This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
WASHINGTON - Utah native Tom Korologos was sworn in Wednesday as the new U.S. ambassador to Belgium, embarking today for Brussels, where he will work to repair relationships damaged by European opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
"It's going to be a big priority but they have said, much to our pleasure, that they want to look forward and don't want to look to the past," said Korologos, a longtime Republican lobbyist on Capitol Hill. "I'm optimistic we are going to make some progress with Iraq."
Brussels is headquarters to NATO, the defense partnership of allied forces that the U.S. wants to deploy additional troops to Afghanistan to secure upcoming elections. To the chagrin of the Bush administration, that proposal was vetoed by France on Tuesday during the NATO summit in Istanbul.
The diplomatic negotiations ahead will be familiar ground for Korologos, who served last year as senior adviser to Paul Bremer, administrator of the U.S. provisional government that was dissolved this week in the hand-off of sovereignty to Iraqi's new government.
"This will be much the same duty I've had since 1962 in this town, promoting my client, which is the United States government," said Korologos, 71, whose first job in politics was as press secretary to the late Sen. Wallace Bennett of Utah. "I will be an advocate, a coalition-builder and I will tell America's stories."
The son of a Greek immigrant whose family ran a popular bar at the corner of 400 South and State streets in Salt Lake City, Korologos said he's honored and excited by the latest opportunity to serve the nation.
"I'm a sucker for patriotism," he said before his private swearing-in ceremony at the State Department. "Wherever the country calls, I will go."
And he'll bring along a few reminders of his home state.
"I'm taking my Alf Engen Ski School hat and my Alta belt buckle," said Korologos, a longtime patron of the Little Cottonwood Canyon resort. "They'll see what a real skier looks like."