Marilyn McAfee

{{Short description|American diplomat and U.S. ambassador in Guatemala}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Marilyn McAfee

| image =

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| office = United States Ambassador to Guatemala

| president = Bill Clinton

| term_start = June 16, 1993

| term_end = June 20, 1996

| preceded = Thomas F. Stroock

| succeeded = Donald J. Planty

| party =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1940}}

| birth_place =

| residence = Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

| death_date =

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| occupation = Diplomat

| spouse =

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| alma_mater = University of Pennsylvania
Johns Hopkins University

}}

Marilyn McAfee (born 1940) is a retired American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Guatemala.

Early life

McAfee was a history major at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, she attended Johns Hopkins University where she earned a master's degree.

Career

After Johns Hopkins, she began her eventual 31-year career as a foreign service officer. During her career, she spent four and a half years in Iran followed by three years in Washington, D.C. on the "Iran Desk" during the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and hostage crisis. She was also responsible for Afghanistan and Pakistan, both of which she visited multiple times. During her tenure, she spent ten weeks in Israel on official travel and also served as Assistant Secretary General for Inspections in the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State, which necessitated her travel for extended inspection visits to Russia, South Africa and China.

Besides the Middle East, much of her time was spent in Latin America, primarily Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Chile, and Bolivia where she was Deputy Chief of Mission with special responsibilities as Coordinator, Counter Narcotics Operations. On May 28, 1993, she was appointed United States Ambassador to Guatemala by U.S. President Bill Clinton.{{cite book |title=Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents |date=1992 |publisher=Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration |page=851 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YafvTFJwTeIC&pg=PA851 |access-date=7 January 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Blake |first1=Samuel |title=Opinion {{!}} What Else Did The C.I.A. Know? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/30/opinion/what-else-did-the-cia-know.html |access-date=7 January 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=30 March 1995}} She presented her credentials on June 16, 1993, and served until she left her post on June 20, 1996.{{cite web |title=Marilyn McAfee - People - Department History - Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/mcafee-marilyn |website=history.state.gov |publisher=Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute United States Department of State |access-date=7 January 2020}} McAffee had begun her career in Guatemala. While in Guatemala, McAfee focused on "supporting the institutionalization of democracy"{{cite book |title=Background Notes, Guatemala |date=1994 |publisher=U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Public Communication |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z-NJAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA7 |access-date=7 January 2020 |language=en}} and is also remembered for her focus on human rights.{{cite book |last1=Cruden |first1=Alexander |title=El Salvador and Guatemala |date=2013 |publisher=Greenhaven Publishing LLC |isbn=978-0-7377-6254-9 |page=80 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zoRmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA80 |access-date=7 January 2020 |language=en}}

=Murphy Memo=

While in Guatemala, the Central Intelligence Agency produced the "Murphy Memo" in 1994 based on audio recordings made by bugs planted in McAfee's bedroom that were placed by Guatemalan intelligence.{{cite news |last1=Weiner |first1=Tim |title=More Is Told About C.I.A. In Guatemala |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/25/world/more-is-told-about-cia-in-guatemala.html |access-date=7 January 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=25 April 1995}}{{cite news |last1=Weiner |first1=Tim |title=C.I.A. May Dismiss Chief Officer Involved in Guatemala |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/28/world/cia-may-dismiss-chief-officer-involved-in-guatemala.html |access-date=7 January 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=28 September 1995}} In the recording, McAfee verbally entreated "Murphy". The CIA circulated a memo in the highest Washington circles accusing her of having an extramarital lesbian affair with her secretary, Carol Murphy. However, there was no affair as the truth was McAfee was calling to Murphy, her two-year-old black standard poodle.{{cite book|last=Weiner |first=Tim |year=2007 |author-link=Tim Weiner|title=Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York City |page=459 |isbn=978-0385514453 |oclc=82367780 |url=https://archive.org/details/legacyofasheshis00wein }} Reportedly, the Guatemalan military resented McAfee's "emphasis on human rights had a plan to embarrass the Ambassador publicly, besmirch her reputation and damage the United States Embassy by spreading false rumors about her personal life." The incident was revealed in 1993 during George Tenet's Senate confirmation hearings to become head of the CIA.{{cite news |last1=Carlin |first1=John |title=Well, it sounded like heavy petting to the CIA |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/well-it-sounded-like-heavy-petting-to-the-cia-1260773.html |access-date=7 January 2020 |work=The Independent |date=11 May 1997 |language=en}}

=Later career=

After her retirement from the diplomatic service, she served six years as President of the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville (and served on the National Board of the World Affairs Councils of America). She also participated in the World Affairs Councils of America special delegation visits to Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Baghdad in January 2009 at the invitation of Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

She has lectured for National Geographic and World Affairs Councils of America.{{cite web |title=Ambassador Marilyn McAfee (Ret.) {{!}} World Affairs Council Jacksonville |url=https://www.worldaffairscounciljax.org/about/speaker-portfolio/ambassador-marilyn-mcafee-ret/ |website=www.worldaffairscounciljax.org |publisher=World Affairs Council Jacksonville |access-date=7 January 2020}}

Personal life

Ambassador McAfee, who was married,{{cite news |last1=Wise |first1=David |title=Legacy of Ashes (By Tim Weiner) Covert Action |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071902217.html |access-date=7 January 2020 |date=22 July 2007}} makes her home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and is a member of the University of North Florida Foundation Board, the Board of Baptist Medical Center Beaches, and the Rotary International Foundation Board in Downtown Jacksonville.