UNDER SECRETARY KENNEDY: Secretary Baker was not able to be with us here this evening, but it’s now my honor to read a letter from the 61st Secretary of State:

“Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. I regret that I am unable to join Secretary Kerry and my former secretary colleagues, all of whom have been crucial to the creation of the U.S. Diplomacy Center Pavilion. The completion of the Diplomacy Center represents a goal towards which they and so many others have worked.

Since our nation was founded, America’s diplomats have played indispensable roles in maintaining security and peace at home and around the world. Their stories are filled with many bright moments, from the Louisiana and Alaska purchases that helped build one nation, to the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after World War II. It includes the Monroe Doctrine’s pledge not to meddle in European affairs during the early 19th century, as well as American efforts to spread diplomacy and democracy across Eastern Europe and the globe during the second half of the 20th century.

It is for these and so many other reasons I am proud that this center will tell the story of U.S. diplomacy and honor its diplomats. This Diplomacy Center will provide an enduring legacy as a gift to the American people. It will be a museum and caretaker for our nation’s diplomatic history, a monument to the diplomats who so often work behind the scenes promoting American interest. It will also be an educational center and the first museum where the public may experience diplomacy as a tangible reality.

I have been a passionate advocate for the U.S. Diplomacy Center since its inception and, like many of you here tonight, feel privileged to know that our long-shared dream is now a reality. I salute everyone who contributed time, money, and effort to this center, and appreciate all the hard work it took to build it.

Sincerely, James A. Baker, III.” (Applause.)

It is now my pleasure to introduce the Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, the 64th Secretary of State. (Applause.)

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Definitely height-challenged.

Thank you very much, Pat, for the introduction, but thank you very much for everything that you’ve done for the Department and for all of us. Secretary Kerry, Secretary Clinton, Secretary Powell, Ambassador Bagley, and former State Department colleagues and distinguished guests, I am truly delighted to be here with all of you. And I am especially grateful to be able to appear at this center in person and not as an exhibit, at least not yet. (Laughter.)

Having been secretary when the idea was originally proposed, I can say without hesitation that this day is most welcome. And while there are many people to recognize and thank, I do want to single out the Diplomacy Center’s intrepid director, Kathy Johnson, for her outstanding efforts. She really – (applause). Thank you.

When I spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for the center many years ago, I noted that our country had not accorded sufficient recognition to the immense contributions that diplomacy makes to our security, prosperity, and freedom; and the Center will make up for that by bringing the deeds of our diplomats to life, showing the challenges they face and the risks they run to advance America’s interests and uphold our values around the world. By making these stories more accessible, it will help the American public to understand what our diplomats have been doing and, more importantly, why they have been doing it.

When I was secretary, I tried many different ways to make foreign policy seem less foreign to the American people. I was the first secretary to have a website, which really makes me feel as though I belong in a museum, but I found that one of the most effective tools was one of the most unlikely ones, and that was my jewelry. I became known for using a pin or a broach to send a message: a butterfly if I was in a good mood, a balloon to show that I had high hopes, and a spider if I wanted my counterpart to watch out. (Laughter.)

As you can imagine, by the time I left office, I had built up a considerable collection. And a few years ago my former chief of staff, Elaine Shocas, came to me with the idea of writing a book and doing a museum exhibit about the pins. At that point, I asked the obvious question: “Are you out of your mind?” Her answer was that it would be both educational and fun, and I have to admit that she was absolutely right. The exhibit “Read My Pins” has been on tour throughout the United States since 2009, and when it ends up in 2018 it will have been to 22 museums, including the Smithsonian and eight of the 13 presidential libraries.

I was humbled and surprised by the success of the exhibit, but I realized that since many of my predecessors had beards and none was known to wear a skirt, my use of pins to send a diplomatic message was something new in American history, and that did make them consequential. And it got us thinking about where they should reside in perpetuity. The answer was obvious: here at the Diplomacy Center. So as we mark the completion of the museum pavilion, I am thrilled to announce that I will donate “Read My Pins” to the Diplomacy Center – (applause) – I have to say much to the consternation of my youngest granddaughter, who said, “Who’s getting all this stuff?” (Laughter.) I’m truly honored to be able to share my story with the country and to know that my pins will have a wonderful home in our nation’s preeminent museum of diplomacy.

Today, we’re closer than ever to making that museum a reality. So thank you all so much for helping this day and to making it possible. And thank you all – all of you – for the great work that you’ve done and to make vital the work of this Department more understandable and more accessible to people. Thank you so very, very much. (Applause.)

UNDER SECRETARY: Thank you, Madam Secretary. It is now my honor to introduce the Honorable Colin L. Powell, the 65th Secretary of State. (Applause.)

SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much. It’s a great pleasure to be with you this evening and a great pleasure to be back in the Department of State, and I want to express my thanks also to those of you who are responsible for this tremendous center – those who were there when it was initiated, those who have worked tirelessly to bring it into existence. And I think it’ll be a remarkable addition to our museum system here in Washington D.C., our centers where we celebrate sacrifice and service for all Americans who have done that.

Now, I have a small problem. Madeleine gave her pins away. I’m trying to think, how can I match that? (Laughter.) I have about 500 military challenge coins, but that won’t make it. They’re all gone already. But I do have one other thing that I had already given to the Department years ago and the Department refused to give it back to me, so it is here somewhere in the collection. It probably will not be displayed in the catalogue that you’re going to get later this evening or will be out shortly, but it was a treasure that I gave to the Department. And what they did with it kind of scares me.

It was a bottle of vodka. (Laughter.) It was a bottle of vodka given to me by my dear friend, the former foreign minister of the Russian Federation, Igor Ivanov. And the Department said you’ve got to turn it in. Said it’s a bottle of vodka – you’ve got to turn it in. (Laughter.) So I turned it in, and the next thing I knew, they had given it an evaluation of something like $500. And I said you can’t be serious, it’s a bottle of vodka. What made it unique – I understand this, but I don’t think they really had to do all of that – the bottle is the image of an AK-47 assault rifle. (Laughter.) And in all of its glory, it is now here in the State Department – AK-47 vodka. Now, if I’d thought a little more carefully about it, I would’ve sent them an AK-47 bottle filled with water and taken the vodka. (Laughter.)

But it’s just so symbolic of the kinds of gifts and things that we are presented as former secretaries and secretaries by people who want to touch us in an important way and who want to contribute to our heritage and to our history. And that’s why this particular facility, this center, is going to be so important for many generations to come, whether it’s pins, vodka, or all the other wonderful things that are here to be displayed.

A few months ago, I was at the National War College, my alma mater. I graduated from there 40 years ago. And I was there because they dedicated a center to me, a hall at the National War College building, that historic building. It’s in the old library on the ground floor, and many of my things are being displayed there. But they said to me, “Well, would you give us something that we can put on a block of marble and mount over the entrance to the library, to your hall?”

And I thought about it and I came up with the following: I came here to study war. And while I learned about war, I learned even more about the importance of finding peace. And you who are assembled here this evening and all of the work in this building are the ones who go about finding peace. You work hard to keep us from ever getting into a war. You work hard to find ways to solve things peacefully and through diplomacy and politics. And if war comes, you are there with us; you are helping us with the prosecution of that war and bring it to and end. And when the war is over, it’s the diplomats who take center stage to make sure that what we had achieved is then embedded in the soul of the country.

You should be so proud of what each and every person in this department does every single day and those foreign employees that we have. You can be so proud that this center now represents all that service and sacrifice for so many, many years. You can be proud to always carry the title of “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” Thank you very much. (Applause.)

UNDER SECRETARY KENNEDY: It is now my pleasure to introduce the Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 67th Secretary of State. Madam Secretary. (Applause.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, thank you. (Cheers.) Thank you all very much. (Cheers.) Thank you, thank you. It is – it’s such a great delight to be back here at the State Department with so many former colleagues and so many friends. And I am thrilled to be here at the new Hillary Clinton Pavilion. I’m sure you will notice it is the most transparent part of the entire project. (Laughter.)

And to be with my colleagues Secretary Albright and Secretary Powell and Secretary Kerry and to know that all of the former living secretaries have really pledged their efforts to bringing about this Diplomacy Center, and Pat – Pat Kennedy – to you and every member of the Foreign and Civil Service as well as the local nationals who represent our interests around the world, thank you. Thank you for devoting your lives to our country. Serving alongside you was one of the great honors of my life, and I will always be proud of the work we did together.

I want to recognize Ambassador Bagley, who was tireless in pursuit of the opportunity to tell the story of the center and bring more attention to it, and to all the donors who worked so hard to bring this to light.

I’m excited about the historic artifacts and the cutting-edge exhibits that will be here to teach and inspire future generations about the work of our country’s diplomats. And I am particularly pleased to see my friend and my congresswoman, Congressman Nita Lowey, here, who has been instrumental in supporting the work of the State Department and USAID over so many years in the Congress.

Students and visitors alike will be able to simulate high-stakes diplomatic negotiation, learn more about about resolving disputes in our increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. I think we should look for some dispensation when the center is finally finished and opened to the public to toast it with the vodka from the AK-47 bottle – (laughter) – and stand in front of Madeleine’s pins trying to decipher what they all mean.

This will also help more Americans understand the ways in which their generosity and innovation have improved lives around the world. There will be, for example, a clean cookstove on display. That is another one of the public-private partnerships that we launched to prevent millions of needless deaths from dirty stoves and toxic smoke around the world.

There will be so many opportunities for visitors to get a deeper understanding of what that word “diplomacy” means, and every secretary since Jefferson and generations of diplomats will have their work reflected in this museum. We may have belonged to different political parties, served in different eras, faced different challenges, but we all believed deeply in the United States of America and the mission that our country has to lead the world with strength, smarts, and confidence in our values.

Diplomacy is one of the greatest forces for peace, prosperity, and progress the world has ever known. And today, the lessons of this museum are more vital and urgent than ever. Democracy, freedom, and the rule of law are under attack around the world. A rising tide of authoritarianism and illiberalism threatens the foundations of the post-World War II global era that American diplomats have built and defended since Marshall and Acheson.

And at a time when the longstanding bipartisan goal of a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace is under enormous pressure, we would do well to remember what it feels like to stand in the shadow of the giant segment of the Berlin Wall that will greet visitors here at the center. It’s signed by leaders who helped end the Cold War, unified Germany, and expand democracy.

So history has a lot to teach us. It also is a reminder that we have our own challenges and our own opportunities. We should remember that the world looks to America as the indispensable nation not just because of the size of our military or the strength of our economy. It looks to us because America stands for universal values and aspirations; and if we stay true to those values, like the best of the men and women whose leadership and service will be commemorated here, then our country will weather every storm on the horizon.

Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

UNDER SECRETARY KENNEDY: Thank you very much, Madam Secretary. It’s now my pleasure to introduce the 68th and current Secretary of State, the Honorable John F. Kerry. (Applause.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you all – thank you very, very much for joining us for this wonderful occasion. And I am particularly grateful for you being here to hold my hand on the cusp of my becoming one of the most visible unemployed people in America. (Laughter.) I join everybody in being delighted to open this new – or to recognize the finishing of the Diplomacy Center Pavilion, and it’s really a pleasure – a special pleasure – to welcome Madeleine and Colin and Hillary back here. And I know each and every one of you have already demonstrated your affection and your gratitude for their service and for what they have done to help make this possible.

I couldn’t help but think that just a little while ago we had a goodbye ceremony for Tony Blinken, who has been an absolutely superb deputy and done an extraordinary job, and he graciously praised me by saying that I never quit. And I wondered immediately whether or not I could apply that to January 20th or not. (Laughter.) But I don’t think I would be so lucky.

I also, as I listened to Colin talk about an AK-47 filled with vodka, I said, “Man, I’m going to tell if Rex Tillerson gets approved and that happens, I’m going to suggest that he make certain that every AK-47 in the world be filled with vodka.” That would be a better world, folks. (Laughter.) We’ve got to work on that. (Applause.)

As folks have mentioned, it’s been just two years since the former secretaries and all of us joined out in front here to break ground on this remarkable facility, and it’s really hard to believe that so much has been accomplished so quickly. There are a lot of people to thank for that, and one of them has already been singled out, but I want to single her out again. Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley is indefatigable. She has excelled at the hard and thankless task of fundraising like nobody else before. And I want to give you all a little bit of advice – urge all of you who have been avoiding eye contact with her – (laughter) – surrender. (Laughter.) Resistance is useless. (Laughter.) She is – she – the force is with her, folks. And Elizabeth, we owe you just an enormous debt of gratitude. Thank you. (Applause.)

And the same goes for the generous donors who are here with us. We are so grateful to you for stepping up and being part of this. And I ask you just to look around you at this magnificent building. This is going to be a winner. It’s going to be an extraordinary addition to the mosaic of our incredible museums here in this city, the nation’s capital – visually impressive, educational, enduring, patriotic, and long overdue. And make no mistake, we could not have gotten anywhere, much less this far, without your willingness to take a flyer and believe in this enterprise.

So thank you, but in any marathon, the last few miles are the most challenging, and I am duty-bound to say to you we’ve got a couple of miles still to go. The finish line is still up ahead and I ask everyone and anyone who has the ability to help recruit others to help us finish this off. Let us bridge the gap between what we have and what we need.

Now, also, I really want to thank my predecessors. The idea of a facility such as this has been around for quite a while. And under the leadership of Kathy Johnson, the U.S. Diplomacy Center has an ongoing program of education and outreach, and it already has gathered more than 7,000 historic artifacts. That is a number that will be augmented and classed up by the very generous contribution of Secretary Albright’s famously expressive pins or broaches. I might add I think, given the value of some of them, she’s probably raised the insurance rate on the building too in doing so. (Laughter.)

We have, amazingly, long lacked a appropriate venue where we could create a visitor-friendly and interactive set of exhibits that would bring diplomacy to life. And it was during Secretary Albright’s tenure that the project really kicked off, and her initiative has been obviously strongly supported by secretaries from Secretary Kissinger all the way through Secretary Clinton. I hope all of you will join me because they are the force that really got this going. I got to come in here when the plans were done and we were well along the way, but I think all of us should join them in saying a special thank you for what they have created for our nation and for (inaudible). (Applause.)

I want to thank Ambassador Bill Harrop and the Diplomacy Center Foundation. They deserve enormous credit for their leadership and for gathering support from the founding ambassadors.

Now, this all leads to a question which has been spoken to to some degree by each of my colleagues, and that is: Why is it important that we share the story of American diplomacy? Well, the answer, I think, begins with one of my favorite poems, by Robert Frost, in which a tree falls across the road in the middle of the woods and the obstacle forces a traveler to halt in his tracks and, quote, “get down in a foot of snow debating what to do without an ax.” That strikes me as a pretty fair description of what diplomacy is all about: solving the trees in the road, the unexpected problems, without an ax. And there’s no magic formula for success. It requires the right combination of knowledge, leverage, advocacy, reason, and timing. And especially when differences are narrow, it can benefit from strong personal relationships such as those forged by each of the secretaries sitting here at the dais. And I know from my own experience that although countries are always guided by their own interests, face-to-face discussions can still influence how those interests are judged, how they are met, and sometimes turning a no to a perhaps or, even better, maybe to yes. I think every secretary here has seen that happen.

As the exhibits in this pavilion will one day show, the accomplishments of American diplomacy are inseparable from the birth, youth, and growth of our country. And that was hinted at from the very beginning when Mr. Benjamin Franklin, who is reputed to be our first diplomat, introduced himself to the court of King Louis XVI. Imagine a minister who could outtalk his counterparts, outmaneuver his rivals, out-flirt the French – (laughter) – and outwork anyone in pursuit of freedom and independence for our infant country. In subsequent years, American diplomats were indispensable in ending foreign conflicts, expanding our nation’s boundaries, and laying the foundation for international cooperation through development and through the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions, NATO, the OAS, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

During the Cold War, our diplomacy remained in high gear – it made all the difference – successfully containing the communist threat and eluding the perils of an era in which countries were compelled to rely for survival on the concept of mutually assured destruction.

In more recent years, we’ve moved to enlarge the Euro-Atlantic community, halt ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, dismantle the most dangerous aspects of Iran’s nuclear program, forge a global coalition against Daesh terrorists, restore relations with Cuba, and take unprecedented steps to curb the dangers posed by climate change.

Obviously, that’s just scratching the surface. George Kennan compared diplomacy to overseeing his Pennsylvanian farm where the woods were constantly growing, and fences were falling down, and paint peeling, and insects burrowing, and roofs leaking, and harsh weather arriving in defiance of all predictions. The sole certainty was the need for vigilance because nothing ever stood still – and this place will be a monument to that maxim.

By keeping pace and by ensuring that American leadership is not only still needed in the world but broadly welcomed, our diplomats have written a truly extraordinary tale that will bear telling over and over again for generations. And we will soon have the ideal place in which to relate that story.

So once again, I thank our donors and the former secretaries who have contributed so much. I also congratulate Pat Kennedy and his team on the superb job that they have done; our superb architectural firm, Beyer Blinder Belle; and the men and the women of the Gilbane construction company which I know well from Massachusetts and New England; and the Heery International and everyone else who has played a constructive role in this effort.

I want to emphasize that, picking up a little bit on what Hillary said, this – this could not be happening at a better time. There are many voices in the world who have essentially given up on diplomacy. They see, and some openly encourage, the breakdown of cooperation, the building of economic and political walls, and the growth of mistrust and division along racial, ethnic, national, and religious lines. The story of American diplomacy reflects a far different and far more uplifting vision, one of optimism about the ability of people from vastly different backgrounds to work together productively and in peace.

We know that that can happen abroad. Why? Because we’ve done it here at home. And no country has melted more people of different backgrounds and varied aspirations and hopes than we have in the United States of America. That’s the great thing that separates us from every other country in the world. We’re not defined by ethnicity. We’re not defined by lineage. We’re not defined by names. We’re not defined by where we come from. We are defined by an idea. Unlike most other nations, the idea is that all people are created equal and that you can pursue life, liberty, and happiness.

So I welcome all of you optimists, difference-makers, and history-lovers to this pavilion, and I thank each and every one of you for your enthusiasm and your support, and may this new year be filled with the good fortunes and the blessings that you and we in the United States of America deserve. Thank you. (Applause.)