Belgium's former US ambassador: "It was no fun to be me"

Howard Gutman, the former US ambassador to Belgium, spoke publicly last week in the Flemish TV talk show Reyers laat about his final weeks in Belgium last summer, which saw him leave the country in a firestorm of controversy. Gutman specifically thanked Belgian leaders for supporting him at the time.

A member of staff in the US state department claimed that statements about Gutman soliciting prostitutes and being involved in drug deals in Brussels’ Warande Park during his term had been removed from a report. The US ambassador’s residence is across the street from the park.

Gutman vehemently denied the allegations, and an ensuring investigation found no evidence of misconduct. “When it hit the Belgian press, it was no fun to be me,” he said on Reyers laat. “The park is under 24/7 surveillance to protect the residence of the US ambassador, so no one could do anything without everyone knowing about it.”

Gutman described how he had been supported by Belgian colleagues during the ordeal, mentioning federal defence minister Peter De Crem, EU Council president Herman Van Rompuy and Princess Astrid.

He was particularly grateful, he said, to Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters, who supported him at a business event just hours after the allegations emerged. “Kris Peeters gave me a big hug,” Gutman said. “I will never forget that.”