Karen Hughes
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Karen Parfitt Hughes (born December 27, 1956) is the global vice chair of the public relations firm
Burson-Marsteller Burson Cohn & Wolfe is a multinational public relations and communications firm, headquartered in New York City. In February 2018, parent WPP Group PLC announced that it had merged its subsidiaries Cohn & Wolfe with Burson-Marsteller. The comb ...
. She served as the
Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs The Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs is currently a top-10 ranking position in the U.S. Department of State that is intended to help ensure that public diplomacy is practiced in combination with public affairs and traditiona ...
in the U.S.
Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
and as a counsellor to President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
.


Early life

Born in Paris, France, Hughes is the daughter of American parents Patricia Rose (Scully) and
Harold Parfitt Major General Harold Robert Parfitt (August 6, 1921 – May 21, 2006), was the last Governor of the Panama Canal Zone, from 1975 to 1979. Biography He was born in Coaldale, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Coaldale, Pennsylvania on August 6, 19 ...
, the last U.S. Governor of the Panama Canal Zone. After graduating from
W. T. White High School Warren Travis White High School is a public secondary school in Dallas, Texas ( USA). W. T. White High School enrolls students in grades 9- 12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District. The school, named in honor of the Dallas sch ...
in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
, Hughes earned a bachelor's degree at
Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...
in 1977 where she was a member of
Alpha Delta Pi Alpha Delta Pi (), commonly known as ADPi (pronounced "ay-dee-pye"), is an International Panhellenic sorority founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. It is the oldest secret society for women. Alpha Delta Pi is a mem ...
sorority. She is of partial Irish and English descent.


Early career

Hughes worked as a television news reporter from 1977 to 1984. As a reporter, Hughes followed the 1980 presidential campaign. In 1984, she went to work as the Texas press coordinator for the
Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
-
Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...
campaign in the
1984 United States presidential election The 1984 United States presidential election was the 50th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan defeated Democratic former Vice President Walter Mondale, in a ...
. She later became executive director of the
Republican Party of Texas The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the state of Texas. It is currently chaired by Matt Rinaldi, succeeding Allen West who resigned prior to the expiration of his term to run for governo ...
.


White House

Since 1994, Hughes has worked with
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, first as director of his campaign for the office of
governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...
, and then as a
counselor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (di ...
from 2001 to 2002, while he was
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
. Hughes left the Bush administration in July 2002 to return to Texas, but remained in daily contact with the Bush reelection campaign by
telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
and
e-mail Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...
, and spoke personally with Bush several times a week. In August 2004, Hughes returned to full-time service with the Bush campaign, setting up office on
Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used ...
, from where she planned the
2004 Republican National Convention The 2004 Republican National Convention took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The convention is one of a series of historic quadrennial meetings at which the Republican candidates fo ...
and the late stages of the 2004 election. She has been praised by ''
The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
'' as "the most powerful woman ever to serve in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
", and by
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
as Bush's "most essential advisor."


''Ten Minutes from Normal''

In March 2004, Hughes published ''Ten Minutes from Normal'', which includes an account of her decision to leave the White House. While promoting her book, she appeared on
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
on April 25, 2004 - the same day as the
March for Women's Lives The March for Women's Lives was a protest demonstration held on April 25, 2004 at the National Mall in Washington, D. C. There was approximately 1.3 million participants. The demonstration was led by seven groups; National Organization for Wo ...
- and said "I think after September 11th the American people are valuing life more and realizing that we need policies to value the dignity and worth of every life. And President Bush has worked to say, let's be reasonable, let's work to value life, let's try to reduce the number of abortions, let's increase adoptions. And I think those are the kind of policies that the American people can support, particularly at a time when we're facing an enemy, and really the fundamental difference between us and the terror network we fight is that we value every life. It's the founding conviction of our country, that we're endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, the right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness."


State Department

On March 14, 2005, Bush announced his intention to nominate Hughes for the undersecretary of
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
for
public diplomacy In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influen ...
with the rank of ambassador — a job focused on changing foreigners' perceptions about America. The
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
confirmed her nomination in July 2005. In her new capacity, Hughes spoke of improving the world's perception of the United States via creation of a "rapid-response unit" and a plan to "forward-deploy regional
SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
teams". During a
town hall meeting Town hall meetings, also referred to as town halls or town hall forums, are a way for local and national politicians to meet with their constituents either to hear from them on topics of interest or to discuss specific upcoming legislation or ...
on September 8, 2005, a
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
employee complained that "recently, we've had tremendous amount of difficulty in some cases getting clearance for our ambassadors to speak." Hughes replied, "If they make statements based on something I sent them, they're not going to be called on the carpet." At the end of her tenure in the State Department, Hughes said that one of her greatest accomplishments had been "transforming
public diplomacy In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influen ...
and making it a
national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
priority central to everything we do in government". Hughes was the keynote speaker at the October 22, 2007,
Public Relations Society of America The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is a nonprofit trade association for public relations professionals. It was founded in 1947 by combining the American Council on Public Relations and the National Association of Public Relations Coun ...
's International Conference and discussed, "Waging Peace -- The New Paradigm for Public Diplomacy."


2005 tour of the Middle East

Starting with a September 26, 2005, stop in Egypt, Hughes went on a "listening tour" of the Middle East to speak with leaders and people from the region. This was a response to growing fears in America about rampant
anti-Americanism Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general. Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centr ...
in the Middle East. Hughes was the third person chosen for this task by President Bush, following unsuccessful attempts by
Charlotte Beers Charlotte Beers is an American businesswoman and former under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs in the George W. Bush administration. Beers was the first female vice-president at the JWT advertising firm, then CEO of Tat ...
and Margaret Tutwiler. For her tour, Hughes asked two Citizen Ambassadors to accompany her: a Georgetown PhD student, Tina Kareema Dauod, and William O'Brien, a retired high school geography teacher. On her September 27 stop in
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
, Saudi Arabia, during a Q&A with students in which a student shared her appreciation of women being allowed to drive in the United States, Karen Hughes acknowledged that every country has to chart its own course and choose what's right for its own citizens, but also shared in the women's sentiment about the United States. Another woman shared: "The general image of the
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
woman is that she isn't happy ..Well, we're all pretty happy." In a press conference in
Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, Indonesia, Hughes incorrectly stated that
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
"had murdered hundreds of thousands of his own people using poison gas." Conventional sources attest that Saddam did order the deaths of several hundred thousand Iraqis during the al-Anfal Campaign and other violent suppressions, but casualties from his infamous gas attack on Halabja numbered in the thousands.


Breast cancer research advocacy

Hughes met business representatives from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to create the U.S.-U.A.E. Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research. It aims to develop
breast cancer awareness Breast cancer awareness is an effort to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of breast cancer through education on symptoms and treatment. Supporters hope that greater knowledge will lead to earlier detection of breast cancer, which is associ ...
campaigns and expand research in the Middle East by linking U.S. medical experts, fundraisers, health research activists, and businesses with their U.A.E. counterparts.


Post White House

In late October 2007, Hughes made it known that she would be resigning from her position in the Bush White House. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...
was quoted as saying she accepted the resignation "with a great deal of sadness but also a great deal of happiness for what she has achieved." Hughes is currently the global vice chair of
Burson-Marsteller Burson Cohn & Wolfe is a multinational public relations and communications firm, headquartered in New York City. In February 2018, parent WPP Group PLC announced that it had merged its subsidiaries Cohn & Wolfe with Burson-Marsteller. The comb ...
, a public relations company.Burson-Marsteller (2009)
Karen Hughes
. Retrieved April 14, 2009.


References


Footnotes

# Rootsweb.com.

'. # Kerry Lauerman.

', Salon.com, September 13, 2003. # Interview of Karen Hughes.

', CNN.com, Aired April 5, 2004. # Dana Milbank.

', The Washington Post, September 9, 2005. # Transcript of Interview of Bob Garfield.
Scuttle Diplomacy
', On the Media, June 1, 2007. # U.S. Department of State Transcript.

'. September 26, 2005 # Steven R. Weisman.

', New York Times, September 28, 2005. # Alan Sipress.

', Washington Post, October 22, 2005. # Elizabeth Kelleher.

', U.S. Department of State, November 1, 2006. # USME Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research.
US Middle East Partnership Website
'.


External links


Special Report
on Karen Hughes' nomination to Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy
USC Center on Public Diplomacy Wikiprofile
on Hughes and her ne
position


at confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Washington, DC (July 22, 2005)

(March 16, 2005) PBS Online NewsHour featuring Karen Hughes.
Profile: Karen Hughes
SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by progr ...

Karen Hughes
and the collapse of American public diplomacy
Karen Hughes Addresses PRSA

Karen Hughes on 'Meet the Press'
(July 12, 2009) * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Karen 1956 births American political consultants American Presbyterians Counselors to the President George W. Bush administration personnel Harvard Institute of Politics Living people People from Austin, Texas Southern Methodist University alumni Texas Republicans United States Under Secretaries of State White House Communications Directors Zonians W. T. White High School alumni American women ambassadors Ambassadors of the United States 21st-century American women