HARRIMAN RECALLS UPS, DOWNS IN 3 YEARS AS ENVOY TO PARIS.

Byline: Christopher Burns Associated Press 

Pamela Harriman made her name by mingling with the rich and powerful, by throwing exclusive soirees on both sides of the Atlantic, by marrying men of political fame and influence.

A helpful background, it turns out, for being an effective U.S. ambassador to France - a tour of duty apparently coming to a close.

In her third year as Madame Ambassador, the glamorous Harriman won respect in Paris as someone with the high-level contacts to short-circuit Washington red tape in a crisis. She has mediated disputes over trade, Bosnia, NATO, the Middle East, Africa and CIA spying.

As she prepares to leave, Harriman admits the challenges were much tougher than she thought they would be.

With postelection changes occurring in the Clinton administration, there had been speculation that Harriman was among the many who would be stepping down. She herself fueled that speculation by telling reporters in recent months that she is ``ready to leave,'' comments she later denied.

But in an interview late last month with the Associated Press, the 76-year-old ambassador made her strongest statement yet that she is preparing for her departure. Asked exactly when she will leave, she said: ``I don't honestly know. . . . Not until someone is confirmed to replace me.''

Embassy sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said she probably will leave by mid-1997.

``Four years is a long time to be away from home,'' she said, sitting at her desk. Fireplaces crackled from either end of the wood-panel embassy office. She was, as usual, impeccably dressed, wearing a tailored navy dress and pearls.

There were some catty remarks when Clinton named Harriman ambassador in March 1993. Harriman had become the fund-raising doyenne of the Democratic Party, and some derided her new position as payback. Her ``Democrats for the '80s'' political action committee raised about $12 million during the Reagan and Bush administrations and up until Clinton was elected in 1992.

Unauthorized biographies portray Harriman, daughter of a British baron, as a social climber who married her way to the top. Her former husbands: Winston Churchill's son, Randolph; ``Sound of Music'' producer Leland Hayward; and New York governor and ex-ambassador Averell Harriman.

One biographer even likens Harriman to Madame de Pompadour, an influential courtesan of the 18th century French court.

Harriman refuses to comment on such writings: ``It's a waste of their time and mine.'' But there is no disputing that the French-speaking Harriman, who charms and disarms with her 1,000-watt smile, has succeeded with the Paris political ``court'' of today.

A ranking French government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, praised Harriman for her charm and skill at defusing crises.

The source, who like most French officials refused to speak on the record about a foreign ambassador, said that Harriman's guest lists at embassy soirees reflected her understanding of French society - a society where bureaucrats can wield more influence than lawmakers, and intellectuals have the ear of those in power.

Harriman indirectly concurred: ``I am a political animal. I'm interested in my country's politics and other countries' politics.''

Last year, she says, she helped mediate a squabble over where to hold the Bosnian peace treaty signing. Harriman, who credits President Jacques Chirac with playing a major role in NATO intervention, pressed Washington to go along after France threatened not to initial the treaty if the signing was not in Paris.

Harriman's biggest crisis came in 1995, when then-Interior Minister Charles Pasqua summoned her to say five CIA operatives were spying. The U.S.-French relationship ``has not suffered because of it,'' she insists.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Pamela Harriman may be calling it quits as ambassador to France.

Associated Press