FSI Inducts Corps of New Officers

A Retired Senior Ambassador-at-Large has admonished officers of the Development Diplomat Trainees Class 2010/2011 of the Foreign Ministry’s Gabriel L. Dennis Foreign Service Institute (FSI) to work assiduously with the administration of the FSI and the Foreign Ministry in the interest of their colleagues and the country.

Retired Ambassador Carlton Karpeh reminded them that their preferment to lead the class was only the beginning of a long journey, not the end.  “Liberia waits for you. You must do nothing that is inimical to the interest of our people. You must know that now is the turning point and that it has come at this time, in your generation and it means that it places on your shoulder something of a responsibility that you must carry,” he told the officers.

He was speaking recently at the C. Cecil Dennis Auditorium of the Foreign Ministry when he served as the Keynote Speaker at the induction of officers of the Development Diplomat Trainees Class 2010/2011.  A former Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon, he charged them to be capable and skillful Liberian diplomats.

Deputy Minister for Administration Levi Demmeh reminded the officers that it is a good to advocate for leadership, but it’s also good to learn to strike a delicate balance between service and leadership. “Sometimes when you slip along those lines then you become a dictator,” he warned; hoping that they will live up to the task of striking a delicate balance between service and leadership.

Mr. Demmeh promised that the administration will continue to provide the leadership and support to the FSI in other dimensions that will help the Ministry drive the perspective of Liberia’s forefathers as it relates to development, diplomacy, politics and etiquette for those attending the institute.

He recognized various assistances provided the FSI from friendly governments and organizations including the governments of United States, China, and Germany as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ecobank, and others.

Speaking on behalf of the newly inducted officers, the class president, Ms. Yvonne Clinton appealed to the Liberian Government through the Minister of Foreign Affairs to embark on building a Foreign Service Complex and increase the allotment for the FSI in order to adequately execute the mandate for which the Institute was established.

She recommended that as a means of adding additional importance to the FSI, only those who graduate from the FSI or are employed with the Foreign Ministry be given the opportunity to serve in Liberia’s foreign missions. She further suggested that authorities at the Ministry prioritize the posting of Foreign Service graduates upon completing their course of study or assign them to the various Bureaus at the Foreign Ministry to serve as a means of orientation.

Ms. Clinton also recommended that the FSI library is fully equipped with current reading and research materials, especially with books on Liberian history and its foreign policy.

Taking the first step in ensuring that the FSI library is furnished with needed instructional material, the class leadership launched a fund-drive in order to raise US$100,000 to undertake the class project. At the end of the initial launch, approximately US$8,000 was realized in cash and pledges.