Frank Wisner played important roles around the world for 60 years, earning him a prominent place in in the annals of U.S. foreign policy. I first met Frank in Islamabad, Pakistan when, as the U.S. ambassador in next-door India, he came for consultations with my new ambassador. As was the case for all who met him, Frank’s strategic intelligence, biting humor, and self-assurance, informed by a willingness to listen carefully and empathize, left a lasting impression on me.

Twenty years later, Frank was the driving force behind the founding of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, designed to provide serious analysis to American and Gulf leaders to help bridge any gaps in understandings between these important parts of the world. I met Frank again in 2019 when I became president of AGSIW. Until his passing, he still exuded his passion for international relations, his engagement with even the most controversial issues, and his joie de vivre.

The loss of Frank Wisner has been a blow to his friends and colleagues. As a tribute to the man who – among many other things – gave birth to AGSIW 10 years ago, we have collected remembrances from several of the many who Frank profoundly affected.

Ambassador Douglas A. Silliman
President, AGSIW

A Visionary Leader and Statesman

I received a call in Spring 2014 from my former boss, my mentor and my friend, Frank G. Wisner, asking me to join a small team working on establishing a new think tank in Washington, DC focused on the Gulf Arab states. In the late 1980s, I was fortunate to have worked for Ambassador Frank G. Wisner, one of the State Department’s legendary diplomats, as his press attaché in Cairo. Those were tumultuous times in the region with the invasion and then the liberation of Kuwait but also the first Arab-Israeli Peace Conference held in Madrid in 1991. We stayed in constant contact throughout our diplomatic careers and subsequent transition to the private sector.

I was not surprised to hear from him in 2014 with a new project in mind because Frank was always involved in new initiatives and remained fully engaged with the Middle East during his time at Squire Patton Boggs. My first reaction to Frank’s idea of establishing a new think tank in Washington was one of skepticism. I argued that a new outfit would have a difficult time competing with long-standing institutions with decades of credibility and funding resources. While Frank recognized the challenges, he believed that, to navigate through the Middle East’s historic transformation in the aftermath of the Iraq War and the Arab Spring, U.S. policymakers needed to have a clear understanding of the key countries in the Gulf region. The absence of expert and timely coverage was a gap that had to be filled to ensure strong American political and economic ties with the Gulf states. Rather than the more superficial regional overviews that were available at the time, he believed focus on the unique social, political, and economic issues facing each country was necessary to avoid faulty policy assumptions

I joined the team to establish the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, and we launched the organization in 2015. I had the privilege and honor to once again work with Frank, this time as AGSIW’s first president. As the founding board chair, Frank was instrumental in guiding the organization through the many challenges we faced in the early years, from recruiting an influential board to hiring a professional team of scholars and staff. He devoted time and effort to AGSIW’s development as a credible, influential institution in the competitive environment of Washington by opening doors on the Hill, in the business community, and within the administration.

This year AGSIW is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and Frank would have been at the center of the events planned to mark this important milestone. AGSIW stands today as his enduring legacy and a strong symbol of his commitment to improving relations between the United States and the Gulf states. I deeply mourn the passing of this wonderful statesman, visionary leader, and dear friend, Frank G. Wisner.

Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba
President Emeritus and Distinguished Fellow, AGSIW

A Diplomat of Olympian Skill

The generation of American foreign service officers who came into our nation’s diplomatic corps in the 1960s is gently moving on, leaving behind proud legacies of public service and a standard of achievement for the generations. No one served America more ably than Ambassador Frank Wisner, who left us in February. A diplomat of Olympian skill, he was a charming raconteur, cultured and thoughtful in several languages, a skilled bird hunter, a warm soul who took tea and Egyptian bread with vendors in the Khan al-Khalili as comfortably as he chatted with Scandinavian counterparts. Many, many of us were proud to have worked with him, and every day we seek to follow his example of service – as a leader, as a public and private citizen, as an American patriot, and as a person.

Ambassador C. David Welch
Board Chair, AGSIW

A Mentor and an Inspiration

Frank was one of America’s most accomplished diplomats – a statesman in every meaning. He was a passionate and effective champion of the United States in every post he served. But Frank was also a citizen of the world who cared deeply about people and about peace.

To me, Frank was that and much more. It is hard to describe the influence that he has had on me. He was a friend, a mentor, a teacher, and an inspiration.

We first met when I was a high school senior in Cairo. He was the U.S. ambassador to Egypt. I wanted to go to college in the U.S. and reached out to him. He invited me into his office for a talk.

Frank saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself back then. He wrote a recommendation letter to Georgetown University for me. He guided me to think about a career in international relations. Even after he went on to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Philippines and India and then after to positions in the private sector, Frank never lost touch.

From that fortuitous meeting in high school grew a lifelong friendship that has endured for more than 35 years. He was the wise uncle, the career coach, and, eventually when I became a diplomat myself, the indispensable advisor.

Frank left a mark on the world and on me. The world will miss him. I will miss him.

My deepest sympathies go out to Frank’s family and friends.

Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba
Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States

The Founder

It was one of those nights in Houston, Texas during the winter of 2014. What got me from Cairo earlier was the need for treatment for leukemia at MD Anderson hospital. Because my immunity was low, I was almost like a prisoner in an apartment waiting for the next chemotherapy. It was then when I got a phone call from Frank Wisner, the U.S. ambassador to Egypt from 1986 to 1991. It was a habit of most U.S. ambassadors to deal and talk to those writers of Al-Ahram newspaper in Cairo and particularly the researchers and experts of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. In Houston, Frank was checking on me and my health over a cup of tea. It was the beginning of the birth of AGSIW.

At the time I was connected with the government of the UAE first to lead a project about the identity of the state (2008-09) and establish the Regional Center for Strategic Studies in Cairo in 2012, The Future Center for Political Advanced Studies in Abu Dhabi, and, upon my advice, a center for Arab Gulf states in Washington. Before coming to Houston, a study was done to look for the position of the Gulf in U.S. academic and research circles, and the result was very poor. I was commissioned to start a center that recognizes the Gulf region and the importance of its relationship with the USA. And that was when I had that cup of tea with Frank and, over a few hours of discussion, developed a conceptual vision of what would later become an institute. AGSI in Washington was born. Frank was not only to be the chairman of the board but more so the first advisor.

Frank was a creator of institutions. I have learned a lot from him. God bless his soul for the many great works that he established.

Abdel Monem Said Aly
Founding Director, Honorary Chair, and Treasurer of the Board, AGSIW

The Idea Machine

Among the many pleasures afforded me during my tenure at AGSIW, few matched that of having a second chance to work with Frank Wisner. My first opportunity had been at Embassy New Delhi, where I served as Frank’s press attaché for three years. Nothing in my career had prepared me for the challenges of trying to keep up with a perpetual-motion machine. Frank simply would not sit still. He had to be doing something, and he traveled the length and breadth of India in the process. I chased after him on most of those trips, organizing media events and carrying extra copies of the remarks I had written for him, most of which he had the good sense to rewrite before delivering.

I’d seen him only once before I joined AGSIW as executive vice president in 2015. It was eight years earlier, the day I was sworn in as ambassador to Yemen. I invited Frank to attend the ceremony, and he agreed, which pleased me enormously. As we gathered in the ornate Franklin Room on the eighth floor of the State Department that day, I couldn’t spot Frank and was told that he was meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Of course he was. The only assurance I had that he would actually make it to the swearing-in was the fact that Secretary Rice had agreed to officiate, which meant the odds were good she would bring him along when the time came, and she did.

Fast forward to 2015, and there I am once again working (at least indirectly) for Frank, who was board chair. He hadn’t lost a step in the intervening years, nor had the enviable power of his intellect diminished one bit. Every board meeting began with a tour d’horizon of the Gulf, extending to the Middle East and from there wherever the conversation wandered. Frank was never happier than in those moments, relishing the give-and-take, reminding us of the historical antecedents, and assessing current crises and opportunities we could see and those just beginning to make themselves felt. Of course, each conversation would produce a prodigious list of “suggestions” Frank would have for how AGSIW might engage on the issues discussed, regardless of how tenuous the connection might seem to the Gulf Arab states. The trick was to gently deflect those ideas that were, shall we say, the least brilliant and pursue those that were absolutely spot-on, that got to the heart of the geopolitical dynamics central to the region’s security and prosperity and its relations with the United States and the world.

Not that I ever tried to argue the distinction with Frank. He was an idea machine, churning them out at a head-spinning clip. So what if they weren’t all great? No major league baseball player has hit .400 in a single season since 1941, when the inestimable Ted Williams hit .406 in the best year of his career, and, for sure, Frank’s percentage of good ideas was much higher than that. In fact, I’m sure he’s off somewhere right now regaling another rapt audience with more than enough ideas to last an eternity. Which is exactly as it should be.

It’s just that we’re a bit diminished by his absence. More than a bit, if I’m being honest. At this moment, in this world of ours, we can scarcely afford to lose individuals of principle like Frank Wisner, whose voice was clear, honest, and compelling, and whose moral compass never wavered.

Ambassador Stephen A. Seche
Former Executive Vice President, AGSIW

A Legacy of Kindness, Generosity, and Wisdom

Ambassador Frank Wisner was a remarkable and distinguished diplomat, a terrific negotiator with a brilliant mind, yet so personable, humble, and giving to so many individuals and organizations.

I had the pleasure of meeting Frank Wisner in 1994 when he became the U.S. ambassador to India. He was extremely well received by the Indian government and leaders of the business community, which helped forge a close and ever-lasting relationship between the United States and India. We were fortunate to have Ambassador Wisner subsequently join our board as chairman of the U.S.-India Business Council, which flourished under his leadership.

As our former U.S. ambassador to Egypt, Frank Wisner was very well respected in the Arab world. After retiring from government, Ambassador Wisner played a pivotal role in creating a closer relationship with the Gulf Arab countries as the founding chairman of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Frank was instrumental in working with senior U.S. and Gulf Arab diplomats and policy experts in developing AGSIW as a leading think tank in fostering intellectual, political, and business discourse between the United States and our Gulf Arab allies. It was a privilege to experience the growth, intellectual discourse, and growing influence of AGSIW under Ambassador Wisner’s leadership. Frank Wisner has ensured that his colleague Ambassador Silliman will continue the good work and direction that he so generously provided to AGSIW.

Frank will be missed by so many who have had the pleasure of experiencing his kindness, generosity, and wisdom. I send my sincere condolences to Frank’s loving wife Judy, and the entire Wisner family. The wonderful memories of Frank Wisner will live on.

David F. Wolf
President, Fremont Group

The Very Model of a Modern American Ambassador

I’m writing just a short note to express my sadness at the news of Frank’s passing. I was a young political officer in Cairo in 1986-89, all but the first three months working for and with Frank. He took an interest in me, and I decided he was the very model of a modern American ambassador. He took me bird hunting once in the Delta and loaned me one of his father’s hand-carved Italian shotguns. After about 30 minutes of shooting it, my shoulder was so sore I had to stop, but it was great fun. The next day he served the birds we shot to one of his Egyptian guests for lunch. He laughed as we picked the buckshot out of the birds we were eating.

He often took me with him to meet colorful Egyptian officials, especially the ones who didn’t speak English well. When I returned as DCM in 2011-14, it was such a treat to live in the grand old Zamalek residence that had been Frank’s when I was a young officer.

He insisted on smoking cigars at our weekly Friday staff meetings, even after HR and the management counselor told him that State Department regulations no longer allowed smoking in the embassy. I suppose the cigars ultimately may have done him in, but how he loved them.

He still managed to live to a ripe old age. When I retired in Oman and tried my hand at consulting, he sent a few businesses in my direction, one of which became a client for a few years until I joined AJC. I’ve worked for some high-energy, demanding ambassadors, including of course Jim Jeffrey, Anne Patterson, and Jim Cunningham. But Frank will always keep a special grip on my imagination of how an American ambassador should look and behave, in a league of his own. I will miss him.

Marc Sievers
Former U.S. Ambassador to Oman

A Bit of Magic

I met Frank somewhat later than others at AGSIW. But he left a huge impression, and his reputation as a titan of American diplomacy and as founding visionary for AGSIW preceded my getting to know him. He is to me such a part of late 20th century (and early 21st century) exercise of power and influence in the world, part super-capable diplomat and statesman, part legendary figure who captured and brought to life the dramas and struggles that made those times larger than life and rendered that exercise of national power understandable and appealing, even captivating.

Frank created an aura of exclusivity and prestige that he marshaled with enthusiastic inclusiveness, making people from all levels of professional life and society feel special, feel included in his world, his immediate focus. And he used that aura of exclusivity and prestige to motivate people and get them to see a bigger, richer world, or a vital, more influential institution, or a challenging set of circumstances as a field of opportunities for great endeavors. There was a bit of magic in all this, Frank making people feel special, feel they had the full attention of this obviously larger-than-life figure, feel they could accomplish great things. But he pulled it off and used it to motivate and mentor and bring out the best efforts in people who worked for him or with him or just met him here and there, perhaps as an entry-level staffer stammering out a tentative hello before being swept up in his inclusive bonhomie and laser-focused personal attention.

I think AGSIW as the institution it is today is unimaginable without Frank’s vision, network of affiliations, sense of the importance of the Gulf to the U.S. and the broader international community, and willingness to roll up his sleeves and breathe life into this institution.

Ambassador William Roebuck
Executive Vice President, AGSIW