At the U.N., a Growing Republican Presence

"Some people don't check their views about other nationalities at the door," Bertini said. "There are several senior executives who were, as far as I'm concerned, anti-American, who made comments in meetings about Americans and or talked about the United States in what I considered a negative tone."

Still, there have been signs of improvement in Republicans' standing in the U.N. system. The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which was derided by the Reagan administration as a wasteful institution that served the interests of anti-Western countries, selected first lady Laura Bush in 2003 as its honorary ambassador for the U.N. Decade of Literacy.

It also recently appointed an educator and former Republican legislator, Peter Smith, as assistant director general for education. Senior Bush officials, meanwhile, have praised UNESCO, likening its universal literacy initiative, "Education for All," to the administration's No Child Left Behind program.

Bush officials still believe the United Nations interfered in the 2004 election to the benefit of Democrats by stepping up criticism of the U.S. postwar effort in Iraq during the presidential campaign. They also assert that the United Nations is institutionally biased against Republicans. Annan's appointment this year of former president Bill Clinton as his special envoy for tsunami relief, they say, underscores a preference for Democrats.

"It's no secret that the views of many in the United Nations align more directly with the views of the Democratic foreign policy establishment," said Stuart W. Holliday, a Republican who is a former U.S. representative to the United Nations for special political affairs.

U.N. officials say they have felt besieged by the Bush administration, which has questioned the organization's relevance when it opposed the invasion of Iraq, and by Republican lawmakers who have championed campaigns to withhold funding to the world body and to force the U.N. chief to resign.

U.N. officials say that despite Republicans' criticism, they have appointed prominent Republicans, including former secretary of state James A. Baker III, to carry out important diplomatic missions.

They say they have also tried to recruit friendly Republicans into the United Nations' ranks, but that they have shown little interest. Several former Republican lawmakers have turned down offers to serve as the chief U.N. liaison official in Washington, a post that will be filled by a seasoned U.S. legislative affairs professional, William Davis.

U.N. officials and independent observers agree that there has been a dearth of Republican officials hired at the United Nations, contributing to a wide communication gap between New York and Washington.

"In recent years, my impression is the secretary general has not had enough people around him who really understand more the conservative political philosophy in the United States," said Edward C. Luck, a Columbia University professor who specializes on the United Nations.

"I think they have been feeding him bad advice, because he just doesn't seem to get it when it comes to dealing with Washington. It's not that he should be surrounded by a bunch of neocons, but he should have some people who in a very unvarnished way can sort of explain to him about American perspectives."

Luck said the fault also lies with the Republican Party, which has a shortage of internationalists who care about U.N. affairs and want to work here. Those few Republicans who have been sent to New York to "shake up the system" may find it hard to leaving a lasting mark. "I think the system is very hard to move," Luck said. "You send someone to New York, and in a couple of years they begin to sound a lot more like a U.N. person than a Bush administration appointee."

In Burnham's case, at least, there have been no signs of a political conversion. Said one senior U.N. official: "The Kool-Aid hasn't made its way through his bloodstream yet."