Monday, Jun. 13, 1983

A Charmer and a Pro

I suppose I should employ the old mother-in-law joke about mixed feelings. It's like seeing your mother-in-law going over a cliff in your new Cadillac." With that happy-go-lucky quip, L. (for Langhorne) Anthony Motley confirmed to newsmen that he would be replacing Thomas O. Enders as Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. The mixed feelings might apply equally well to Thomas R. Pickering, who was unexpectedly nominated last week for the daunting position of U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador. But the good-humored nonchalance was vintage Motley.

Whereas Enders sometimes projects an air of lofty erudition, the boyish and plain-spoken Motley relies on agile street smarts rather than deskbound knowledge, and on an instinctive gift for dealing with individuals rather than ideas. The son of an American oil executive and a British-Brazilian mother, he was born and grew up amid sun-splashed privilege in Rio de Janeiro. After graduating from the Citadel military school in Charleston, S.C., Motley joined the Air Force and was posted from 1965 to 1967 in Panama--his only Central American experience--and later in Alaska. There he switched careers and founded what has since become the largest real estate firm in the state. He was, recalls Anchorage Attorney Clifford Groh, "affable, very enjoyable," but also a "take-charge sort of guy."

It was while canvassing for Alaska's two Senators that Motley, though no ideologue, endeared himself to Republicans on Capitol Hill. That association earned him the ambassadorship to Brazil in July 1981, amid a chorus of skeptical murmurs. But Motley's brand of eager and enterprising informality was well suited to his birthplace. He not only silenced his detractors but also charmed an impressive number of high-level Brazilians, all in fluent Portuguese. Sometimes driving out to the country in his pickup for drinks with Brazil's President Joao Baptista Figueiredo, he was instrumental in arranging state visits between Figueiredo and Reagan.

To offset his lack of diplomatic experience, Motley should bring to Central America a familiarity with Latin ways, an understanding of the military mind and a smooth social adroitness. Dressed, characteristically, in blue jeans and sports shirt, he told TIME that a change in U.S. policy toward Latin America was not necessary. But he does believe that the disproportionate amount of attention Central America has attracted in Washington has obscured U.S. interests elsewhere in the hemisphere. After Motley's auspicious first week in his new position, one State Department official observed, "He might even come to be branded a pragmatist."

In contrast to the easygoing Motley, Pickering is a low-key but highly regarded career diplomat who has quietly glided up in the State Department hierarchy. Having been executive secretary of the State Department, a high post involving Internal management, Pickering served as Ambassador to Jordan from 1974 to 1978 and, since 1981, to Nigeria. In both nations, he won admirers. A senior Jordanian diplomat remembers him as one of Washington's best envoys to the kingdom, "a first-rate professional diplomat who always dealt with us honestly and intelligently." Beneath his softspoken, scholarly demeanor, Pickering can be personable and witty. Indeed, he established an unusual rapport both with Jordan's King Hussein and with Nigerian President Shehu Shagari.

Above all, Pickering is celebrated for his ability to assimilate facts quickly and efficiently. "He's the sort of ambassador who spends a lot of time on details in order to paint the big picture well," recalled a Western diplomat in Lagos. One handy example of that diligence: Pickering has been studying, and doubtless mastering, Spanish. "That," remarked Secretary of State George Shultz, "is where he showed great foresight." The coming months will reveal what other strengths he and Motley can bring to a troubled area. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.