![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/diamonds-and-diplomacy-how-ex-envoy-robert-olson-fell-from-grace/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/131094303_olsonindex.jpg&description=Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Former Ambassador Olson's conviction has rocked the typically rule-following world of diplomacy In 2012, when Richard Olson reported to Islamabad to begin his posting as US ambassador to Pakistan, the veteran diplomat was faced with an icy welcome from his host country, angered by the United States' military raid a year earlier to kill Osama Bin Laden. On the surface, Ambassador Olson handled the assignment with skill - the hard-earned product of his 30-plus year career in the foreign service. When he retired four years later, in 2016, then-Secretary of State John Kerry gushed that Olson, "quite simply one of our most distinguished diplomats", had left a "lasting impact" on US diplomacy. But behind the scenes, Olson's arrival in Islamabad marked the beginning of a scandal-filled few years, US court documents have shown - extramarital affairs, unreported gifts of diamond jewellery, and accusations of lies and illegal lobbying. Olson did not respond to a request for comment, but in court filings his lawyer described the former diplomat's career and service to his country as "nothing but honourable". Still, last year, Olson admitted to lying in ethics paperwork and violating so-called "revolving door" laws by lobbying for Qatar within one year of retiring from federal service. On Friday, was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $93,400. Olson's dramatic fall from grace was both a shocking end to a lauded 34-year career and, experts say, a marked aberration in the typically buttoned-up world of US diplomacy. The state department did not return a request for comment on the case. "If anything the foreign service gets a reputation for blandness. Boring is the quality, usually," said Thomas Alan Schwartz, a history and politics professor at Vanderbilt University. "This case is striking… it seems he took tremendous risk." Indeed, court documents revealed that Olson's romantic life while in Pakistan may have opened){kind=link}
In 2012, when Richard Olson reported to Islamabad to begin his posting as US ambassador to Pakistan, the veteran diplomat was faced with an icy welcome from his host country, angered by the United States’ military raid a year earlier to kill Osama Bin Laden.
On the surface, Ambassador Olson handled the assignment with skill – the hard-earned product of his 30-plus year career in the foreign service.
When he retired four years later, in 2016, then-Secretary of State John Kerry gushed that Olson, “quite simply one of our most distinguished diplomats”, had left a “lasting impact” on US diplomacy.
But behind the scenes, Olson’s arrival in Islamabad marked the beginning of a scandal-filled few years, US court documents have shown – extramarital affairs, unreported gifts of diamond jewellery, and accusations of lies and illegal lobbying.
Last year, Olson admitted to lying in ethics paperwork and violating so-called “revolving door” laws by lobbying for Qatar within one year of retiring from federal service. On Friday, he was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $93,400.