Kay Bailey Hutchison joins Dallas Mayor’s International Advisory Council
The group of former ambassadors focuses on enhancing the city’s international stature.
DALLAS — Kay Bailey Hutchison, the former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and former U.S. Senator from Texas, will join the Mayor’s International Advisory Council (MIAC), Mayor Eric Johnson announced Tuesday.
Ambassador Hutchison, for whom the City’s downtown convention center was renamed in 2013, joins former U.S. Ambassadors Richard Fisher, Kathryn Hall, Robert Jordan, James C. Oberwetter, and Jeanne L. Phillips as members of MIAC. Phillips serves as the MIAC’s chair.
Mayor Johnson initially formed the MIAC in January 2020 to help guide the City’s international relations efforts. Many of those efforts were delayed for months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group’s goal is to strengthen and grow the city’s global business and diplomatic ties and boost international tourism in Dallas.
“The Mayor’s International Advisory Council is helping to take our great city to the next level in international affairs,” Mayor Johnson said. “I am thrilled that Ambassador Hutchison has agreed to add her unmatched experience and insight to an already amazing team. Together, we will help Dallas build for the future in this increasingly interconnected world.”
“I am pleased that Mayor Johnson is prioritizing international opportunities for Dallas,” Ambassador Hutchison said. “We should be the transportation hub for international trade because of our central location and one of the top 5 busiest airports in the U.S., DFW, with rail and highway access. In addition to economic development, our great convention center can grow by attracting more international visitors to meet and enjoy our parks, restaurants, cultural arts and museums.”
Hutchison served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO from August 2017 until January 2021. Her distinguished career in public service began when she was elected to the first of two terms in the Texas House of Representatives in 1972. In 1990, she was elected as state treasurer, a role in which she served until she won a special election for the U.S. Senate in 1993. She won re-election in 1994, 2000, and 2006 before declining to run again in 2012. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin — earning a bachelor’s degree and a law degree — and has also worked as a broadcast journalist and businesswoman.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ambassador Hutchison to our council of experts on international affairs,” Phillips said. “Dallas is already an international city with top-tier assets and talent, but through the collective efforts of Mayor Johnson and the MIAC, we can ensure Dallas reaches its full potential on the global stage.”
Mayor Johnson has made international affairs a key part of his Build for the Future agenda. In a recent column published by The Hill, Mayor Johnson made the case for the U.S. Department of State to create an Office of Subnational Diplomacy that could help coordinate international efforts for governors and local leaders.
As part of the effort to engage with other cities, Mayor Johnson last week launched a fundraising campaign for the City of Jaipur in Rasthajan, India, in a partnership with his Park Board appointee, Arun Agarwal, and The Dallas Foundation. Mayor Johnson also had dinner recently with British Ambassador to the United States Karen Pierce. And earlier this month, the mayor met with His Majesty King Oyo of the Tooro Kingdom in Uganda and his mother, Her Royal Highness Best Kemigisa, at City Hall.
Mayor Johnson also recently announced the hiring of Beth Huddleston as his Chief of Protocol and International Relations to work closely with the MIAC.
