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Blade sits down with U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Scott Miller married to Gill Foundation founder Tim Gill

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U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein Scott Miller in D.C. on Sept. 23, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

A law that extended marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples in Switzerland took effect on July 1, 2022, three days before the Fourth of July. Scott Miller, the openly gay U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, on that day noted the marriage and adoption equality law in a speech that marked the Fourth of July.

“The Swiss constitution states, ‘the Swiss Confederation shall ā€¦ ensure the greatest possible equality of opportunity among its citizens.’ This is a powerful statement which acknowledges equality as one of the most basic principles of democracy,” said Miller. “Today, this is especially true as we celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage and the right of adoption.”

“Tim (Gill) and I know very acutely what it means when a government, and the rest of the citizens of a country, say you are entitled to the same rights and benefits to live happily in love who you love,” added Miller. “So, I am immensely … immensely proud that we get to celebrate our Independence Day on this historic day in Switzerland.”

Miller, whose husband, Tim Gill, founded the Gill Foundation, assumed his post last December after the U.S. Senate confirmed him. Miller is one of seven openly gay and lesbian American ambassadors.

Miller on Sept. 23 told the Washington Blade during an interview in D.C. that his Fourth of July speech “was perhaps one of the more meaningful aspects of my ambassadorship so far.”

“I talked about the expansion of rights and our work to make a more perfect union,” he noted. “Tying that to equality was, I think, one of the most profound moments of this experience thus far.”

Miller spoke at first Liechtenstein Pride in June

Miller was previously an account vice president of the Switzerland-based UBS Wealth Management bank in Denver. Miller also co-chaired the Gill Foundation’s board of directors until the U.S. Senate confirmed his ambassadorship.

Miller while in D.C. attended the Global Chiefs of Mission Conference at the State Department and visited the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Miller also attended Elton John’s performance at the White House that took place hours after he spoke with the Blade.

Miller noted he has known President Joe Biden “from when he was a senator, and my work with him started on LGBTQ rights.”

“Needless to say, when he called last April I was shocked,” said Miller, referring to Biden’s decision to nominate him for the ambassadorship. “I had never really considered that as a possibility.”

Biden in February 2021 signed a memo that committed the U.S. to promoting LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad as part of his administration’s overall foreign policy.

Miller said his embassy has “a depth of relationships with the LGBTQ community and activists and organizations in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.” 

Liechtenstein, a small and predominantly Roman Catholic country that has yet to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples, in June held its first-ever Pride event. Miller was among those who organizers invited to speak.

“It will be a discussion that I think activists will have to work on a lot,” he said, referring to marriage equality efforts in Liechtenstein. “I will support (them) in any way I can.”

Miller said he was not surprised that Biden issued the foreign policy memo, but he added he “knew coming into this where his heart was on LGBTQI+ issues.”

“I didn’t really need a memo or any directive from the State Department,” Miller told the Blade. “I’m the president’s personal envoy. To know that I am going to be able to continue the same work that I was doing and have this different platform and help people improve lives, there’s a profound responsibility with that.”

“I’m glad obviously that it’s been further directed to my other colleagues, but it was work that I was doing,” he added.

Countries that seek to curtail LGBTQ rights ‘an outlier’

Miller spoke with the Blade against the backdrop of efforts in Hungary, Poland and other European countries to curtail LGBTQ and intersex rights. Giorgia Meloni, the anti-LGBTQ and intersex head of Italy’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, is poised to become the country’s next prime minister after general elections that took place on Sept. 25.

“I’m so entirely focused on Switzerland and I’m lucky that we are in a position of stepping forward and advancing rights and extending more rights to people,” said Miller. “There will always be a push pull on any civil rights costs. We see that even in our own country here as it relates to women’s reproductive rights, and disability rights. So ultimately, I look at this sense that progress will be made. It won’t always be linear, and it won’t always be without taking a step backwards at time.”Ā 

“This is where leadership matters and to have my president, our president, be a leader on this sends a message to those other countries that you’re going to be an outlier in the eyes of democracy if this is how you treat a portion of your community,” he added. “That’s the messaging we need to continue to spread, but obviously it’s an immense concern whenever you have a leader starting to single out any individual part of a society.”

Miller also praised the Swiss government’s response to the war in Ukraine.

He noted Switzerland adopted EU sanctions against Russia days after the war began on Feb. 24. Miller also pointed out Switzerland has welcomed Ukrainian refugees into the country, and his embassy has worked to process visas that would allow them to travel to the U.S. 

“Europe’s response has been good, and Switzerland’s has been good, but again the leadership of the United States on this issue has brought us closer together with Europe in a way that I hadn’t experienced in my lifetime,” said Miller.

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State Department

Sean Patrick Maloney confirmed as next OECD ambassador

Former N.Y. congressman lost to Mike Lawler in 2022

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Sean Patrick Maloney
Former New York Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed former New York Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney to become the next American ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Maloney, the former chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee who was also former President Bill Clinton’s White House staff secretary, in 2012 became the first openly gay person elected to Congress from New York. Maloney in 2022 lost to now U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) after the state redrew its congressional districts. 

Biden last May nominated Maloney for the ambassadorship. The Senate approved it by a 63-31 vote margin.

“Thank you, all,” said Maloney in a short X post after the vote.

Michael Carpenter, the current U.S. ambassador to the OECD, is gay.

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State Department

State Department criticizes passage of anti-LGBTQ bill in Ghanaian Parliament

‘Limiting the rights of one group in a society undermines the rights of all’

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(Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress)

The State Department on Wednesday criticized the passage of a bill in Ghana that would further criminalize LGBTQ people and make advocacy on their behalf illegal.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in a statement said the U.S. “is deeply troubled by the Ghanaian Parliamentā€™s passage of legislation, officially called the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which would threaten all Ghanaians’ constitutionally protected freedoms of speech, press and assembly.”Ā 

“The bill seeks to criminalize any person who simply identifies as LGBTQI+, as well asĀ any friend, family, or member of the community who does not report them,” said Miller. “Limiting the rights of one group in a society undermines the rights of all.Ā The United States echoes the call by those Ghanaians who have urged a review of the constitutionality of the bill to protect the rights of all individuals in Ghana.”

Miller noted the bill “would also undermine Ghanaā€™s valuable public health, media and civic spaces and economy” and stressed “international business coalitions have already stated that such discrimination in Ghana would harm business and economic growth in the country.”

“Ghanaā€™sĀ tradition of tolerance, peace and respect for human rights is a source of stability and prosperity that has long served as a model for countries around the globe,” he added.Ā “This legislation is inconsistent with these values and will, if it becomes law, undermine this laudable tradition.”Ā 

Ghanaian MPs approved the bill on Wednesday, and it awaits President Nana Akufo-Addo’s signature.

“I am saddened because of some of the smartest, most creative, most decent people I know are LGBT,” said U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Virginia Palmer in a post on the embassy’s X account. “The bill Parliament passed takes away not only their basic human rights but those of all Ghanaians because it undermines their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press.” 

“It will be bad for public order and public health,” she added. “If enacted, it will also hurt Ghanaā€™s international reputation and Ghanaā€™s economy.”

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State Department

Ned Price named UN ambassador’s deputy

Former State Department spokesperson is gay

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Former State Department spokesperson Ned Price, center, speaks at the LGBTQ Victory Institute's International LGBTQ Leaders Conference in D.C. on Dec. 3, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield has announced former State Department spokesperson Ned Price will manage her D.C. office.

Thomas-Greenfield in a statement to Politico on Feb. 16 said Price’s “judgment and expertise will be a tremendous asset to me and the entire USUN team.” Price, who is gay, in a post to his personal X account acknowledged his appointment.

“I am grateful to (U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield), (Secretary of State Antony Blinken) and my colleagues across the administration for the opportunity to help promote America’s interests and values in the U.N. and broader multilateral system together with our allies and partners,” wrote Price.

Price on Jan. 20, 2021, became the first openly gay State Department spokesperson. He stepped down in March 2023 in order to become a senior advisor to Blinken.

Price was previously a senior communications official for the National Security Council and worked at the Central Intelligence Agency.

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