Elizabeth Bagley, a former U.S. ambassador to Brazil and Portugal, reflected on her long career as a distinguished diplomat before a Palm Beach Civic Association audience on Thursday.
Bagley spoke of the importance of bipartisanship at home and American leadership abroad during her appearance at the Beach Club, when she was interviewed by Michael Pucillo, the Civic Association’s chairman and CEO.
Bagley was the third and final speaker of the Civic Association’s 2024-25 Signature Series, which also featured political analyst Charlie Cook in December and television anchor Deborah Norville in January.
Bagley was the ambassador to Brazil during the Biden administration and ambassador to Portugal during the Clinton administration. She was also senior advisor to secretaries of state Madeleine Albright (1997-2001), Hillary Clinton (2010-2013), and John Kerry (2013-17).
Bagley has been a Palm Beach Civic Association director since 2019.
But her career began well before all of that, during the Carter administration in 1977, when she was a U.S. State Department liaison to Congress, working on the Panama Canal Treaty.
Bagley said bipartisanship was essential to the development of the treaty and its adoption by the U.S. Senate in 1978. The treaty returned the canal to Panamanian control at the end of 1999.
The agreement peacefully resolved a longstanding conflict between the United States and Panama over control of the 51-mile canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and is a critical artery for global supply chains.
The United States built the canal and operated it after it was opened to traffic in 1914. But that arrangement led to resentment in Panama and other Latin American countries who accused the United States of imperialism.
Bagley recalled how the Democratic and Republican parties worked together for months to develop a deal that earned the support of Congress, the Carter administration, the government of Panama, and the Organization of American States.
One of the reasons the treaty passed was that Howard Baker, the Tennessee Republican who was then the Senate minority leader, traveled to Panama and saw firsthand how vulnerable the canal was to Panamanian demonstrations and to sabotage, Bagley said.
“We could not have done it without him,” Bagley said of Baker. “For me, the whole idea of bipartisanship started there. We spent every single night in Howard Baker’s office, with his Republican colleagues. It was one of the most fascinating times of my life. I worked around the clock six or eight months.”
The Panama Canal was recently yanked back into the global spotlight when President Donald Trump vowed that the United States would reclaim possession of the canal – by military force if necessary.
Regaining the canal would not be easy for the United States to do, Bagley said.
“I think it would be really difficult to buy the canal or take the canal back, because it was bipartisan,” she said. “It was a treaty that was passed by the Senate, Democrats and Republicans, and ratified by the Organization of American States.”
Pucillo asked Bagley about the significance of bipartisanship.
“It’s crucial,” she responded. “It’s an American tradition. It’s so important to understand that we need to speak with one voice. We need both parties to be strong, but to work together and to find common ground.”
Toward the end of their hour-long discussion, Pucillo read written questions submitted by members of the audience. One person asked if the United States is losing influence in the world.
Bagley responded that the United States has been in a leadership role since putting together an international consortium 80 years ago with NATO and the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe following World War II and to prevent the spread of communism.
“We have been leaders of the free world,” Bagley said. “Madeleine Albright used to say, ‘We’re the indispensable nation.’ … Now, I think we’re really losing influence because this is an isolationist administration. ‘America first’ is their mantra.”
“The tariff situation is very disturbing,” she said. “You’ve got the [European Union] ready to impose reciprocal tariffs. Our best neighbors and friends, Mexico and Canada, are very upset and they’re going to respond.”
The United States twice sided with Russia in votes at the United Nations to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The U.S. vetoed a European-drafted resolution condemning Moscow’s actions, Bagley noted.
“Our partners in that veto were Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Sudan … ” she said. “We’re really in a state, certainly, of isolation. But more than that, I think we’re fighting with all our friends.”
Defense, diplomacy and development have traditionally been the three-legged stool of American power and influence around the globe, Bagley said. If the U.S. wants to advance diplomatic values, it must engage other countries through soft power.
“We need young people,” she said. “We need idealistic people who care about their country and who want to promote U.S. interests abroad. That’s what diplomats do.”
Thursday’s program was sponsored by Third Federal Savings & Loan.
Our Town sponsored by:
