{{Short description|American diplomat (born 1952)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Elizabeth Bagley | image = Foto Oficial Embaixadora Elizabeth Frawley Bagley - 52658472147.jpg | ambassador_from = United States | country = Brazil | president = Joe Biden | term_start = February 3, 2023 | term_end = January 20, 2025 | predecessor = Todd C. Chapman | office1 = Special Advisor for Secretary's Initiatives | president1 = Barack Obama | term_start1 = January 20, 2014 | term_end1 = January 20, 2017 | predecessor1 = Herself | successor1 = Position abolished | president2 = Barack Obama | term_start2 = October 2010 | term_end2 = September 2013 | predecessor2 = Position established | successor2 = Herself | office3 = Special Representative for Global Partnerships | president3 = Barack Obama | term_start3 = June 18, 2009 | term_end3 = September 2010 | predecessor3 = Position established | successor3 = Kris Balderston | office4 = United States Ambassador to Portugal | president4 = Bill Clinton | term_start4 = September 21, 1994 | term_end4 = October 3, 1997 | predecessor4 = Sharon Wilkinson {{small|(Acting)}} | successor4 = Gerald McGowan | birth_name = Elizabeth Frawley | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|7|13}} | birth_place = Elmira, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic | spouse = {{Marriage|Smith Bagley|1983| 2010|end=died}} | education = Regis College (BA)<br>Georgetown University (JD) | caption = Bagley in 2023 }} '''Elizabeth Frawley Bagley''' (born July 13, 1952) is an American diplomat, attorney, political activist and philanthropist who had served the United States ambassador to Brazil in the Biden administration. She previously served as the United States ambassador to Portugal from 1994 to 1997.
==Early life and education== Bagley was born the second child of eight children to Judge John D. Frawley and Rosemary Frawley. In 1974, Bagley graduated ''cum laude'' with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Spanish from Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts. She is a 1987 graduate of the Georgetown University Law School, where she obtained a Juris Doctor in international law. She also attended university and law school in France, Spain, and Austria, where she studied international trade law and public international law.
==Career== Bagley has served in four presidential administrations as a diplomat.
During the Carter administration, she served as Congressional liaison officer for The Panama Canal Treaties in the Department of State. Additionally, she was special assistant to Sol Linowitz, a top diplomat for President Jimmy Carter, for the Camp David Accords from 1979 to 1980. In the twilight of Carter's presidency, she was the Congressional liaison to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe from 1980 to 1981.
In the Clinton administration, she was appointed to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Portugal from 1994 to 1997. She later served as senior advisor under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, where she established and headed the Office of Media Programming Acquisition for the newly independent Balkan states. She also served as a United States Senate liaison for NATO Enlargement.
As an international law attorney, she was adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University in Washington from 1991 to 1993.
In the Obama administration, she twice served as the special advisor for Secretary's Initiatives, and was appointed by President Obama as the U.S. Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2012. Prior to assuming those posts, she was the Special Representative for Global Partnerships in the Office of the Secretary of State.
President Joe Biden nominated Bagley to be the next United States Ambassador to Brazil on January 19, 2022.<ref name="WHBio">{{cite web|title=President Biden Announces Nominees for Ambassadors and Key Roles|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/01/19/president-biden-announces-nominees-for-ambassadors-and-key-roles/|website=The White House|access-date=7 June 2022|date=19 January 2022}}</ref> Hearings on her nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 18, 2022.<ref>{{cite web|title=NOMINATIONS|url=https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/nominations051822|website=www.foreign.senate.gov|access-date=7 December 2022|date=18 May 2022}}</ref> The committee was deadlocked on her nomination on June 23, 2022. Her nomination was considered controversial as comments came to light that were linked to anti-Semitic tropes, including acknowledging Israel's capital of Jerusalem as "stupid."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The U.S. Finally Has an Ambassador to Brazil. What Does Israel Have to Do With It? |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2023-01-10/ty-article/.premium/the-u-s-finally-has-an-ambassador-to-brazil-what-does-israel-have-to-do-with-it/00000185-9b7d-df14-af8d-9ffdcabd0000 |access-date=2023-01-24}}</ref> Her nomination was discharged from the committee by a unanimous consent on December 6, 2022. The United States Senate confirmed her nomination by voice vote on December 14, 2022.<ref>{{cite web|title=PN1691 - Nomination of Elizabeth Frawley Bagley for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/117th-congress/1691|website=www.congress.gov|access-date=7 June 2022|date=18 May 2022}}</ref> On January 9, 2023, she was sworn into office by Vice President Kamala Harris.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Samuels |first=Ben |date=January 10, 2023 |title=The U.S. Finally Has an Ambassador to Brazil. What Does Israel Have to Do With It? |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2023-01-10/ty-article/.premium/the-u-s-finally-has-an-ambassador-to-brazil-what-does-israel-have-to-do-with-it/00000185-9b7d-df14-af8d-9ffdcabd0000 |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=Haaretz |language=en}}</ref> She presented her credentials to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on February 3, 2023.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=EmbaixadaEUA |author=Embaixada EUA Brasil |number=1621623102839951360 |title=A embaixadora @USAmbBR, Elizabeth Bagley, apresentou suas credenciais hoje ao presidente @LulaOficial no Palácio do @planalto. |access-date=February 5, 2023 |language=pt-BR}}</ref>
==Associations and memberships== Bagley is a member of both Massachusetts and District of Columbia bar associations. She was The American Ireland Fund's Nantucket Celebration honoree in 2009 for her philanthropy towards the Republic of Ireland for more than 30 years. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Democratic Institute.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ndi.org/board-of-directors |publisher=ndi.org |access-date=2014-10-16 |title=Board of directors |archive-date=November 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122162651/https://www.ndi.org/board-of-directors |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Awards and recognition== In 1997, Bagley was awarded the Grand Cross of Prince Henry the Navigator, the highest civilian honor in Portugal. She received a Legum Doctor (LL.D.) from Regis College in 2003. In 2005, she was the recipient of the Global Democracy Award from the International Women's Democracy Center in March and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in May of the same year.
==Political involvement== ===Political donations and fundraising for the Democratic Party=== Bagley is a major political donor and fundraiser who "over the years [has] raised millions of dollars for Democratic candidates."<ref name="auto">{{cite news |title=Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley a tireless fundraiser for the Democratic party |first=Joshua |last=Balling |url=http://www.ack.net/082108Bagley.html |newspaper=Inquirer and Mirror |location=Nantucket, MA |date=August 21, 2008 |access-date=2011-02-12 |archive-date=2017-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328155144/http://www.ack.net/082108Bagley.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Her late husband, Smith W. Bagley (1935–2010), was an heir to the R. J. Reynolds tobacco fortune and a Finance Chair for the Democratic National Committee,<ref>{{cite news |title=Smith Bagley, Executive and Democratic Fund-Raiser, Dies at 74 |first=Dennis |last=Hevesi |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/us/06bagley.html |newspaper=New York Times |location=New York, NY |date=January 5, 2010 |access-date=2011-02-12 }}</ref> and the Bagleys were regarded as "two of the heaviest financial hitters in the [Democratic] party."<ref>{{cite news |title=Special Care for Big Clinton Donors |first=Chris |last=Cillizza |author2=Dan Balz |newspaper=Washington Post |location=Washington, DC |date=February 20, 2006}}</ref> Closely associated with the Clintons since Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign,<ref>{{cite news |title=Bill & Hillary plan island visit Aug. 11 |first=Joshua |last=Balling |url=http://www.ack.net/BillandHillary080405.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028123057/http://www.ack.net/BillandHillary080405.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 28, 2005 |newspaper=Inquirer and Mirror |location=Nantucket, MA |date=August 4, 2005 |access-date=2011-02-12 }}</ref> She was a major fundraiser during Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20070423/FREE/70423009# |title= NY titans among Clinton's 'HillRaisers' |date=April 27, 2007 |work=Crain's New York Business.com |publisher=Crain Communications Inc. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405190541/http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20070423/FREE/70423009|archive-date=2012-04-05|url-status=dead |access-date=2011-02-12}}</ref> Additionally, she and her husband have contributed over $1,000,000 to the Clinton Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/clinton-foundation-donor-list/ |title= Clinton Foundation Donor List |date=December 18, 2008 |work=FOXNews.com |publisher=Fox News Network, LLC |access-date=2011-02-12}}</ref> She was also "part of the national finance team for the Obama campaign, having personally raised over $350,000" as of August 2008.<ref name="auto"/> Bagley also "raised the maximum $600,000 for President Obama's inauguration events" in 2009.<ref name="obit">{{cite news |title=Smith Bagley dies at 74; Democratic fundraiser, socialite |first=Patricia |last=Sullivan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/03/AR2010010302036.html |newspaper=Washington Post |location=Washington, DC |date=January 4, 2010 |access-date=2011-02-12 }}</ref> President Obama visited her residence in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C. in 2011, and First Lady Michelle Obama was the main speaker at a fundraiser at her home on Mothers Day, May 2012.<ref name=obamavisit>{{cite news | url=http://www.thegeorgetowndish.com/thedish/president-obama-visits-bagley-residence-georgetown | title=President Obama visits Bagley residence in Georgetown | publisher=The Georgetown dish | last=Solomon | first=Beth |date=September 16, 2011 }}</ref>
==Philanthropy== [[File:ICMEC Board.jpg|thumb|Elizabeth Frawley Bagley with the Board of Directors of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children]]
She is a board member for The American Ireland Fund, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
==Personal life== On December 17, 1983, she married Smith Bagley, a social activist, Democratic fundraiser, business executive, and the grandson of R.J. Reynolds. He died in January 2010 at age 74.<ref name="obit" /> Together, they had two children: Vaughan Elizabeth Bagley and Conor Reynolds Bagley.
She resides in Washington, D.C.<ref name=obamavisit/> She also owns a house in Nantucket.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2016/07/28/trump-clinton-nantucket/ | title=Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Are Coming to Nantucket | work=Boston Magazine | last=Clauss | first=Kyle | date=July 28, 2016 | access-date=December 20, 2016 | archive-date=December 21, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221092931/http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2016/07/28/trump-clinton-nantucket/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Bagley and her children own the operations of cell phone operator Cellular One in Northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico, under the holding company Smith Bagley Inc. which does business as Cellular One of East Arizona.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wireless2.fcc.gov/ownerQryDetail/ownership-search-results-detail.htm?applId=9443259|title=Indirect Ownership, Ownership, 01/28/2016|date=2016-01-28|access-date=2016-06-27|publisher=FCC}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Elizabeth Bagley}} * [http://www.irlfunds.org/aif/boston/events_nantucket_09.asp irlfunds.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315170500/http://www.irlfunds.org/aif/boston/events_nantucket_09.asp |date=2010-03-15 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090609232127/http://www.americanambassadors.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Members.view&memberid=14 Council of American Ambassadors] * {{C-SPAN|1007737}}
{{US Ambassadors to Brazil}} {{US Ambassadors to Portugal}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagley, Elizabeth}} Category:1952 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American women lawyers Category:21st-century American lawyers Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Brazil Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal Category:Women ambassadors of the United States Category:Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Category:Georgetown University Law Center alumni Category:People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) Category:Regis College (Massachusetts) alumni Category:United States special envoys