Marie Yovanovitch
U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch's appalling treatment by President Trump in 2019 was the original inspiration for this traveling portrait exhibition, and hopefully a book, honoring moral and civic courage in the age of Trump. A nonpartisan career Foreign Service officer, she served with distinction under both Republican and Democratic presidents. Her decades-long diplomatic career was derailed when she became the target of a conspiracy-driven smear campaign encouraged by President Donald Trump and advanced by Rudy Giuliani and his operatives.
Her offense was simple: they knew she would not support efforts to condition U.S. foreign policy on partisan political objectives. She adhered instead to her oath to the Constitution, placing national security and the rule of law above political chicanery. That oath plainly states, “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Months after Trump fired Yovanovitch as ambassador, it all came out. During a July 25, 2019, phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rival Joe Biden in exchange for his decision regarding a transfer of Javelin missiles to Ukraine. He also disparaged Yovanovitch "the woman" as “bad news,” and, warned that, “She’s going to go through some things.”
Yovanovitch’s exemplary record makes this episode more striking. Few diplomats are entrusted with as many challenging assignments as she was: Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Ambassador to Armenia, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, and ultimately Ambassador to Ukraine at a critical moment in that country’s history. Such roles reflect the institutional trust she earned over decades.
She focused on countries of the former Soviet Union attempting to transition to democracy, even as they were burdened by a legacy of crippling corruption that undermined the public trust. Implementing our foreign policy agreed to by both Republicans and Democrats, she championed independent courts, a free press, professional prosecutors, and transparent governance - the guardrails that protect democracy and that autocrats oppose. Her skill and success created enemies who later worked to discredit her.
Yovanovitch’s defining moment came when she returned to the United States. Testifying under oath during Trump’s first impeachment inquiry in 2019, she remained resolute, modeling a quiet but powerful example of professional ethics grounded in our Constitution.
“Democracy rarely collapses in a single dramatic blow. Democracy weakens when norms are bent and ‘alternate truths’ are created. Democracy prevails when principled public servants refuse to bend.”
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 10, 2022