Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman's Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue

Averell Harriman died on July 26, 1986, at the age of 94. A funeral was held, but his coffin, buried next to his first wife, Marie, was later revealed to be empty. Pamela wanted him to be buried next to her, and so had him stored in a deep freeze. The story caused a minor scandal when it was reported. Averell’s daughters were furious when they learned their father had left them practically nothing in the will.

After her husband’s death, Pamela, now 66, began to see other men. She became increasingly close to Carter Brown, age 52. He seemed to assume they would marry, but Pamela had no intentions of remarrying now that she was finally independent.

On November 5, 1986, Pamela celebrated with the other Democrats after a mid-term election, which led them to win a majority in the Senate and to increase their House majority. Party leadership and politicians felt “indebted” to Pamela for her role in their victory.

Over time, Pamela’s views about women’s rights had changed. Where she was once skeptical about women in power, she came to support female candidates like Dianne Feinstein. She also lobbied Joe Biden to support abortion rights for women. However, she had “a blind spot on some issues,” as when she did not support Anita Hill in her claims of sexual harassment by Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas (331).

Pamela used her newfound freedom to donate large amounts to secure board positions in organizations like the Atlantic Council and the Council on Foreign Relations. She also attended foreign fact-finding missions to China, Japan, the Middle East, and Turkey, becoming “something of a foreign affairs expert” (332).

In December 1987, Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev came on a state visit to Washington. He was immediately smitten by Pamela’s charm. Gorbachev’s wife, Raisa, reluctantly accepted an invitation to the White House from Nancy Reagan, but she lobbied for an invitation to Pamela’s Georgetown home. At a State Department lunch, Raisa and Pamela were talking when they were rudely interrupted by New York property developer Donald Trump, who was “lobbying” to build a Trump Tower “opposite the Kremlin” in Moscow (335).

When Raisa visited Pamela’s home, there was a huge crowd of photographers outside. Pamela showed solidarity and support for the woman and the future of Russia. She felt she was upholding Averell’s “legacy” of “working for world peace through dialogue” (338). In April 1988, Pamela gave a speech at Georgetown about her experience in diplomacy that was found boring by many, but which showed Pamela could be a serious political thinker.

In 1988, British journalist Henry Fairlie wrote a cruel piece entitled “SHAMELA” about Pamela in The New Republic. Republicans were delighted. The Democratic establishment voiced its support for Pamela after the hit piece, but Pamela considered leaving politics altogether.

Pamela decided to stay in political organizing in the hopes that the Democrats could win the 1988 election against George Bush, Sr. She initially supported Gary Hart, Joe Biden, and Al Gore until they were all brought down by scandals. Bill Clinton also lost favor due to his poor performance at the Democratic convention. Ultimately, Dukakis won the nomination. However, Pamela worked with the Clintons on a new media strategy. Bill Clinton’s performance playing saxophone on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show helped garner national attention. Pamela was frustrated when Dukakis lost to Bush. After the election, Pamela’s PAC focused on her National Polling Project to improve Democratic political messaging through polls. Her sophisticated approach garnered support from party leaders.

In 1989, Winston published his autobiography, Memories and Adventures. Pamela was hurt by her portrayal in the book as a cold and distant mother.

Pamela began to experience financial distress after the stock crash of 1987. She sold her airplane and several valuables, including her art. In 1991, her financial advisor, Clark Clifford, was enmeshed in the Bank of Commerce and Credit International (BCCI) money laundering scandal, but she continued to support him. When it became clear Pamela would not gift any more art to the National Gallery, she lost touch with Carter Brown. Her chief of staff, Janet, in an interview with the author, said she thought “he had been after her paintings” (349). In 1990, Pamela disbanded PamPAC.

As she turned 70 and the 1992 election approached, Pamela felt it was her last chance to make a difference. Her health was failing, and she was stressed by Slim Hayward’s tell-all memoir, which portrayed her as “a power-crazed stepmother, gold digger and man snatcher” (350).

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Pamela went on a fact-finding mission to meet with Soviet Republic leaders, accompanied by Richard Holbrooke. He was impressed with her calm in the turbulent circumstances despite her advanced age.

In 1989, Pamela supported the election of Ron Brown to chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He was the first Black person to hold the position. They worked together to make the DNC “a more efficient and aggressive operation” (355). They felt the Democrats could win in 1992. Pamela held crucial fundraising dinners to raise over $3 million to support their nominee. In October 1991, Bill Clinton entered the race. Pamela stood by him even after the Gennifer Flowers story came out; Flowers alleged she had had an affair with Clinton for 12 years. She was also likely involved in the selection of Al Gore as Clinton’s running mate.

On September 13, 1992, Pamela held a massive fundraiser for Clinton at Willow Oaks. Hundreds of extra guests arrived, and it was a bit chaotic, but they raised $2.2 million. Clinton won the 1992 election in November. Two weeks later, Clinton made a public appearance at Pamela’s home to thank her for her support. He toasted her as “the First Lady of the Democratic Party” (365). While Pamela waited to be appointed ambassador, she hosted South African leader Nelson Mandela at her home in another semi-public event and a show of solidarity with the end of apartheid.

There was ongoing speculation in Washington that the relationship between Hilary Clinton and Pamela had a frosty relationship due to competition for Bill Clinton’s attentions. Purnell counters this by arguing that the women had a tense relationship due to Pamela’s insecurity about her lack of education compared to Hilary and Hilary’s lack of seductive warmth compared to Pamela. Over time, though, they found common ground as women who “had climbed to the top of the ultimate boys’ club through self-discipline and hard work” (369).

In 1991, Pamela agreed to work with Time journalist Christopher Ogden to write an authorized biography of her life. However, after hours of interviews, Pamela backed out of the agreement. Ogden sued, demanding outstanding payments for his work, and refused to turn over his interview tapes. The legal conflict cost her $3 million. In 1993, she sold her Barbados home and airplane to cover the costs.

In March 1993, President Clinton appointed Pamela as ambassador to France. She was the first woman to hold the position. Conservatives complained because of her salacious past. The British press raised questions about her qualifications. Clinton insisted she was the best-qualified person for the job at a time when Franco-American relations were “prickly.” Pamela was nervous about the approval hearing in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. However, the committee chair, Joe Biden, smoothed the way, and even conservative members like Jesse Helms were won over by her charm. Hundreds attended a party celebrating her appointment to the post.

On May 27, 1993, Pamela arrived in Paris with her all-female ambassadorial team. The French people admired her glamour and her scandalous past. She settled into the US residence known as the Hôtel de Pontalba at 41 rue du Faubourg St. Honoré. She used her own funds to redecorate and modernize the residence. She also hung her own artwork, including the White Roses Van Gogh, which had hung in the Georgetown house. She insisted on the title Madame l’ambassadeur in French, as Madame l’ambassadrice was typically reserved for ambassador’s wives.

Pamela kept up a busy schedule as ambassador. She became involved in the final stages of the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations. She used her experience as a backchannel negotiator to find compromises in the trade agreements between France and the US. She became close with the French President Mitterrand and his Gaullist prime minister.

In October 1993, Pamela met brash businesswoman Linda Wachner. They had “an unusually intense friendship” (392), which concerned some of Pamela’s oldest friends and colleagues. She even trusted Linda with some financial decisions.

Maintaining the ambassador’s residence and the hosting duties it required was expensive, far outstripping Pamela’s State Department budget. Janet, Pamela’s chief of staff, and others raised concerns about the state of Pamela’s finances.

In December 1993, Kathy and Mary Harriman, Averell’s daughters, arrived in Paris to confront Pamela about the state of the Harriman estate. They had discovered that “a financial ‘cataclysm’ […] had all but destroyed one of America’s great fortunes” (397). They were furious that Pamela had not employed better financial advisors to manage the estate. Pamela was forced to liquidate assets to cover the shortfall, and she was dragged into litigation for years. Pamela’s friendship with Kathy came to an end.

Also in December 1993, Pamela was put under further strain by the publication of Ogden’s now-unauthorized biography, Life of the Party. It focused on her past as a “scarlet lady.” Pamela sued for defamation.

Pamela’s friends grew concerned about her well-being. Her financial and legal problems “tax[ed] her time, energy, resources and health” (401).

While other ambassadors depended on their wives to assist with hosting duties and social events, Pamela had no partner. She was nevertheless determined to do both aspects of the work, statecraft and socializing, on her own. Pamela returned to Washington, where she was celebrated for her successes in France. She was a bright spot in an embattled Clinton administration. She was disappointed when the midterms ushered in a Republican Congress.

In June 1994, Pamela threw herself into preparations for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. As one of the few people still in government who remembered the event and what it meant, Pamela gave an emotional speech in Normandy on the day of the celebration.

In January 1995, Pamela became ensconced in a scandal when the French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua leaked details of CIA operations spying on the GATT negotiations. Pamela fought back by insinuating in the press that he had only leaked the details to improve his electoral chances in the upcoming French presidential elections. She also provided his rival, Jacques Chirac, with political media support. Pasqua lost, and Jacques Chirac won the election on May 7. Chirac did not forget the favor, and Pamela became “the only ambassador to have access to Chirac” (414).

To help stabilize her finances and pay off the multiplying lawsuits over the Harriman estate, Pamela auctioned off many of her valuables, including her art collection, except for the Van Gogh.

In 1992, fighting broke out in the Balkans between Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia. Bosnian Muslims were being ethnically cleansed. Clinton was reluctant to intervene. French UN troops were killed attempting to manage the conflict. They wanted the US to support their efforts. Pamela used her relationship with the two leaders, Chirac and Clinton, to garner support for a US military intervention in the Balkan conflict, which was finally approved in 1995. Soon after, Clinton, Chirac, and the Balkan leaders signed a peace agreement at the Élysée Palace (the French White House) with Pamela’s support. Le Monde would later hail her accomplishments as a go-between between the two nations.

Pamela eventually and finally settled the Harriman estate lawsuits. The tension between the two permanently destroyed her relationships with the Harrimans. As Pamela became more isolated, Linda Wachner became a more important relationship in her life, edging out even important staff like Janet.

Pamela wished to be replaced in her role as ambassador after Clinton won reelection in 1996. She recommended the highly experienced Frank Wisner replace her in the role. She also supported Madeline Albright’s nomination to Secretary of State.

Pamela had considered moving in with Linda after she stepped down as ambassador. Despite her busy social schedule, she was lonely.

On February 1, 1997, Pamela flew to the UK to attend the christening of her great-granddaughter, Arabella Repard. She went on a strenuous horseback ride as well. She returned that evening to Paris. The next day, she went to the Hôtel Ritz for her daily swim. She collapsed while swimming and was transported to the American Hospital in Neuilly. Doctors declared Pamela brain dead, and she died soon after.

Clinton had organized a not-quite state funeral for her at the National Cathedral, as ambassadors do not traditionally merit state funerals. He gave a stirring and generous eulogy about her service to the nation. France posthumously awarded her the Grand Croix of the Légion d’Honneur.

Winston was shocked when Pamela left half her estate to his ex-wife, Minnie, in “her last act as convert to the female cause” (443). People were also surprised she left nothing to her long-time chief of staff, Janet.

Purnell ends with a quote from diplomat Richard Holbrooke lauding Pamela’s intelligence, diplomatic talents, and independence.