Farewell gala caps three successful years for Ambassador

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RIGA 000050 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SCUL ODIP PGOV PREL LG SUBJECT: Farewell gala caps three successful years for Ambassador Bailey ¶1. Summary: A January 25 farewell gala, attended by 160 guests was the formal event to mark the conclusion of Ambassador Bailey's three years as US Ambassador to Latvia. A wide range of Latvians from government, the arts, education and business came to show their appreciation for the work of the Ambassador. The evening was capped by an extraordinarily warm and personal tribute to the Ambassador from former President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, who praised Ambassador Bailey for "going beyond the role of the average Ambassador." The emotion in the evening was warm and genuine and served as a mark of how successful the Ambassador's tenure has been. End summary. ¶2. Ambassador Bailey marked the conclusion of her assignment in Latvia with a farewell gala January 25 at the Small Guild. It was in this same room that President Bush spoke May 7, 2005, and that legendary singer Odetta performed in February 2006 as part of the Embassy's program for Black History Month. ¶3. The event was attended by over 160 individuals, including former President Vike-Freiberga, six members of parliament, the former Speaker of Parliament, the current and former Mayors of Riga, members of the diplomatic corps, senior members of the foreign and defense ministries, leading figures in academia, media, theatre, and the arts, the board of the American Chamber of Commerce and many leaders in business. Throughout the evening, attendees reflected on their experiences working with the Ambassador during her tenure in Riga and expressed uniform praise for her energy, creativity and commitment to the Latvia - U.S. relationship. ¶4. The official program was hosted by Ojars Kalnins, former Latvian Ambassador to Washington, who noted the history of the venue and the Ambassador's personal contributions to the successful activities that had previously occurred in the room. He was followed by Ivars Linis, director of the Dailes Theatre, who praised the Ambassador's efforts to build cultural ties between the two countries. He specifically highlighted the May 2007 visit to the Dailes Theatre by award winning Broadway composer and lyricist Steven Schwartz, who put on a concert and conducted master classes, and the subsequent trip to New York for further training by several of the theatre's performers. Linda Leen, a popular Latvian singer who participated in the activities both in Riga and in New York, then brought down the house with performances of three standards, "Fever," "My Funny Valentine," and "Mein Herr" from Cabaret. Ms. Leen thanked the Ambassador for her personal role in securing the Schwartz visit to Riga and the Dailes Theatre trip to New York, with Ms. Leen noting how important they were to her professional development. ¶5. A reflection video, including tributes from the staff of Embassy Riga, senior Latvian officials, and former White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove, and interspersed with clips from the Ambassador's tenure in Latvia, was shown to the audience, who were visibly moved as the images helped them recall all that they had achieved in working with Ambassador Bailey. ¶6. The emotional capstone of the evening, however, came at the unplanned remarks from former President Vike-Freiberga. In her remarks, the former President spoke eloquently, and without notes, about the warm, personal relationship she had built with Ambassador Bailey. Vike-Freiberga praised Ambassador Bailey's energy, creativity and commitment to improving the bilateral relationship. Addressing members of the diplomatic corps who were present, the former President said that while she had worked with many Ambassadors who effectively represented their countries, Ambassador Bailey stood "head and shoulders above the others." She noted in particular how Ambassador Bailey's personal connections in Washington resulted both in high level visitors to Latvia, including two visits by President Bush, and high level meetings for Latvian officials visiting the US. The former President termed Ambassador Bailey an active agent for keeping a strong bilateral relationship and said that, unlike other Ambassadors, Ambassador Bailey was willing to explore possibilities for cooperation "outside the narrow constraints set by capitals." The remarks brought the crowd to its feet and concluded with a toast. ¶7. In her remarks, the Ambassador, joined at the podium by Mr. Bailey and clearly moved by the warm words of Vike-Freiberga, reflected on the achievements during her three years, offered praise for the resilience of the Latvian people during the second half of the twentieth century, and applauded the achievements since the restoration of independence. She offered thanks to all those who had helped make her assignment a success and offered a special word of thanks to the more than 20 members of the Embassy staff in attendance by asking them to stand and be recognized, which drew warm applause from the crowd. ¶8. At the very end, the Latvians in attendance offered the highest praise in their culture. They sang a song. Ms. Leen, in a completely unplanned act, led the room in a traditional song of good wishes for health, success and good fortune. Following the event's conclusion, many of the Latvians in attendance stayed to mingle and chat, highly unusual in this culture. The whole evening served as a showcase of the health of the bilateral relationship and the RIGA 00000050 002 OF 002 contribution of Ambassador Bailey to strengthening it during her tenure in Riga. Bailey