Susan Rice is the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. She pushed for quick action against Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi, which helped beat back Qaddafi's forces and possibly saved tens of thousands of lives. As a mother of two, Rice finds the job demanding but enjoys both roles, though it is difficult being away from her children during the week. Her interest in international affairs began from traveling internationally as a child.

1. o c t o b e r 2 0 1 1 / e b o n y. c o m 00
At 5 feet 3 inches,
U.S. Ambassador
to the United
Nations Susan Rice is
a Big Player on the
World Stage—and a
Soccer Mom at Home
Tall
Standing
bykevinchappelle
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. ¶ Susan Rice
knows that all too well. ¶ When the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations,
at President Obama’s direction, pushed for quick and decisive action against
Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi earlier this year, she knew Newton’s Third Law
would come into play. ¶ She just didn’t know when. ¶ Still, Rice pressed for targeted co-
alition air strikes that beat back Qaddafi’s forces reportedly on a mission to kill Libyan
civilians, and their last-ditch effort to rise up. The move possibly saved tens of thou-
sands of lives, and was a defining “leadership” moment for the U.N. Security Council.

2. cape from Gotham City. She’s talking to her assistant about plans to
travel to D.C. later that evening to attend a White House state dinner
for Mexican President Felipe Calderón, and to see her husband and
two children, who continue to live in the nation’s capital.
When she talks about her 8-year-old daughter and 13-year-old
son, her eyes light up. She says that it is tough being away from
them during the week, but they are adapting. “Let’s face it, no mom
wants to be away from her children…,” says Rice, who is married to
television producer Ian Cameron. “But at least I’m not separated
for extended periods, and the distance is not so huge that if I need
to be at something important at school … I will do my very best to
be there. In an ideal world, I wouldn’t be separated from my kids.
But they are where they should be and happy, and that’s good. We’re
managing. My husband is a saint. So that’s good. Thank God.“
Rice says that it helps that her children “get” what she’s doing
as ambassador, and why she is doing it. “I think they think that
it is really cool,” she says. “My son is a total history, politics, cur-
rent affairs, world affairs junkie. He’s really unusual. My daughter
is too, but she is more into what you would expect an 8-year-old
girl to be into. She also understands this is what I do, thinks it’s
important and is supportive of it, even though it is a toll on them
because they don’t see me all week, for the most part. If you ask
them how they feel about Mom being away, they don’t like it. But
then you ask them should I not be doing this job, they say ‘No, do
it. It’s important.’”
5,000 U.S. and Foreign Service national employees.
Although Rice is one of the country’s top diplomats, she makes it
clear that she is not a career diplomat. “This is not something that I
said I wanted to be when I grew up, or even 10 years ago,” she says.
“It’s not like it never crossed my mind. I was aware of this job when
I worked at the State Department. But it wasn’t a specific aspira-
tion … I have always been eager to serve in the most challenging
position I could. For me, serving in this administration at this time
is a unique privilege. I worked on the Obama campaign from the
beginning. I believe in the leadership of our president, and I want
to support him the best that I can, any way that he thinks is useful.”
Being ambassador is such a life-consuming job that Rice rarely
takes time off. But when she does, she’s always reachable. The na-
ture of her job requires that she be connected at all times. “You are
always on,” she says. “And you always have to be in telephone and
BlackBerry communication. You never have a day off from that.
But that’s what you bargain for when you take the position.”
When she’s not working, Rice says that she is the typical mom.
“I’m usually running around to someone’s soccer game. I’m a soc-
cer, baseball, basketball, tennis mom, which is not exactly my idea
of relaxing …,” she says. “If I’m lucky, I relish getting out on the
tennis court and hitting the ball as hard as I can.”
For Rice, another important aspect of her job is speaking to
students about the interconnectedness of all nations and the im-
portance of developing knowledge of international affairs. Her
advice, particularly to African-American students: “Do your best.
Stretch yourself. Don’t limit yourself as far as your aspirations
and dreams,” she says. “But you have to be all about quality and
responsibility. There is no shortcut. Preparation. Traveling and
learning about the world, different languages.”
Rice says that it was her international travel as a girl growing up
in Washington, D.C., that peaked her interest in world affairs. “I
went to Jamaica when I was 3 or 4. That’s where my mother’s fam-
ily is from. I went to Europe—Spain, France, Italy—when I was 10.
Then, I went to Egypt, Israel and Greece when I was 14,” she says.
“Those were early experiences that got me interested in the world.
And when I went to college and beyond, I got many more opportu-
nities to travel— Africa, the Soviet Union, China.”
Rice says that her favorite thing to do is to lie on a beautiful
beach somewhere, and her “favorite place to go is somewhere that I
haven’t been,” she says with a chuckle. “And having not been there,
I’m not sure where my favorite would be. There are a lot of places
that I would love to go. It’s just finding the time to do it.”
Unfortunately for her, as she wraps her day as the face of Amer-
ica at the United Nations, that time will not be today. Soon, she
will be in D.C., getting an earful from two little ones at home, and
toasting a bunch of bigwigs at dinner.
120 e b o n y. c o m / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 1 o c t o b e r 2 0 1 1 / e b o n y. c o m 121
security risks that AIDS has created in Africa. She listened intently
as others spoke for more than an hour. Insiders say that Rice’s more
connected, more strong-minded diplomatic approach is in stark
contrast to the stance taken by the United States during the eight
years of the Bush administration, which many have described as
little more than “throwing tomatoes from the sidelines.”
After the meeting, she seemed to relish the back-and-forth chit-
chat with her foreign counterparts. Today, she banters with the
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, ex-
changing under-the-breath whispers about something that was ap-
parently either too inside (or too outside) diplomacy to share with
either entourage, or the handful of reporters nearby. The white-
haired emissary lets out a gigantic laugh that echoes though the
corridors of the historic building.
Called Spo’ (short for Sportin’) because of her high school hoop
skills, Rice knows that talking a good game is one of the most im-
It was also a gutsy move for the Rice, who now admits that she is
already getting pushback on other issues from skittish diplomats—
ballsy once—but hesitant to move as doggedly in the future.
Even so, after watching the determination and skill she puts into
a day’s work, there is no doubt that Rice would lead the hard roll
again if the situation dictated. The Oxford University Rhodes Schol-
ar, who has never strayed far from her Washington, D.C., roots, is
a true believer that the innate fear of flexing many times trumps
Sir Isaac’s scientific theory of motion. “Action in a timely manner…
creates muscle memory,” is the way that she puts it as she sips her
morning tea in her New York City office. “It doesn’t mean that we
will get it right every time. But the fact that we did once, the first
time, in a crucial circumstance, will strengthen, over the long term,
the international disposition to not allow mass atrocities to be per-
petrated with impunity.”
She just doesn’t know when.
Ricesaysthatitwasherinternationaltravel
asagirlgrowingup inWashington,D.C.,that
peakedherinterest in world affairs. Her favorite
place to go? “…Somewhere that I haven’t been.”
1 2 3 4 5 6
When asked what’s tougher, being an ambassador or a mother,
she laughs and then responds, “It depends on the day. It really
does,” she says. “Most days, I’m very happy in both roles. But there
are days when being a mother is a challenge. My husband and I
are trying to raise not only well-behaved, but also thoughtful and
responsible kids who have a sense of the wider world and want to
contribute constructively to it. Most of the time, they live up to
those expectations; sometimes, they act like regular kids. Being
an ambassador, there are days when there are tough issues to work
on and days when we run into roadblocks. But I really do enjoy it. I
feel like we, as a team, are executing very well. I don’t find it inher-
ently hard. I find certain issues, certain days, certain challenges,
hard. [The U.N.] can be very energizing. It can be very stimulating,
it can be comical, it can be frustrating—sometimes, all at the same
time. But more often, by turns.”
Previously, Rice worked on Obama’s election campaign as a se-
nior advisor for national security affairs. From 1997 to 2001, she
was the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs in Presi-
dent Clinton’s administration. In that position, she was respon-
sible for overall U.S. policy for 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa,
including political, economic, security and humanitarian issues.
She oversaw the management of 43 U.S. embassies, and more than
But Rice’s willingness to shepherd the fight against the world’s
most brutal regimes—and for the world’s most vulnerable people—
has the potential to have a lasting impact on a variety of critical
issues ,from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction to poverty
and genocide. And she’s out front like a woman on a mission.
After being appointed to the United Nations by President Obama
(and unanimously confirmed by the Senate) in 2009, one of Rice’s
first priorities was to re-establish a U.S. seat on the U.N. Human
Rights Council. It was a move, she believes, that gives America the
authority to speak with consistency and principle on issues of re-
spect and self-determination faced by many nations whose rule of
authority is being challenged.
It’s a call and a calling that Rice says is a part of the Obama ad-
ministration’s “new era of engagement.” On this day, that mindset
was on full display as she left her office for the short walk across
First Avenue to attend a Security Council meeting at the U.N. head-
quarters. There, she gave a passionate speech on the international
portant attributes both on the basketball court and in diplomatic
circles. “Relationships do matter,” she says. But in the end, she
realizes that big personality gets you noticed. Big action gets you
respect. “Sometimes, it’s got to be sharp-elbowed,” she says. “You’ve
got to have lots of gears, different speeds. You have to be very friend-
ly and collaborative and charming. And sometimes, very tough, and
even ruthless when necessary.”
Is it difficult parlaying the two? “Not really. It comes pretty natu-
rally,” she responds with a sly smile that speaks to her success more
than the words that preceded it.
Rice’s new approach to multilateralism has resulted in the United
States being able to achieve international cooperation on a number
of important issues. “From Iran to North Korea to Libya to Haiti,
South Sudan the list goes on,” she says. “We’ve actually had good
outcomes—better than I think one might have anticipated.”
Speaking of anticipation. It’s now 1 p.m., and although Rice’s work
is far from done at the U.N., she is already looking forward to her es-
1. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon (L), Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the UN, and President Barack Obama listen to speakers during a Security
Council meeting at the UN on September 24, 2009 in New York City; 2. Ambassador Rice aboard a helicopter of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in
Haiti during a Security Council mission to the country in March 2009.; 3. U.S. Ambassador to UN Susan Rice (C) attends a meeting of UN General Assembly at the UN
headquarters in New York, the United States, March 1, 2011. The 65th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution to suspend the rights of
lefttoright:UPI/MonikaGraff/Landov;MarcoDormino/TheUnitedNations
DevelopmentProgramme;Xinhua/Landov;UPI/ChipSomodevilla/POOL/LANDOV;
PA/PHILIPDHIL/LANDOV;APPhoto/JacquelynMartin