Tom C. Korologos was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 25, 2004 and was sworn in as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium by the Chief Justice of the United States, William Rehnquist, on June 30, 2004. He is the 29th Ambassador of the United States to Belgium.
Ambassador Korologos has had a wide and varied Washington experience. He has served as a senior staff member in the U.S. Congress, as an assistant to two Presidents in the White House, was a prominent businessman, and most recently was a senior counselor with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad. In addition, he was a long-time member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy and a charter member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that has jurisdiction over all non-military U.S. Government radio and TV broadcasting overseas.
Reflection
To conclude the Fall 2018 season, A.P.E.X. partnered with the Leavitt Center to bring Ambassador Tom C. Korologos to campus to receive the first-ever Leavitt Center Award for Distinguished Public Service. This award was created to honor those who through a lifetime of work brought recognition to the state of Utah.
Korologos, who served in five presidential administrations, recently suffered a fall and was urged by doctors not to travel, but he insisted on coming to SUU to receive the award in-person and to talk to students and faculty.
During his talk, Korologos discussed what it was like to work for different presidents. For example, Richard Nixon was extremely shy and uncomfortable in public situations, which made it difficult to get him to talk to people he didn't know. Following Nixon, Korologos got to see Gerald Ford grow into his role as president.
The Ambassador said that Ronald Reagan was great with communication and was an all-around great guy. George H.W. Bush, according to Korologos, was one of the most-qualified people to ever serve as the president because of his knowledge of the inner workings of government.
Korologos also offered some insights into the 2018 midterm elections, saying that whether or not there was a "Blue Wave," it's important to remember that waves have the ability to take out garbage or bring it in.
Finally, he stressed the importance of coming together in bipartisan unity for the sake of the people, because although it may be tempting to launch investigations into President Trump, that would only serve to distract lawmakers from their jobs.
