Who is this woman?  She presents herself as a US Ambassador at Large
and no information is there on her. Who is she?

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 02 Jan 2003 20:22 PST

She does not appear on lists of ambassadors at large or chiefs of
mission and principal officials through 2001.

"Ambassadors at Large 1949-2001"
U.S. Department of State
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/3674.htm

"Alphabetical List of Chiefs of Mission and Principal Officials,
1778-2001" [letter L]
U.S. Department of State
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/11554.htm

I have seen one reference to an Elena Lilly who is presented as an
ambassador at large.

"Development"
National Kidney Foundation of the National Capitol Area
http://www.kidneywdc.org/nkf_annual_report_pg14.pdf

Do you know of any other instances where she has appeared in public or
has been represented as an ambassador at large?  Such information
might help us to find the answer.

Nevis-ga,

Thank you for a most intriguing question.  If you are in contact with
someone calling herself Ambassador Elena Lilly, my advice to you is to
keep on your toes!

There is only one concrete reference I could find to someone with this
name and title, but it's a doozy.  The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette of
April 1, 1994 has a front page story with a headline that says it all:

WOMAN GOES, BUT MYSTERY STAYS 
VISITOR'S RESUME GROWS FROM ENVOY TO WARY HEIRESS 

The article begins:

"This sounds like an April Fool's joke, but it's not: A woman
presented as an ambassador, heiress, descendant of royalty and
terrorist target pays Little Rock a visit, and after days of
questionable claims and mysterious denials, she slips out of town... 
Little Rock leaders not only mistakenly welcomed Elena Yee on Monday
as an ambassador, they thought she was sole heiress to pharmaceutical
magnate Eli Lilly -- and gave her police protection"

I can't quote the article at length for copyright reasons, but in
brief, the story goes like this:

Town leaders mistakenly thought Lee was the ambassador to China and
rolled out the red carpet.  But when realization dawned that she was
not who she claimed to be, she began referring herself as a "goodwill
ambassador".  To add to the confusion, she not only changed her title,
but her name as well.

"Yee's associates said Thursday that Yee was upset over her mistaken
identification -- a mistake for which the chamber had taken blame.
Those associates then began identifying her to the public as "Elena Y.
E. Lilly," heiress to the fortune of pharmaceutical magnate Eli
Lilly."

There's more, of course.  Ms. Yee/Lilly claimed to be the sole heiress
to the Eli Lilly fortune, a stepdaughter of Eli Lilly, and niece of
the last Chinese emperor.

To add to the confusion, the Gazette article makes mention of a series
of 1992 articles in the Indianapolis Star regarding one Elena Yee
Lutz, who also claimed to be a Lilly heiress, and who may -- or may
not -- have been the same person who appeared in Little Rock.

There's more detail, increasingly obscure and confused, in the
article, which closes by noting that the city of Little Rock, which
extended a lot of services to Ms. Lilly and her entourage, did not
expect to be reimbursed.


Any good librarian should be able to get you a copy of the Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette article and should be able to track down the
Indianapolis Star articles as well.  Given the frequency with which
this person appears to adjust names and titles, it's understandable
that database searches on "Elena Lilly" only turned up one article.

And please...if you have an update to the mysterious story of
Ambassador Lilly, be so kind as to let us know.

-----

I try to give the best answers possible, but if you feel additional
information is needed, please post a "Request for Clarification"
before rating this answer.


search strategy:  I searched several newspaper databases for the name
Elena Lilly and the word Ambassador.

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Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 27 Sep 2005 12:00 PDT

I couldn't resist an update to the situation:


http://www.state.gov/m/ds/rls/52685.htm
Diplomatic Security Arrests Imposter Ambassador

Thank you very much - this article says it all - this is EXACTLY what
this woman did to a small Caribbean island!! Police protection and all
! The US Government should really look into this as she opens many
doors and gets the red carpet rolled out because of her "status' as a
US Ambassador.  What a nutcase, and dangerous woman!   Good Job!

Google Answer Master,
    You published questions and answers to commit character
assassination against  H.E. Ambassador- at- Large Elena Lilly, while I
wrote comments to correct your wrong doings. You should answer me
instead of deleting my comments. Are you coward? You can not stay away
from the U.S. law.

Google Answer Master,
    You went so far as to delete 4 of my comments. Don't you know you
have violated the law of freedom in speech. To satisfy the internet
readers I hereby re-type mu comments again.

Google Answers Master,
   I am strongly opposed to your launching of such a wuestion, which
has provided an opportunity to persons like Nevis for detracting the
credit and reputation of Her Excellency Ambassador Elena Lilly. I know
Her Excellency very well. She was appointed Ambassador at Large by
President Reagon on February 12, 1987 and was later twice conferred
the titles of International Honorary Citizen and U.N. Honourary
Ambasssador by the U.N.. Every year she donates a lot of money to the
international community and universities in the U.S.. She has done a
lot to help Caribbean Islands in economic development. She enjoys a
high prestige in both the U.S.A. and the world. To such a great person
people can not but show their respect. Nevis, however, has asked and
answered questions and quoted the so-called Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
What is he up to? His ulterior motive has made her Excellency very
angry. She wanted to sue Nevis. Nevis, you face legal actions.
                                                    May 7, 2004.

Pafalafa will be accused too.


Google Answer Master,
   It is illegal to discuss Her Excellency Ambassador at Large Elena
Lilly on the internet without her consent. She is a great person, the
world leaders including Nelson Mandella was deeply honoured to meet
her. Such a globally famous diplomat has been mentally damaged by you
the devils like Nevis and Pafalafa. These devils have committed a
criminal act and character assassination. H.E. Ambassador is a Chinese
descendant. The world's Chinese are proud of her for her great
contributions to the world. Google disclaims liability for slanders
against her. This means your website racially discriminate against
her. The authorities concerned are now investigating the case I
believe the devils will soon be punished.

                                                  May 8, 2004.


Google Answers Master,
    If you are a human being, you should remove immediately the false
statements against Her Excellency Ambassador at Large Elena Lilly and
stop forthwith the above discussion.

                                                 May 8, 2004.

I hope that the Google editors leave these comments intact.  They are
most "interesting" and do indeed add to the information on Elana
Lilly.

Hmmmmmm ...

I thought Freedom of Speech was a right, not a law? Am I mistaken? And
freedom or law, it doesn't apply to a privately owned website, sorry.

Wonder why there is no record of her appointment as Ambassador at Large by
President Reagon on February 12, 1987 or having twice been conferred
the titles of International Honorary Citizen and U.N. Honourary
Ambasssador by the U.N.?

Why do you suppose the only references to be found have to do with
scams and fraud? Just curious!

Her Excellency Ambassador Elena Lilly is known to people of the higher
class. I am very familiar with her. Why do you insist on knowing the
details of her identity? For security reasons , low class people
cannot have access to any record of her. Only those unethical and
immoral elements with an intention of kidnapping her attempt to find
out who she is . I warn you, their ulterior motive is futile.

Nevis, Justaskscott, Pafalafa and whoever concerned,
     Your efforts in tracing the background of Her Excellency
Ambassador Elena Lilly have been proved a waste of time. Being a
descendant of the Royal family or heiress of Eli Lilly, as you said,
makes her a very important person in the world. Everybody who knows
her respects her. So, don't contradict yourselves any longer.
Criminals, robbers, unethical and immoral elements detract her
reputations for their own interests, that is after her fortune.
Arkansas Democrat Gazzete, unable to get hold of the truth, only
carried false stories, which deviated from the facts to cheat and
mislead readers. If people believe this newspaper, they will go
astray.