Alfred Atherton

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Alfred Atherton (second from left) as a member of a US delegation with William H. Sullivan , Cyrus Vance , Jimmy Carter and Zbigniew Brzeziński during a visit to the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1977).

Alfred Leroy Atherton, Jr. (born November 22, 1921 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , † October 30, 2002 in Washington, DC ) was an American diplomat who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Head of the Middle East and South Asia Subdivision at the US State Department and was the United States Ambassador to Egypt between 1979 and 1983 . In 1981 he was awarded the title Career Ambassador and most recently he was Director General of the Foreign Service from 1983 to 1985 .

Life

Alfred Leroy Atherton, Jr., after attending Phillips Exeter Academy, began an undergraduate degree at Harvard University , which he completed in 1943 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). He then did military service in the US Army between 1943 and 1945 during World War II . After the end of the war, he took up postgraduate studies at Harvard University, graduating in 1947 with a Master of Arts (MA). After completing his studies, he entered the service of the US State Department and was Vice Consul in Stuttgart from 1947 to 1949 and in Bonn from 1949 to 1952 in the Political Reports Office of the High Commissioner in Germany , John Jay McCloy . He then served between 1952 and 1956, initially as Vice Consul and Second Secretary at the Embassy in Syria, and then from 1956 to 1959 as Consul in Aleppo . On his return, he was a consultant for Iraq and Iran in the International Relations Department of the State Department from 1959 to 1961 and a lecturer in economics at the University of California, Berkeley from 1961 to 1962 .

In 1962 Atherton returned to the State Department and served between 1962 and 1965 as an economics officer at the US Mission in Calcutta . He then worked in the Foreign Ministry between 1965 and 1978 in the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs , initially between 1965 and 1966 as Deputy Director of the Middle East Office (Deputy Director of the Office of Near Eastern Affairs) . From 1966 to 1967 he was head of the Country Director for Iraq, Jordan , Lebanon and Syria and between 1967 and 1970 he was Head of the Country Department for Israel and Arab-Israeli Affairs. After he was Deputy Head of the Middle East and South Asia Subdivision between 1970 and 1974, he finally took over on April 27, 1974 from Joseph J. Sisco as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs and thus head of the Middle Subdivision East and South Asia at the US State Department. He held this position until April 11, 1978, when he was replaced by Harold H. Saunders .

After Alfred Atherton April 11, 1978 to May 22, 1979 Goodwill Ambassador (Ambassador at Large) was, was he on May 17, 1979 United States Ambassador in Egypt and surrendered there on July 2, 1979 as successor to Hermann Eilts be Credentials . He remained in this post until November 12, 1983, when he was replaced by Nicholas A. Veliotes . On December 11, 1981, he was awarded the title of Career Ambassador created on August 5, 1955 by an additional law of the US Congress to the Foreign Service act of 1946 , the highest grade for Foreign Service Officer . Most recently he was on December 2, 1983 as the successor to Joan M. Clark Director General of the Foreign Service (Director General of the Foreign Service) and held this position until December 28, 1984, whereupon George S. Vest succeeded him.

Alfred Leroy Atherton, Jr., who was also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), was married to Betty Wylie Atherton. He was being treated for cancer at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC , and died there from complications during surgery. After his death, he was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, DC.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Assistant Secretaries of State for Near Eastern Affairs
  2. ^ Ambassadors at Large
  3. ^ Chiefs of Mission for Egypt
  4. ^ Career Ambassadors
  5. ^ Directors General of the Foreign Service
personal data
SURNAME Atherton, Alfred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Atherton, Alfred Leroy, Jr. (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH October 30, 2002
Place of death Washington, DC