U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Swaziland Visits JSIS

Sept. 21, 2000

The Trade Development Alliance has dignitaries in town throughout the year. Since we are an international school, and our principal Karen Kodama is on their advisory committee, we are fortunate to have dignitaries visit our school.

Our first guest was Ambassador Gregory Lee Johnson, the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Swaziland in southern Africa. He is originally from Washington, and is a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor. He joined the Foreign Service in 1967, and his 30 year professional career has included overseas postings to the U.S. Missions in Vietnam, Japan, Somalia, Brazil, Russia, Sweden and Canada. Ambassador Johnson is fluent in Vietnamese, Japanese, Russian and Swedish. He received a B.A. from Washington State University in Pullman and an M.A. Degree in International Relations from American University in Washington, D.C.

Ambassador Johnson visited grades 2, 3, 4/5 and the Bilingual Orientation classes on Sept. 21, 2000. Thank you, Ambassador Johnson, for an exciting visit!

If you would like to learn more about a school in Swaziland you can look at the web site for Setsembiso School.

Click here if you would like to hear the national anthem of the Kingdom of Swaziland.

Here are a few facts about Swaziland from the Encyclopedia Britannica:

• Swaziland is bordered by South Africa on the north, west, and south and by Mozambique on the east
• It has an area 6,704 square miles (17,364 square km). (King County is about 2,200 square miles.)
• In 1998 its population was estimated to be 966,000 people. (King County has more than 1.5 million people.)
• In 1986 over 42% of the adult population over the age of 25 had had no formal education.
• In 1996 the GNP per capita (Gross National Product for the year, divided by the number of people) was U.S.$1,210.

Return to the Past Highlights main page.