<i>Dziennik ambasadora: Londyn 1994–1999</i> [Diary of an ambassador: London 1994–1999]

The new publication from the Polish Institute of International Affairs is a diary by Ryszard Stemplowski (b. 1939), former Polish ambassador to the United Kingdom (1994–1999). From 1999 to 2004, he served as the first director of the Polish Institute of Foreign Affairs, the institution responsible for publishing the volume reviewed here. During his stay as ambassador in London, he wrote a daily record of his service, involving bits of his private life and numerous meetings—more or less associated with his function.Stemplowski, a professor emeritus at the at Jagiellonian University in Krakόw, is a historian and lecturer in political theory and international relations. The first volume of the diary, encompassing five years of diplomatic service, is an interesting read not only for researchers of British-Polish relations but also for anyone looking for first-person accounts of international relations. Finally, it might even attract the attention of any enthusiast of diaries.The account starts with a few notes written during the time before Stemplowski's traveling to Great Britain. Various meetings, parties, projects, and concerns are recounted. There is occasional wit and a dose of honesty one might expect in a private account such as a diary. Through all the entries, an image of Stemplowski as ambassador emerges: a man who never stops learning more about the country he resides in and someone who is aware of the responsibility he carries. Certain entries allow the readers to familiarize themselves better with the diplomatic environment, although some things are noted without explanation.Sometimes there are risky dialogues or situations that not many would think of as associated with diplomacy as it is imagined to be. An example of that might be the bold comment towards the German ambassador about a missing portrait of Ribbentrop in the gallery of past ambassadors or an afterthought criticizing the atmosphere of the Anglo-Polish Society and the lack of young, educated people therein (p. 275). Beside such entries, others are of a more matter-of-fact tone, providing Stemplowski's summaries of newspapers read, notes analyzed, and things planned or done. The meticulous listing of political issues with which Stemplowski had to become familiar, his talks with other ambassadors and diplomats, and socially influential people, and the record of his contacts with the milieu of Polonia prove that beside the prestige and pleasures of splendorous gatherings, the life of an ambassador is not a leisurely one. One of the more visible problems described in the first part of the diary series is Poland's ambition of joining NATO. It was one of the crucial aims of Polish foreign policy after the country's democratization and the fall of the Soviet Union, which presented new opportunities (closely linked to the expanding relations with the Western world) and new challenges. Securing the safety of a country with a low position in the international arena was no easy task, and Stemplowski was working toward these goals, just as all the other representatives of Poland, especially members of the government and ambassadors to highly influential states. The nineties were also crucial to Poland's changing image and its globalization. Among other topics, there is also news about the development of TV Polonia (pp. 125–126), shining light on how media merges with public relations and builds the international image of a country.More personal topics, such as family life, are also present on the pages of the volume. Mentions of Stemplowski's wife, Irena, and their daughters give an image of a bustling life beyond the official sphere. In one of the entries, Stemplowski proposes to his family that they all might write diaries, to be compared years later (p. 241). However, the idea is rejected, perhaps because it was not perceived as a serious proposition based on the interests of women in his life. On the topic of women, one thing might cause some readers to raise an eyebrow. Stemplowski, though a married man, did not hesitate to write that one woman was emanating “a wave of intense sexuality” (p. 56) or to describe another woman, who was pregnant at that time, in similar terms.The additional materials placed at the end of the volume also include an index of names and institutions mentioned within the diary, as well as the contacts made during Stemplowski's diplomatic service. The closing part of the first volume is a short gallery of photographs of Stemplowski, his embassy co-workers, as well as photos from events in which he participated, and of some of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office workers. Another valuable addition is the full political report for the year 1994, giving further background of Polish foreign policy toward the United Kingdom at that time. It can also be seen as an official summary of the events that took place as the personal records were written. Even though Stemplowski cautiously (or realistically?) called his own activities “humble” (p. 361), one cannot help but be aware of the vast list of tasks assigned to the ambassador, who even participated in President Lech Wałęsa's visit to the United Kingdom (pp. 57–64).The first volume of Stemplowski's diary offers rich material to researchers of Polish-British relations and gives a glimpse into British domestic and foreign affairs in the mid-nineties. Some parts of this account reveal a conscious assessment of the possible limits of his political prognoses or the role that materials like this diary might play in investigating the development of contacts with the United Kingdom. Stemplowski's conclusion in the foreword to the diary informs the reader that despite what could have been omitted in the published text, it is a task for historians of Polish diplomacy to describe the full picture (p. 33). It is also thanks to the work of historians that books like this one become available to the public; in this case, thanks to Marcin Furdyna and Marek Rodzik, editors of this volume, and to Jacek Tebinka, who contributed to it by providing Michael J. Llewellyn-Smith's teleletter from December 22, 1993.Without doubt, a diplomat's own record is valuable not only as a personal tale of possible successes and failures but also as an important source written at the time of the described events. Such sources are especially sought after in historical research as they offer a broader image, being a good companion to the information found in official documents released by states or diplomatic missions. Stemplowski's penchant for journal-writing can even be partially observed nowadays by any visitor to his personal website, where he keeps a small blog referencing things ranging from world events to his private recollections. The readers of this volume are likely to find many new perspectives regarding well-known events and also anecdotes that could not find their way into the media. The volume presented by the Polish Institute of International Affairs is a highly useful addition to the entirety of works concerning Polish-British relations at the end of the twentieth century, in a period of crucial changes in European and global political affairs.