In 1989, the New Yorker magazine had a two-piece article on the difficult situation that Mozambique was in. In the second part of the article, it reads, “There is also the Melissa Wells factor. (…) She was Portuguese-speaking, experienced in Africa, knowledgeable about Mozambique, and endlessly energetic, travelling the length of the country to see things for herself, and adopting local projects. From the news reports, it -seemed there was hardly an orphan in Mozambique who was not at risk for the American Ambassador’s kindness. She is a tall, handsome woman with the easy manner and the steady gaze of a very good poker player. She is a serious reporter, known for personally investigating important stories, asking hard questions, and making detailed notes. And she is taken seriously by the Mozambican government.” (Article by William Finnegan in the New Yorker, May 25, 1989. Finnegan also wrote a book about the civil war there, A Complicated War.)
This description sums up one of the high points of Melissa’s career: her time as ambassador to Mozambique, and the one-year period preceding it.
Under US law, the Senate must approve all ambassadors. Melissa was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, but a group of hard-right senators blocked her name for almost a year, not for personal reasons but because they objected to US policy. You can read more here.
During Melissa’s time in Mozambique, Renamo, the rebel group supported by the apartheid South African government, was waging an armed struggle against the Frelimo government. Renamo waged a campaign of terror, committing atrocities throughout much of the country. Melissa demonstrated tremendous courage in traveling throughout the country amid this conflict.
Michael Ranneberger, her second-in-command at the Embassy, remembers some of the trips they took together. On one occasion they crossed the Limpopo River in a small boat, with some Mozambican security guards accompanying them, to visit the site of an alleged massacre committed by Renamo. Melissa wanted to ensure that the Embassy conveyed the most accurate picture possible about what was transpiring in the country. This was essential, as right-wing members of Reagan’s administration and Members of Congress advocated for U.S. support for Renamo against the Marxist Mozambican government. On another occasion, Melissa and Mike flew in a small three-seater aircraft to land on a rough dirt strip for a similar investigation, narrowing missing crashing into a herd of grazing cattle as the plane flew in low over the trees and dipped for it landing onto the field.
The following quoted text is from Ann Miller Morin’s book, Her Excellency.
“I made it my business to travel a great deal, to visit the campos dos deslocados. These were the people who had been displaced, who are refugees within their own country. I talked to people in hospitals, and to civilians. Those with amnesty obviously had been carrying weapons before, but essentially [I talked) to civilians, to try to piece together from them, number one, what happened to them? How was this attack? And two, what was their understanding of what this world is all about? [I discovered] there was a strong internal component to the war that I had not been aware of and [that] was basically rooted in the mistakes that the [political party of] Frelimo [leaders] had made when they came to power at the time of independence. Once I learned about these and raised them with the government, they began to respond and say, ‘Yes, we admit we made mistakes. We made mistakes.’
Let me give you an example. Shortly after I arrived, I was, of course, making my calls, and I met with one of the leaders, what you would call the theoretician for the Frelimo party, [someone who could discuss] where they’ve been, where they’re going. It was a bit of a stiff meeting at first, and he was definitely what one would call a hard-liner. As we started to talk, I said, ‘You know, I’d like to try out on you some of the questions that I had to answer for the Senate of the United States to be confirmed.’
He reacted with amusement but quickly saw her point that the “language about Marxist-Leninist dogma” that Mozambicans spoke, with no intention of implementing the dogma, colored others’ perceptions of them. The point came up again later, after she and the theoretician had become good friends.
Before the Frelimo party congress in 1989, he put the question to me, saying, ‘Look, Melissa. If you could write it out, what would you like to see come out of this congress?’ I came back immediately and said, ‘Remember the first time we met, and I tried out those questions on you? Why do you need all these references in your charter to Marxism, Leninism, and all? You’re not doing it. You’re trying to privatize. The churches are open. Is this a monument that you need for sentimental reasons? This is your past. You’re shooting yourself in the foot. It’s time that you gave all this up.’ Now, I cannot say that I’m personally responsible for this, because there was a general trend in this direction in any event, but I’m pleased to report that as a result of that congress, there were no further references to Marxism or Leninism in the party thinking.”
Melissa had an excellent working relationship with Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano. In addition, two previous experiences helped make Melissa both comfortable and effective when operating in the environment of a Marxist-Leninist government in a violent country: she had been ambassador to Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, both of which had the same ideological roots as Frelimo, and she had served in Uganda, where law and order still had to be restored.
One of Melissa’s most important initiatives was to help reunite boys who had been separated by the civil war with their families in far-flung villages. Click here for more information.
She went into the interior, not just to inspect sites where attacks had taken place, but also to speak with local officials and farmers.
Albie Sachs, a white South African anti-apartheid activist who lived in Maputo, became friends with Melissa and considered her “a most unusual Ambassador who was a true friend to Africa, remarkable as much for what she wasn’t as for what she was.” Click here for more.
As was her duty, she accompanied Chissano on his visit to US President Ronald Reagan in the White House in October 1987.
She spoke on television and to the local printed press about the current issues.
Melissa’s husband Alfred also helped using his urban planning know-how. He wrote a study, for free, for the Mozambican government to estimate how much homes for poor people cost in Maputo.
Despite her busy schedule, the Ambassador found time to take care of her beauty. She would go regularly by plane to Johannesburg to have cosmetic touch-ups. She also did a little tourism, visiting the Ilha de Moçambique where in the 1800s the US had a consulate.
As of 2022, there were many pictures of Melissa at the US embassy in Maputo.
In 1991, she was named ambassador to Zaire.