select Author Series was launched to recapture that tradition. The latest author to participate is lawyer/best-selling scribe John Grisham. Grisham was in Washington recently to receive the Library of Congress’s first National Book Festival Award for Creative Achievement, presented at the National Book Festival on September 27, 2009. He latest book The Associate – a legal thriller – is now out and garnishing rave reviews.

On the new book, Janet Maslin of the The New York Times says, “GRISHAM HAS A FIELD DAY…The Associate grabs the reader quickly and becomes impossible to put down.”

Patrick Anderson of The Washington Post, states “Grisham makes it easy for us to keep flipping the pages…A DEVASTATING PORTRAIT OF THE BIG-TIME, BIG-BUCKS LEGAL WORLD.”

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

Location: Ford’s Theatre

Photos by Reflections Photography

THE EVENT: On the eve of Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday, Washington and Hollywood’s brightest stars joined the president and first lady to celebrate the reopening of the historic theater after its recent $25 million renovation. Joshua Bell began the festivities on a spiritual note using a violin that was last played the night Lincoln was assassinated. He was followed by former presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush reading, in turn, excerpts from the “Gettysburg Address.” IN ATTENDANCE: James Earl Jones, Jessye Norman, Kelsey Grammer, Ben Vereen, Audra McDonald, and Katie Couric also offered tributes to the 16th president.

Very special national days, diplomatic moves, and a summer barbecue.

By Gail Scott

President Bush and Colombian Ambassador Carolina Barco in the Oval Office.

Oval Office Access
Colombian Ambassador Carolina Barco, the former foreign minister of her country and the daughter of a former Colombian president, enjoys extremely good access at the highest levels of the Bush Administration. It seems that her father, Virgilio Barco, and the President’s father, President George H.W. Bush, held their nation’s presidency simultaneously and enjoyed each other’s company. So, each summer when Colombia’s July 22 national day rolls around, President George W. Bush has hosted a celebration in the White House for Colombia. The first year, 1996, it was Foreign Minister Barco who was there with then-Ambassador Luis Alberto Moreno. This year, Mrs. Barco returned to the Oval Office the very next day as well, with Colombia’s much-in-the-news defense minister, Juan Manuel Santos, who came specifically to thank the U.S. for its assistance in helping with the July 27 release of four political hostages — which included Ingrid Betancourt, the celebrated French-born woman who was running for Colombia’s presidency when she was captured.

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