Profile: Thomas C Foley: He has few Irish-American connections despite his name, but has close links with the US president, having helped in the rebuilding of Iraq's economy, writes Deaglán de Bréadún
Sometimes one hears Sinn Féin figures speak about "the republican family" but it is easy to forget there is a similar social and political grouping in the United States, although much richer and located at the other end of the political spectrum.
Thomas Foley is part of that family. The story goes that when George W Bush bumped into him at a wedding in June 2003, the President greeted Foley with the news that he had a position in mind for him. The assignment on that particular occasion was to head up the private sector development division of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the transitional body set up by the US to run Iraq in the immediate aftermath of Saddam Hussein's downfall.
Heady stuff: you are attending the nuptials of a friend's daughter when the leader of the free world comes up and offers you a job. There's always a downside and the job in question could be seen as a poisoned chalice. The Iraqi economy was devastated by years of war, sanctions, corruption, looting, cruelty and dictatorship. Foley's principal task was to privatise a total of 192 state-owned enterprises in Saddam's Soviet-style economy. Asked if the new post was a reward for political fundraising, Foley was quoted as calling it a "short straw".
But he set about his duties with a will, undeterred by the sweltering Mesopotamian heat. By all accounts, during his brief eight-month tenure he helped factories back onto their feet and put many thousands of Iraqis back to work. Saddam had warned about "the mother of all battles" but Foley called his project "the mother of all turnarounds", and he received the US Department of Defence Distinguished Public Service Award in recognition of his efforts. Those were heady days for the Bush administration and its supporters. The insurgency was only getting under way and they could still persuade themselves that the overwhelming bulk of the population they had liberated from dictatorship would be grateful to them.
Inevitably there were allegations of cronyism when he got the Iraq job, as there will be now with his nomination as Ambassador to Ireland. His defenders can at least claim that, unlike most cronies, he has obvious ability and qualifications.
But that won't save him from the detractors who see only the fundraising activities for the President's re-election campaign and the family friendship with the Bush dynasty. He won his place among the Bush "pioneers" when the funds he raised in Connecticut crossed the requisite threshold of $100,000 (€79,000).
His critics would probably apply the label "true believer" when they read his analysis of the Iraqi situation, delivered in February 2005 but still available on the website of his investment company NTC.
Essentially, his argument is that nations with annual per capita incomes under about $5,000 "rarely support stable democratic institutions". He continues: "To get back above $5,000, Iraq must overcome a number of challenges, but the goal is within reach."
THOMAS COLEMAN FOLEY grew up in the Chicago area. His father, Gifford P Foley, was an investment banker in the Windy City. His maternal grandfather Thomas E Coleman was an industrialist and long-time leader of the Republican Party in Wisconsin.
Like the Bushes (father and son) young Foley attended private school at Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts. He later graduated in Economics from Harvard College before going on to secure a Master's of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. George W Bush also studied for his MBA at Harvard around this time, and a brother of Thomas's was a classmate of the future president.
Early in his business career, Foley worked for McKinsey and Company in New York City. He went on to become a vice-president at Citicorp Venture Capital, also in New York, before founding NTC in 1985. Foley's particular expertise lies in acquiring controlling interests in firms in order to turn them around by improving their performance and expanding their business.
In addition to his role as NTC president, he also chairs two other companies. The first, TB Wood's Corporation, is a long-established designer, manufacturer and distributor of power transmission products for industry. With its headquarters in Pennsylvania, the company has operations in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy and India as well as the US.
But what will really get the Left and anti-war elements going is his chairmanship of Stevens Aviation, Inc of Greenville, South Carolina. According to the NTC website, "Stevens provides the US military with all its depot maintenance on the C-12 [ aircraft], the military version of the Beechcraft King Air. Stevens also performs major modification work for military aircraft."
But while the Left may be disposed to categorise him as part of the "military-industrial complex", there is another, softer side to Thomas Foley that may appeal to those concerned with problems of family law. This is clearly a subject in which he has a close and abiding personal interest. In a newspaper article for the New Haven Register in June, 2005, he wrote: "People who have never been divorced have only a vague, second-hand view of the Kafkaesque world that awaits divorcing parents who can't agree on a parenting arrangement for their children." Explaining how custody battles can result in the defeated parent doing strange things, he continues: "It is crazy behaviour by people who were probably normal until they were driven crazy by their unfortunate personal circumstances and a divorce and custody system that isn't responding well enough to their needs."
Now aged 54, Foley is a divorced father with one teenage son and it will be interesting to see whether he takes any part in the burgeoning Irish debate on family law and child custody issues.
DESPITE BEING THE bearer of a popular Irish surname, little is known of Tom Foley in Irish-American circles, where his Democratic Party namesake and former Speaker of the House of Representatives was very well-known. Phone calls to the usual sources in the US confirmed only that he has no profile of any significance in that particular community. However, his family tree is awash with Irish forebears and, in addition to Foley and Coleman, includes such other names as Loughran, Murphy, and Flinn.
Foley's appointment is subject to confirmation by the US Senate, and a hearing on Capitol Hill is scheduled for Wednesday. In a Congressional election year, the Democrats will be seeking any and every means of embarrassing the president and his party but there is little sign at the moment of any objections to the nomination. He will have a hard act to follow in the person of current ambassador James Kenny who finishes his tour of duty in November and whose hard work and commitment won him admirers even among those who have little time for the Bush administration's foreign policy.
The fact that Foley is so close to the circles around George W Bush may mean that the White House is placing an increased emphasis on the importance of good relations with this country. There are plenty of touchy issues for the new envoy to get his teeth into, such as the continuing controversy over the use of Shannon Airport as a transit point by US troops as well as, allegedly, by CIA aircraft involved in so-called "extraordinary renditions".
But if things get really problematic he should have little difficulty getting through to the Oval Office for further instructions. Tom Foley has a direct line to the Bush telegraph.
The Foley File
Who is he? Connecticut businessman who is a friend and fundraiser for George W Bush
Why is he in the news? He is the White House nominee as Ambassador to Ireland, subject to Senate confirmation
Most appealing characteristic? Energetic and enthusiastic
Least appealing characteristic? Sometimes over-enthusiastic, say critics
Most likely to say: "That will not be a problem, Mr President!"
Least likely to say: "Hmmm, maybe we shouldn't have gone into Iraq after all"