Ľudia, ktorí stoja pri nás People who stand by us
Theodore Sedgwick
”United States is a place where dreams come true”
Theodore Sedgwick is an ambassador of the USA to Slovakia, whereupon he has executed this function
since 4. June 2013. After succesfull graduation from Harvard College where he studied Ottoman history,
he was engaged in different commercial and noncommercial organizations. He established a publis
hing house Pasha Publications, energetic company Io Energy, he worked in boards of companies Inside
Higher Ed, Atlantic Information Services and Washington Business Information. A considerable part of
his activities has also a charitable dimension, because his career includes engaging in charitable organi
zations such as Civil War Preservation Trust, Wetlands America Trust and Land Trust Alliance. We asked
Theodore Sedgwick not only about foreign policy of the USA.
1) You deputize USA in SR at the diplomatic level. What does this work represent?
At the diplomatic level, I simply advocate for US positions on foreign policy.
However, it's important to note that my
job as a diplomat involves many other
aspects, such as promoting trade and
investment, military and security cooperation, cultural and educational exchange and a variety of other topics. This is
what makes the job so interesting.
2) The readers already had an opportunity to read several interviews with
you in different media in Slovakia,
however, readers of ourmagazine are
interested in how do you percieve an
enterprise environment in SR and what
is in your opinion the difference from
that in the USA?
On balance, Slovakia has a good climate
for foreign direct investment. A skilled
work force, a generally flexible labor
code and reasonably low taxes are all
positive. However, many companies doing business in Slovakia have expressed
concern about the Rule of Law in the
country, a view that I share. Businesses
say that they have no confidence in the
reliability of the judiciary, which is a serious problem.
3) Why do you think that an adherent
of the democratic party Barack Obama
won the presidential elections in the
USA already for second time?
We had two good candidates in the US
in the last election. I think by and large
voters preferred President Obama's approach to economic policies. However,
the American public is generally pretty
evenly split on many of the key issues.
4) What can the USA expect from Barack Obama in second term? What
changes will follow for foreign policy?
I don't believe there will be significant
changes in foreign policy during President Obama's second term. I think many
Europeans have been concerned that the
US is shifting its attention away from Europe to Asia.
While the US is clearly paying more attention to Asian security and commer-
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cial matters, this has not come at all at
the expense of the US's relationship with
Europe. As you can see with the launch
of negotiations to conclude a Free Trade
Agreement with the European Union,
we see this relationship as critical, both
strategically and economically.
have come to our shores. President
Obama would like to liberalize our immigration policies, giving some illegal
immigrants a path to citizenship while
strengthening our borders from further
illegal immigration. Our Congress is addressing this right now.
5) Worldwide economics and recession
are a serious problem. Last months indicate that in the USA better times are
coming. How do you see it by comparison with Europe?
8) On your position of an ambassador
you and your wife represent the country, where clever people's dreams can
come true. What do you think about
this statement?
6) After election for a president had Barack Obama in February this year a very
action speech in senate with a multitude of details about various topics
without reading of stated text. Which
part did interest you the most?
9) In the past people like A. Carnegie or
Rockefeller did very much for the country and people in the USA. At present
their followers W. Buffet or B. Gates
and others go the same way. Why do
you think that exactly the companies
and people from the USA belong to the
biggest philantrophists in the world?
We have expressed our concerns that
there may be an excessive emphasis in
Europe on austerity, which has led to
continued recession in Europe. The progrowth measures that President Obama
took in the US - with the stimulus package, quantitative easing and tax cuts
- have succeeded in growing our economy and reducing unemployment.
The speech was a roadmap for the President's second term, laying out the policies he wants to enact over the remainder of his time in office. I was particularly
struck by his focus on making necessary
decisions to cut our budget, but at the
same time continuing to invest in things
like infrastructure and education. He
also emphasized the need to rebuild the
American middle class, which has been
hit particularly hard by the economic recession. Finally, he spoke eloquently of
the need for immigration reform and for
both political parties to come together
to solve the challenges the United States
faces.
7) The United States have grown from
its formatio