of crops, processing and marketing assisted by the United States Agency for International Development. This effort was known as the African Food Systems Initiative (AFSI)and the Peace Corps domestic recruitment strategy was refocused on American farmers, who responded positively to some extent. The initiative's logo was the Peace Corps dove of peace, carrying a sheaf of wheat. Other accomplishments While Ruppe was director, the Peace Corps began or resumed programs in seven countries: Sri Lanka, Haiti, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and the Cape Verde Islands. Ruppe also started the African Food Initiative, Women In Development, and the Leadership for Peace Campaign. Ruppe launched the Competitive Enterprise Development program to promote business-oriented projects. She created business-oriented volunteer positions within the Peace Corps to promote grass roots economic growth worldwide, an agenda that was supported by Republicans in the U.S. Congress who generally disapproved of U.S. foreign aid programs. Ambassador to Norway Ruppe was appointed Ambassador to Norway on August 7, 1989, by President George H. W. Bush and presented her credentials on August 29, 1989. She served as Ambassador until February 28, 1993. Personal life A resident of Bethesda, Maryland, Ruppe died of ovarian cancer on August 7, 1996. Ruppe was survived by her husband, five daughters, five sisters and a brother. Inspired by her mother, Miller Ruppe's daughter, Dr. Loret Miller Ruppe, served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal from 1985 to 1987 and later organized conferences aimed at encouraging under-represented minorities and women to enter engineering. Honors and awards On September 5, 1996, Senator Chris Dodd who served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic, honored Ruppe with a speech on the floor of the Senate: "When President Reagan appointed her in 1981, the Peace Corps budget was rapidly declining and was less than that of the military marching bands. By the end of Mrs. Ruppe's tenure she had succeeded in increasing the agency's budget almost 50 percent. In addition to budgetary challenges, Mrs. Ruppe gave the agency a political facelift by projecting the agency as non-partisan, despite the fact that she herself was a political appointee, and increasing its viability on both national and local levels. As she noted `We took Peace Corps out of the pit of politics and made it non-partisan. It must always signify Americans pulling together for peace.' As a result of her efforts, Mrs. Ruppe was respected and admired