WOMAN ENVOY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21346, 22 November 1932, Page 3

WOMAN ENVOY

TEMPORARY MINISTER

For the first time in history a woman was representing the United States as acting-Minister to a foreign capital recently (states the New York Times). Through the absence of her superiors, Miss Frances Willis, third secretary of the Legation of Stockholm, Sweden, achieved this honour, which she announced in the following cryptic message sent to Secretary of State Stimson: — The Minister left last night. I have assumed charge.—Willis. Some searching of the department files was necessary before it was discovered that "Willis" is a woman heretofore lost sight of in her comparatively minor position. Miss Willis had been in the foreign service for only five years, but the State Department had no fear that for the month in which she was acting Minister she would not handle her duties with complete competence. For that period she was responsible for a complete legation staff including military and naval attaches and their assistants, a commercial attache, a Consul-General, and a Consul. For a woman only three years past thirty Miss Frances Elizabeth Willis already has had quite a career. She was born in Metropolis, 111., but of late years has resided in California. Graduated a Fh. D. at Stanford University, she later attended the University of Brussels in Belgium. She taught history at Goucher College find political science at Vassar College. In Newfoundland she served with the International Grenfell Association. She entered the foreign service in 1927, was Vice-Consul at Valparaiso and Santiago, Chile, until 1931, when she was commissioned a secretary and assigned to Stockholm.