Ellen R. Sauerbrey spent this year's gubernatorial campaign as an outsider looking in.

The woman who was the face of Maryland GOP politics for much of the 1990s seemed to all but disappear this year, prompting more than a few questions about whatever happened to the Republican who came within 6,000 votes of being governor.

But Sauerbrey was a reluctant noncombatant. She had been nominated by the president to be ambassador to the United Nations Committee on the Status of Women, and won confirmation this month. Her imminent diplomatic status forced her to stay clear of many partisan activities that had dominated her life for decades.

"My greatest frustration has been the inability to be active in the political campaign that just ended," Sauerbrey said. "My political participation has been totally restricted. I had to watch pretty much from the sidelines, which was not in character for someone that has been a war-horse for such a long time."

Sauerbrey instead watched with near-silent satisfaction as Republican Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. won control of Maryland's governor's seat for the GOP for the first time in more than three decades.

Next month, when the state party faithful gather for their winter convention in Annapolis, the 65-year-old Sauerbrey believes she won't even be able to attend the celebration of Ehrlich's victory.

Under State Department rules, political appointees are generally prohibited from participating in most partisan activities. "The rules are pretty tough," Sauerbrey said.

That's not to say Maryland Republicans have forgotten the former House of Delegates minority leader or what she accomplished as the party's nominee in the 1994 and 1998 gubernatorial campaigns.

"We certainly miss her, but we understand that she's in a more valuable position to President Bush," said Paul Ellington, executive director of the state Republican Party. "We're very proud of her, because none of us would be here if it weren't for Ellen Sauerbrey. "

Many party activists called Sauerbrey to say thanks after Ehrlich beat Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend this month. She also was acknowledged by many people at Ehrlich's election-night victory party. (She was able to attend the party because she had not yet been confirmed by the Senate.)

"She really laid the groundwork for Bob with her runs in '94 and '98," said GOP consultant Carol Hirschburg, who worked on Sauerbrey's campaign staff. "In '94, she proved a Republican could make it competitive. In '98, she proved that a Republican could raise enough money to be competitive in a race."

After serving as Maryland chairwoman of George W. Bush's campaign in 2000, Sauerbrey was tapped by the new president to serve as a U.S. representative on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. She spent six weeks in Geneva during the commission's annual meeting.

In June, she was nominated for the ambassador-level position with the UN Commission on the Status of Women, a post once held by President Reagan's daughter Maureen. Sauerbrey replaces Linda Tarr-Whelan.

Sauerbrey's nomination was held up this fall in a partisan Senate battle over another diplomatic nominee, but it finally was approved Nov. 17. She has been making regular trips to the United Nations in New York and to the State Department in Washington for briefings. The job does not have a regular salary, but pays her on a per-diem basis for time spent working.

"So many of the human rights abuses are abuses of women," Sauerbrey said. "The countries that are member countries of the commission will come together and consider resolutions and produce documents which lay out a position that advances women's rights."

For example, Sauerbrey has worked on a resolution calling for the new government of Afghanistan to "bring women into an equal position in the political, social and economic life of the country."

"Women from Afghanistan came over to the United States, and I was thrilled to have the chance to meet with some of them a few weeks ago," Sauerbrey said.

Next month, Sauerbrey plans to be in New York focusing on helping women play a greater role in economic development issues, including expanding "micro-credit" programs so women can create small businesses.

Violence against women and the trafficking of women and children for prostitution and sweatshops also will be major issues that Sauerbrey will work on.

"I'm really excited about being in a position where I can be a spokesman for President Bush on these issues and in some small way help to advance women who are suffering under the greatest forms of repression," Sauerbrey said.

What Sauerbrey doesn't want is anyone thinking that she's disappeared from the Republican Party. She had considered running for the congressional seat vacated by Ehrlich (and won by Democrat C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger) but decided to pursue the diplomatic opportunity instead. While her ambassadorship would not preclude her from offering nonpartisan advice to Ehrlich, it probably will keep her too busy to take on any substantive role.

"I am just so happy for Bob and knowing that my campaign helped to build a foundation for others. There's no point in looking back about what-if," Sauerbrey said. "After all the years being in the middle of the fray, I sure didn't want people to think that I just dropped out."