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Thursday, April 4, 1991 / University Daily Kansan
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HAWK KARD SPECIALS
Being nominated U.S. ambassador to Thailand does not keep David Lambertson, KU instructor of political science and diplomat-in-residence, from riding his motorcycle.
SPECIALS
THIS WEEK'S DEAL:
Hardee's.
Diplomat calls Kansas his home
KU's Lambertson may be named Thai ambassador
By Patricia Rojas
Kansan staff writer
David Lambertson rode into Lawrence last summer wearing a leather jacket and a black helmet. He was riding the black 600 cc Yamaha motorcycle he got for his 50th birthday.
Probably, few on the road suspected that the man on the motorcycle would be President Bush's choice for ambassador to Thailand.
"It is funny because the picture that David portrays to the world is not exactly the picture that I know of him." said his wife, Sacie.
Lambertson, a diplomat-in-residence at the University of Kansas, was nominated by Bush in February as ambassador to Thailand.
because the Senate must approve the nomination, Lambertson will appear at a hearing before the Senate to vote on the license for a cease on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Before coming to KU in August, Lambertson worked for the U.S. State Department in Washington as a special envoy for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
His visit to KU is what he calls the State Department's version of a sabbatical.
Among those who have seen unpublicized facets of Lambertson's character is Charles Twining, the departant for Vietnam Laos and Cambodia.
"I must admit that he is a very quiet individual," Twining said. "You are mised by that quietness. Suddenly you are surprised when he brings out something that you would have never suspected."
Never did Twining suspect, for example, that Lambertson spoke three foreign languages.
"He surprised me a year ago when he came out with this beautiful, beautiful dialogue in Vietnamese," he said.
Lambertson also speaks Indonesian and French.
When he came to teach at KU,
Lambertson left behind a 1961 Ford
"When you work with paper, like one does in government, you don't always have something to show for it but the end of the day," Lambertson said.
"But if you drive a tractor, mowing grass for example, at the end of the day you can see what you've accomplished."
Lambertson's accomplishments include diplomatic assignments in Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia and Japan. But these do not take away the pride he feels for the work he has done with his tractor.
"One of my greatest accomplishments in life is building this beautiful, beautiful barn last summer," he said.
This two-story barn lies in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where the Lambertsonts have their other home. Unlike the one in Washington, home is a primitive log cabin with wood stove for its heating system.
During the years he worked in Washington, Lambertson spent most weekends working with his wife at a garden and helping to move the lawn and chopping wood.
The manual skills he needed at his cabin differed from those he needed at the State Department. But the meaning of what Lambertson accompanied with his tractor and hands was not confined to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
In the eyes of his friend Twining,
Lambertson's barn-building and wood-chopping are among the things that make him a representative American.
"He knows his country from the soil," Twining said. "He has roots in America that give him the kind of power it is so important for an ambassador."
Lambertson was born in Sabetta and grew up on a farm in Fairview, about 40 miles north of Topeka. His parents still live in Fairview.
"In between my foreign assignments I have always come back to the Washington, D.C. area, so I have a lot of time to work." "But I really consider Kansas home."
"That's another reason why this year has been so nice for me. People here in Lawrence and KU have been really appreciated, hospitalized, and I appreciate that."
"That's about perfect with him," Sacie Lambertson said. "If they had offered him to teach one at 8 o'clock that would've been a catastrophe."
1 a year ago in Washington, work for Lambertson began at 7:30 a.m. the day, however started at 5:30 a.m. the next morning jogging. Now he logs in the evenings.
At the State Department, Lamberton combined hard work with
Twinning said Lambertson had a special kind of patience in dealing with Washington's bureaucratic barriers.
"He will also be very patient with people whose views are 180 degrees different." he said.
Vietnam War. Lambertson served as press representative for the U.S. delegation during the last two years of the talks.
Lambertson gave a news conference after every weekly session of the talks.
His patience was perhaps among qualities that worked for him at the same time.
"There were always a lot of pointed questions and a lot of skeptical newsmen out there," he said. "had a lot of sympathy for the press briefers in the Gulf war because know how difficult it can be."
But no matter how difficult it got,
Lambertson would not break, never lie.
"You always have questions that you can't answer," he said. "And the best way to handle them is to 'can't answer,' or 'No comment.' The worst thing is to 'lie.'
Lambertson's first diplomatic assignment was in Vietnam. He joined the foreign services after graduating from the University of
David Lambertson
Born: June 30,1940 in Sabetha, Kansas
Diplomatic
assignments include:
Deputy Chief of Mission
at the U.S. Embassy in
Seoul, Korea 1986-1987
Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia, 1984- 1986.
Director of the Office of Korean Affairs at the U.S Department of State, 1984-1982.
Deputy Chief of the Political Section at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, 1977-1981.
Deputy Director in the Office of Japanese Affairs, 1975-1977.
Deputy Director in the Office of Regional Affairs for East Asian Bureau, 1973-1975.
Member of the U.S. Delegation to the Vietnam Peace Talks in Paris, 1971-1973.
Redlands in California with a bache lor's degree in political science.
His 28 years of experience in foreign affairs have earned him a reputation among his colleagues at the State Department.
"Those of us in the foreign services are extremely proud of the career officers," said Mary Yates, representative for the department's East Asian Bureau "Mr. Lambert is known, and he is highly thought of by his colleagues at the Department of State."
Lambertson's expertise in Southeast Asian affairs has made his teachings at KU both accurate and practical to students.
"He is able to combine theory with the actual situation," Beung-min Yi, South Korea sophomore, said. "He gives it reality."
Carl Lande, professor of political science, said everyone in the department enjoyed Lambertson's presence at KU.
"He is a very pleasant, low-key kind of person," Lande said. "He will get along well with the Thai people."
With Senate approval, Lambertson will leave for Thailand in August.
This time he will have to leave behind both his tractor and his black Yamaha motorcycle He plans to buy a barn in the mountains of Virginia.
Some of his colleagues at the State Department wonder what will happen to the red Triumph Spitfire he used to drive in Washington.
But that is not all that they are left wondering. As Yates said, "We're not sure he's going to be building a barn in Bangkok."
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN