“The UK and US are unshakeable allies,” said Rachel Galloway, British consul general for the southeastern United States, this past Monday evening. She also noted that the two countries have “shared values, beliefs, freedom, democracy and rule of law.”
Galloway spoke as the guest of the Fourth District Republican Club at a dinner on the 17th floor of the City Club of Greenville in downtown Greenville, SC. The sold-out crowd, many of whom were attired in formal wear, dined on chicken breast in rosemary cream sauce and salmon. Among the attendees were WORD talk-radio hosts Charlie James and Tara Servatius.
Galloway has a long line of diplomatic bona fides. Early in her career, she served in the British Embassy in Washington. She said that she had the privilege to be in the room during some of the most important conversations between the two countries during that time.
Galloway has also served her country in Darfur, Sudan, in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, and as the UK's permanent representative to the European Union in Brussels.
From 2018-2022 Galloway served as Britain's ambassador to North Macedonia. It was during her tenure that that Balkan country was admitted as the 30th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which she described as the ultimate guarantor of security for over one billion people.
In 2022, Galloway came back to the United States to take up her current post, which is headquartered in Atlanta. She represents British interests in this part of the country. She noted that much of her career has involved working with Americans.
During her current posting, she has experienced the flavor of the Southeast, having visited such places as Dollywood and a NASCAR race. She has acquainted herself with Americans, who have returned the favor.
“I've met so many people who trace their heritage to England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and they want to share that heritage with us,” she said. People have come up to her in the Kroger grocery store when they hear her accent. “They want to share their feeling. People feel the connection,” she said.
She remarked about the fascination that she has discovered that Americans have toward all things British, including the monarchy and the royal family. Indeed, at the beginning of her remarks, she presented Leupp with a small framed painting of last year's coronation of King Charles.
Last year, she attended, along with South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, the reinterment of several Revolutionary War soldiers, including two who fought for the crown, at the Camden battlefield, noting that even the Revolutionary War is part of the shared heritage of the two countries.
“But the wounds of the Battle of Camden and the Revolutionary War have long since healed and our two nations are trusted friends and allies,” she said, adding, “This special relationship, embedded in everything that we do together, will continue to be vital to international peace and security.”
After Galloway's remarks, club president Nate Leupp presented a lifetime achievement award to former Greenville County Republican Party chairman and talk-radio host Joey Hudson. The late Geri Warren, a long-time local party activist, was also so honored.
