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Cynthia Schneider, Ambassador designate (Netherlands) Statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Washington, DC, June 16, 1998

Mr. Chairman and members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: I am honored to appear before you today as President Clinton's nominee to be the Ambassador of the United States to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. I am grateful to the President for his confidence in nominating me, to Secretary Albright for her support, and to this committee for granting me this hearing. I feel privileged to have been offered an opportunity to serve my country. If confirmed, I will do everything in my power to prove myself worthy of that honor.

I am particularly honored to be asked to serve in the Netherlands, a country I consider almost my second home. For the past 25 years, I have researched, written, and taught 17th-century Dutch art and culture. My research has taken me many times to the Netherlands as well as to other countries in Europe. As a young graduate student who did not know any better, I decided to write my Ph.D. dissertation for Harvard on the Dutch icon, Rembrandt. That work led eventually to a book, an international Rembrandt exhibition held here at the National Gallery, and many friendships with Dutch colleagues. In addition, through my research and travel, I learned four languages -- French (fluent), Italian, German and Dutch. Thanks to the excellent language training offered at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC), my Dutch has improved considerably over the past few months.

A distinctive feature of 17th-century Dutch art is that it mirrors the society in which it was produced. One cannot study or teach Dutch art without learning about the Netherlands. While of course the Netherlands has changed over the last 300 years since its "Golden Age" in the 17th century, there are enduring ideas and values. I was struck when reading an article last year about the recent Dutch economic success that the company singled out as an example of entrepreneurial spirit was one that had developed a new type of broom. I thought to myself, "Only in Holland could one make a fortune with a new design of broom!" Ten years ago at an international conference on Dutch genre scene -- or paintings of everyday life -- two speakers, one from the Netherlands and one from England -- arrived with the same speech, under different titles, on 'Brooms in Dutch Art'. The Dutch in the 17th century placed a high premium on a clean and tidy house: They believed that the country would run smoothly only if each of its units -- each household -- were in order.

The Netherlands, as you know, is one of our staunchest allies in Europe and the world. Having fought for and won their own freedom from Spain in the 17th century, the Dutch were among the first European powers to recognize the fledgling United States of America. Our common heritage in overthrowing a foreign ruler to establish our respective sovereignties has formed the foundation for a strong and close relationship between our two countries, based upon similar political and economic world views.

In matters of European, transatlantic, and global security, the Dutch have proven one of the most dependable allies, sharing our ideals and goals for the spread of democracy. A key member of European Union, the Dutch have continued to favor a strong transatlantic alliance and often have proven to be valuable interlocutors for our interests in the European arena. The Dutch have backed their philosophical beliefs with concrete actions and measures. They are one of the most active members of NATO and have supported peacekeeping and democracy-building missions with both personnel -- military and civilian -- and funds. In the former Yugoslavia, for example, the Dutch have actively supported military and civilian steps to implement the Dayton accords, and are second only to the U.S. in bilateral donations of reconstruction assistance. They have stood with us in supporting the International War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia with financial assistance as well as actions to bring war criminals to justice in The Hague.

The Dutch commitment to stand alongside the United States in promoting democracy resonates personally with me. My research has taken me not just to the Netherlands, but throughout Europe -- East and West. The goal of seeing one of Rembrandt's eight landscape paintings -- about which I published a book -- landed me in Poland during the last week of Solidarity's first blossoming. The feeling of the possibility of change was palpable. No one wanted to talk about Rembrandt, of course. The possibilities promoted by an unknown worker from the Gdansk shipyards of a new order, a new life, of reclaiming the Polish identity were too exciting. The authorities must also have sensed the potential for change: My husband and I awoke in London, having left Poland the night before, to headlines that tanks had rolled into the streets of Warsaw and Krakow. A Polish art historian told me that the next people to sit on his couch after us were the secret police, who arrested and imprisoned him. I remember also traveling from Dresden to Berlin, and watching as all my fellow passengers went through one turnstile to East Berlin while I alone, passed through the other to West Berlin -- only meters apart, yet worlds away. If you choose to grant me the opportunity, I would be honored to represent America with our close allies in the Netherlands, and help shape the exciting changes taking place as a new, united Europe emerges.

Although my professional background is academic, I have had some foreign policy experience in another part of the world also in the midst of dramatic changes -- the Pacific Rim. For the past 3 years, I have served as a member of the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue, a bipartisan group of government and business leaders, journalists and academics from both countries that meet on an annual basis to discuss issues of mutual concern. The goal of this diverse group, which includes most of the members of the past two Australian governments as well as American representatives such as Ambassador Richard Armitage, is to forge strong relationships among leaders of the post-World War II generations of both countries in order to better face the challenges of the Pacific region and around the globe.

For over 350 years, the Dutch have been strong free traders. The Dutch of the 17th century, with the phenomenally successful Dutch East and West Indies Companies and their colonies in South America, already understood the concept of the global economy. Today they stand at the forefront of the transition to the new, increasingly united Europe symbolized in the Euro.

The strength of the economic ties between the United States and the Netherlands belies the discrepancy in the sizes of our two economies and countries. We have the one of the largest bilateral trade surplus with the Netherlands -- more than $10 billion per year. Our 8th-largest trading partner, the Netherlands are the 3rd largest direct investors in the United States -- with more than $70 billion invested. The purchase of Giant Food by the Dutch firm Ahold is but one recent example of such investment. The United States, in turn, is the largest foreign investor in the Netherlands, with more than $37 billion invested and over 1,600 U.S. businesses operating. Clearly, a critical role of any Chief of Mission in the Netherlands will be to foster and promote the strong economic links between our two countries.

Mr. Chairman, 204 years ago, our first ambassador to the Netherlands, John Quincy Adams, was loath to leave his life of study and writing for the diplomatic mission in The Hague. In contrast to that distinguished statesman, I would welcome the opportunity, if you choose to give it to me, to leave, temporarily, my life of teaching and scholarship at Georgetown University to serve my country by doing my best to foster and strengthen our warm relationship with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Thank you.

[End of Document]

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