A new gay ambassador.

It was a quiet victory in a difficult time. One week after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Secretary of State Colin Powell presided over the swearing in of Michael Guest, an openly gay longtime state department employee, as U.S. ambassador to Romania. During the ceremony Powell took the time to respectfully acknowledge Guest's partner of six years, Alex Nevarez. Powell, of course, led the opposition to lifting the military's antigay ban in 1993 as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In 1998, Senate Republican leaders blocked the nomination of openly gay philanthropist James Hormel as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. Hormel took office only after Clinton made him a rare congressional-recess appointment, allowing him to bypass the confirmation process. "For the secretary to make that statement in the ceremony was very important," says Hormel from his San Francisco home. "This shows that the new Senate leadership is basing its decisions on merits, not on sexual orientation."