USA and Romania Working Hard to Stay Strong Together: An Interview with Ambassador James Rosapepe
James Carew Rosapepe was born on May 20, 1951, in Rome, Italy. He is the son of two freelance journalists. He grew up in New York before moving to the Washington area in the late 1960s. Rosapepe attended Yale University as an undergraduate student.
He was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates (1987–1997). Then he was appointed as Ambassador to Romania during the Bill Clinton administration and ended his mandate during the George W. Bush administration (1998–2001). An internal State Department report was strongly critical of Rosapepe’s leadership and management during his ambassadorial service, while crediting him with several accomplishments.
Upon his recall from Romania, Rosapepe was appointed to serve on the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland. He left the board to run against incumbent Senator John Gianetti in District 21, whom he defeated in the 2006 election for Maryland State Senator in District 21. He was unopposed in the 2010 and 2014 elections. Maryland State Senator Rosapepe (2007 — to present) currently sits on the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee and serves as a Deputy Majority Whip.
I have known Ambassador Rosapepe since the summer of 1999, during the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC, when the festival hosted programs on New Hampshire, Romania, and South Africa.
I also remember the fact that, during Ambassador Rosapepe’s mandate in Bucharest, I started to receive at home the U.S. Embassy in Romania informative bulletins, the first initiative of its kind to connect people on the embassy mailing list.
During the period of October 3 and 4, 2019, James Rosapepe attended, as a Board Chair, the annual ALIANŢA/The Alliance Gala, in Washington, DC, at the Conrad Hotel and the Romanian Embassy, respectively.
With that occasion, on October 3, 2019, Ambassador Rosapepe granted me an exclusive interview.
1. Mr. Ambassador James Rosapepe, you served as a U.S. Ambassador to Romania in the past. How would you characterize the year of 2019 for Romania and Romanians?
Well, I am not living in Romania right now. So I am not the one to judge. It’s for Romanians to judge. Obviously, you are having an election campaign going on [the Romanian presidential election of November 2019]. And this is a very competitive election, and that’s what democracy is all about. So, I am always enthusiastic about Romanian democracy and it seems to be going strong.
2. Thank you so much, Mr. Ambassador. How would you characterize, in short, the U.S. relations with Romania during the current administrations, Trump and Iohannis?
My impression is they are good. I think both the U.S. administration and the Romanian administration have worked hard to stay strong and keep the strategic alliance together.
3. Thank you so much, Mr. Ambassador. Last question: what challenges will Romania face in the future, in your opinion?
I think the challenge is in everyone. In running, the world faces with climate change. Weather is every way. So, we are all facing challenges of climate change. Obviously, as a member of NATO, next to Ukraine, across the Black Sea from Russia, Romania has security concerns that make its NATO alliance and partnership, the strategic partnership with the United States, as important as ever. And that’s what ALIANŢA is about. It’s maintaining that strong people-to-people relationship between Americans and Romanians.
4. Thank you so much, Mr. Ambassador. You were very kind.
Thank you.
(October 08, 2019)
NOTE — Versions of the article were published in:
AMERICAN THINKER (El Cerrito/San Francisco, California) [+ comments]
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and
CARIBBEAN NEWS GLOBAL (Brooklyn/New York City, New York) [+ views, comments]
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and
CARIBBEAN NEWS NOW! (Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas) [ comments]
***
and
CONSERVATIVE READ (Scottsdale/Phoenix, Arizona) [ comments]
***
and
INTELLECTUAL CONSERVATIVE (Phoenix, Arizona) [ comments]
and
MARIANAS VARIETY (Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands) [ comments]
and
MEDIUM (San Francisco, California) [100+ views; comments; 100+ likes]
and
SAIPAN TRIBUNE (Garapan/Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands) [ comments]
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and featured in:
320ro.com (Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom) [ comments]
***
and
ACCENT (Toronto, Canada) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
ACTIVE BOARD
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and
AFRO-CONSCIOUS MEDIA (Canada; Long Beach, California) [ comments]
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and
ALTERNATIVA/THE ALTERNATIVE (Toronto, Canada) (_________ 2018) [in Romanian] [NOTE = scroll down on the journal’s home page to get the article and then press OPEN on the article]
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and
ARMONIA/THE HARMONY (Hickory/Charlotte, North Carolina) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and also
ARMONIA MAGAZINE/THE HARMONY MAGAZINE (Hickory/Charlotte, North Carolina) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
BLUNT FORCE TRUTH (Detroit, Michigan) [ comments]
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and
BURNING PLATFORM [ comments]
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and
CARIBBEAN POST (Santiago, Dominican Republic) [ comments]
***
and
CLICK ROMANIA (London, United Kingdom) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
CURENTUL/THE CURRENT (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
CURENTUL INTERNAŢIONAL/THE INTERNATIONAL CURRENT (Sterling Heights/Detroit, Michigan) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
FIWEH (Okinawa, Japan) [ comments]
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and
FREE REPUBLIC (Fresno, California) [ comments]
***
and
GÂNDACUL DE COLORADO/THE COLORADO BEETLE (Estes Park/Denver, Colorado) [in Romanian] [ + views; comments]
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and
GOP BRIEFING ROOM [ + views; comments]
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and
INVESTORS HUB (London, United Kingdom) [ comments]
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and
JURNAL DE CHIŞINĂU/CHIŞINĂU JOURNAL (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
LUCIANNE.COM (Cliffside Park, New Jersey) [ + comments]
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and
LUMEA ROMÂNEASCĂ/THE ROMANIAN WORLD (Grand Rapids, Michigan) [in Romanian]
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and
MENAFN (Amman, Jordan)
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and
MERIDIANUL ROMÂNESC/THE ROMANIAN MERIDIAN (Santa Clarita/Los Angeles, California) [in Romanian]
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and
MEXICAN OCCUPATION
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and
MIORIŢA USA (Sacramento, California) [in Romanian]
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and also
MIORIŢA USA (Sacramento, California), printed edition [in Romanian]
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and
MOLDOVA9/NEW MOLDOVA (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
MOLDOVA ŞTIRI/MOLDOVA NEWS (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] (300+ views; comments]
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and
MORNING IN ARIZONA [ comments]
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and
NAŢIUNEA/THE NATION (Bucharest, Romania) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
NEW YORK MAGAZIN/NEW YORK MAGAZINE (New York City, New York) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
OBSERVATORUL/THE OBSERVER (Toronto, Canada) [in Romanian]
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and
OCCIDENTUL ROMÂNESC/ROMANIAN WEST (Madrid, Spain)
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and
OFICIAL/OFFICIAL (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
PARADIGMS AND DEMOGRAPHICS (Cleveland, Ohio) [ comments]
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and
PROTECTORS OF LIBERTY (Mount Pleasant, Michigan) [ comments]
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and
QOSHE (Netherlands & Turkey)
***
and
QWIKET (Kingston, New York) [ comments]
***
and
ROMANIA JOURNAL (Bucharest, Romania) [ + views; comments]
***
and
ROMANIAN TIMES (Portland, Oregon) [in Romanian]
and also
ROMANIAN TIMES (Portland, Oregon) (printed edition, p. 15) [in Romanian]
and also
ROMANIAN TIMES (Portland, Oregon) (printed edition, p. 14) [in Romanian]
and
SAVE AMERICA FOUNDATION (Clearwater, Florida)
***
and
TAPATALK (Santa Monica/Los Angeles, California) [ comments]
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and
TIMP ROMÂNESC/ROMANIAN TIME (Bucharest, Romania) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
TRIBUNA/THE TRIBUNE (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [ comments]
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and also
TRIBUNA/THE TRIBUNE (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
TRIBUNA ROMÂNEASCĂ/ROMANIAN TRIBUNE (Chicago, Illinois) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
TRULY TIMES [ + views, comments]
***
and
TRUMP’S MINUTEMEN (Fort Worth, Texas)
***
and
UNIMEDIA (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ + views, comments]
***
and
US POLITICS 10z [ comments]
***
and
ZIARUL DE GARDĂ/THE GUARD NEWSPAPER (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian]
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and referenced in:
CENTRUL DE PRESĂ — PRESSPEDIA/THE PRESS CENTER — PRESSPEDIA (Bucharest, Romania) [in Romanian] [+ views]
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and
CURENTUL INTERNAŢIONAL/INTERNATIONAL CURRENT — FACEBOOK (Sterling Heights/Detroit, Michigan) [in Romanian]
***
and
HUMAN RIGHTS QUARTERLY (Cincinnati, Ohio)
***
and
LIBERAL FORUM
***
and
MUCK RACK (New York, New York)
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and
OBAMA LIES
***
and
PRESS RUSH (Turku, Finland)
***
and
THY BLACK MAN [ comments]
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and
ZENITH NEWS (Duluth, Minnesota)
***
NUMBER OF PUBLICATIONS = 6
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