Rufus Gifford, the US Ambassador to Denmark, is one of 6 openly gay Ambassadors appointed by President Obama. The Diplomatic Service has come along way since 1997, when the first gay U.S. ambassador, James Hormel, was nominated, and many senators opposed him because of his sexuality. Gifford was awarded his position after serving as Finance Director for Barack Obama’s presidential re-election campaign in 2012.
In 2014 he agreed to allow a film crew to make a documentary about his life as the Ambassador, including his marriage to his husband Stephen DeVincent a Provincetown Veterinary, thinking that the finished film would only be seen in Denmark. However Netflix is now airing this 6 part series in the US and other countries around the world much to Gifford’s apprehension “While I am incredibly nervous about the show being aired all over the world—especially in my home country—I believe in it with all my heart,” he said.
