Bolton at Bat

JOHN BOLTON brought the gavel down at 10 A.M., right on time-but he was the only one in the room. That’s how the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations started his month as president of the Security Council. The presidency of the Council rotates monthly, going through all 15 members, in alphabetical order (according to English). February was the turn of the United States, and thus of Ambassador Bolton.

He maintained to one and all that starting on time was “a form of discipline,” and also “a matter of courtesy.” The United Nations is famously sluggish and unwieldy, and Bolton wanted to shape it up a little. On that first day, the Council got going about 10:15. But the members were more punctual thereafter, as Bolton says, in a post-presidency interview: “We were hitting somewhere between 10 and 10:05 every day.” And “people appreciated it,” this change in the U.N. style.

About the Author

Jay Nordlinger

Jay Nordlinger was a senior editor of National Review and a book fellow at National Review Institute.

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JOHN BOLTON brought the gavel down at 10 A.M., right on time-but he was the only one in the room. That’s how the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations started his month as president of the Security Council. The presidency of the Council rotates monthly, going through all 15 members, in alphabetical order (according to English). February was the turn of the United States, and thus of Ambassador Bolton.

He maintained to one and all that starting on time was “a form of discipline,” and also “a matter of courtesy.” The United Nations is famously sluggish and unwieldy, and Bolton wanted to shape it up a little. On that first day, the Council got going about 10:15. But the members were more punctual thereafter, as Bolton says, in a post-presidency interview: “We were hitting somewhere between 10 and 10:05 every day.” And “people appreciated it,” this change in the U.N. style.