KEITH C. SMITH is Senior Associate in the Energy and National Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also a consultant on international energy affairs to American and European companies and governments. In 2000, Ambassador Smith retired from the State Department’s Foreign Service after serving as ambassador to Lithuania. This followed a long career with emphasis on Europe and Latin America and assignments to Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Hungary, Norway, and Estonia. At the State Department, he was Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of State regarding U.S. assistance programs to Eastern Europe, Director for European Policy, and Director of Area Studies at the Foreign Service Institute. He also served as U.S. Representative to the G-24 countries assisting Eastern Europe. Ambassador Smith lectures on international energy issues in the U.S. and Europe and is the author of numerous articles on those issues. His work has taken him to almost every European and South American country and to several countries in Asia. He continues to travel extensively, particularly to East Central Europe, to consult with governments on energy policy. In this book, Ambassador Smith discusses his life and his career of nearly 40 years in diplomacy