Oral history interview with Jonathan Scott Gration, 2021
Abstract
Scott Gration discusses his contribution to the Obama administration's foreign policy in Africa, which he supported as United States special envoy for Sudan from 2009 to 2011, and as ambassador to Kenya from 2011 to 2012. Gration describes meeting Obama through his work on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, joining Obama in an advisory role during his 2006 fact-finding tour of Africa, servi ng as a national security and foreign policy advisor to the Obama 2008 campaign, stumping in support of Obama on the campaign trail, and overseeing political appointments at the Department of Defense during the transition. Gration outlines the major debates and challenges involved in the Darfur peace process, and provides details about the diplomacy that led to the Doha peace forum, 2010 Sudanese national elections, and 2011 South Sudan independence referendum. Gration also discusses his efforts to improve the Department of State's security protocols in response to the Nairobi embassy's physical and technological vulnerabilities, and reflects on the institutional dynamics that led to his resignation in July 2012. Also discussed are Gration's relationship with the White House during his service as special envoy, the internal calculations associated with labeling violence in the Darfur conflict "genocide," and Gration's deep personal ties to Africa, formed through his childhood and adolescence in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Belgian Congo, and Zaire)
Presidents--United States; Presidential campaigns--United States; Genocide--Sudan; Sudan History Darfur Conflict, 2003-; United States Foreign relations Africa; Gration, Scott; Obama, Barack; United States Air Force; United States Congress
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
98 pages
Note (Biographical)
Scott Gration is a former United States Air Force officer who served in the Obama administration as the United States special envoy to Sudan and ambassador to Kenya. He served in the Air Force for three decades, and was awarded the Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, and various other decorations. Since his resignation in 2012, he has worked in the private sector and released a memoir about his military and public service
Note
Interviewed by Karida L. Brown on January 29, 2021, and February 11, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Jonathan Scott Gration, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022