On Friday, April 20, President Bush announced his intention to nominate Stephen Brauer, a member of the Washington University board of trustees’ executive committee, for the position of United States ambassador to Belgium.
Bush made his announcement while attending the Summit of the Americas in Quebec.
“Stephen is a successful business and community leader in St. Louis,” Bush said in a White House statement. “His substantial experience with the Belgian people through his work as honorary consul of Belgium for eastern Missouri makes him an excellent choice for ambassador.”
The White House would not elaborate on this statement, and Brauer was not at liberty to discuss details of his nomination.
Brauer, however, did stress that Bush’s announcement marked an intention to nominate and not an actual nomination. Should the process continue, the next step is a formal nomination, followed by a confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Brauer expects the hearings to take place in late May or June.
“He’s perfect for the role of ambassador and his wife, Kimmy, is perfect to be an ambassador’s wife,” said Sam Fox, Brauer’s close friend and fellow WU board of trustees member, in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Disptach. “He’ll make us all proud.”
Fox and Brauer are both substantial Republican Party contributors at the state and national levels. Both are members of President Bush’s “Pioneers”-those who raised $100,000 or more for his campaign-and both raised far more than the qualifying amount.
The Federal Elections Committee recorded $250,000 in donations to the Republican National Committee by Brauer, in addition to an additional $200,000 from Hunter Engineering, of which Brauer is president. Brauer also contributed $100,000 towards the President’s inaugural festivities in Washington D.C., according to the Post-Dispatch.
In addition to these contributions, Brauer, along with Fox, hosted a fundraiser for Bush at Brauer’s St. Louis County estate, bringing in an estimated $600,000. The Post-Dispatch also reported that Bush often spends the night at Brauer’s estate when he is in town; Bush’s last visit was in February.
The U.S. does not presently have an ambassador to Belgium. According to the U.S. Embassy’s website, P. Michael McKinley currently fulfills the ambassador’s duties. McKinley is designated as charg‚ d’affaires, the diplomatic official who heads the Embassy in the absence of an ambassador.
The ambassador of Belgium acts not only as the U.S. government’s attach‚ to that country, but represents U.S. interests to the European Union, which is headquartered in Brussels.
Brauer, of Bridgetown, Missouri, has been the honorary consul to Belgium since 1993, representing Missouri’s interests to the country.
In addition to his service to WU, Brauer is also an owner of the St. Louis Cardinals and is active as a cultural civic leader in St. Louis.