WASHINGTON, D.C. — Concord resident and former congressional candidate Rufus Gifford has re-entered the world of government with a new, prestigious role: chief of protocol for the United States.
The former ambassador to Denmark under President Barack Obama was sworn in to his new position, which also carries the rank of ambassador, on Jan. 3. As chief of protocol, he serves as the first point of contact between President Biden’s administration and foreign diplomats.
“I wanted to do this job because it is at a time when … the rules by which diplomacy has traditionally functioned have been tossed aside,” Gifford said in an interview. “This is about restrengthening American leadership through diplomacy. The role of protocol is also setting the stage on which diplomacy can thrive.”
The chief of protocol accompanies the president, first lady, vice president and sometimes the secretary of state on foreign trips, oversees foreign diplomats in the U.S., sits in on bilateral meetings and welcomes foreign leaders when they arrive in the country.
“You’re very often a fly on the wall for any number of incredible events occurring across the globe,” Gifford said.
While most of what he does seems like big-picture work, Gifford said that it is still important for and affects the lives of people at home.
“People don’t respond or are not necessarily interested on the surface in foreign politics, but on issue after issue we understand that actually our responsibilities do not end at our borders,” he said. “We’re talking COVID, climate change, Russia and the Ukraine. All these geopolitical issues impact every American every day.”
While the Office of the Chief of Protocol isn’t usually in the headlines, the people there are often working behind the scenes of important events. For example, while Gifford had not yet assumed the role, when Biden visited Glasgow, Scotland, in November for the COP26 climate change summit, the Office of the Chief of Protocol was there for weeks in advance getting everything organized.
When Gifford previously served as an ambassador, he was the first openly gay man in his role, and this time around he is once again the first. At that time, he was working in a country that was very progressive on LGBTQ rights. Now, his is often the first American hand that foreign leaders from much less accepting countries shake.
“The fact of the matter is, representation matters in this world,” Gifford said. “This is progress. Any time you’re the first in any position, I think that matters.”
In the month since he was sworn in, Gifford said he has been getting caught up on understanding of his position and helping to “right the ship” from the four years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Gifford recently took his first foreign trip as chief of protocol, visiting Honduras with Vice President Kamala Harris for the inauguration of President Xiomara Castro, and attended his first bilateral meeting in the Oval Office with Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar.
“Some people (in the Office of the Chief of Protocol) have been around for years and years, some for decades, so it really has been like drinking from a fire hose,” Gifford joked. “I’m learning a lot and hopefully I will be better at my job with every one of these events that I get to.”
Gifford is now living in Washington, D.C., but often returns to Massachusetts as his husband is, for now, still at their home in Concord. He said he was in Lowell before Christmas and was thrilled to return to the community that he ran to represent in Congress back in 2018.
“The folks I met over the campaign will continue to be friends for life, and I will forever be grateful,” he said. “Any time I’m back in town … you very well may see me at a place like Warp and Weft having a beer. I hope Lowellians will say hi to me if they do.”
