George S. Vest

George Southall Vest (born December 25, 1918 in Columbia , Virginia ) is an American diplomat who was Director of the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs between 1974 and 1977 , Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs from 1977 to 1981 , Ambassador and Head of the Permanent Mission to the European Community between 1981 and 1985 and, most recently, Director General of the Foreign Service from 1985 to 1989 .

Life

Vest completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia after attending school, graduating in 1941 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). Subsequently, after the United States entered World War II, he began his military service in the US Army in 1941 and was last captain in 1946 . A subsequent postgraduate course at the University of Virginia, he finished in 1947 with a Master of Arts (MA).

Following Vest joined the Foreign Service in 1947 (Foreign Service) and was initially to 1949 vice-consul on the Bermuda Islands and subsequently from 1949 to 1952 Vice Consul and Third Secretary at the Embassy in Ecuador . This was followed by a position as Vice Consul and Second Secretary at the Embassy in Canada from 1952 to 1954 and, on his return, between 1954 and 1958 in the Department of International Relations at the State Department in Washington, DC

In 1958, Vest moved to the Permanent Mission to NATO in Paris , where he was initially Second Secretary and then between 1960 and 1961 Political Advisor. This was followed by a position as head of the personal office of NATO Secretary General Dirk Stikker from 1961 to 1963 . After studying at the Naval War College , he served as deputy head of the Atlantic Political-Military Affairs department between 1965 and 1967. In 1967 he became Deputy Head of the Permanent Mission to the European Community in Brussels and then Deputy Head of the Permanent Mission to NATO in Brussels between 1969 and 1972, before he was Deputy Head of the Public Relations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1973 to 1974.

On April 29, 1974 Vest successor was Seymour Weiss as Head of Unit Military Political-Affairs ( Director of the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs ) and has held this position until March 27, 1977. His successor in this function was Leslie H .Yellow . His proposed nomination as ambassador to Pakistan was withdrawn on May 5, 1977. He himself then became on June 16, 1977, as the successor to Arthur A. Hartman, head of the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs . He held this position until April 14, 1981, whereupon Lawrence Eagleburger on May 14, 1981, was his successor.

Vest then succeeded Thomas O. Enders as Ambassador and Head of the Permanent Mission to the European Community on February 20, 1981, and exercised this diplomatic function until February 27, 1985, after which J. William Middendorf on July 12, 1985 this post took over. Most recently, on June 8, 1985, he became Director General of the Foreign Service, succeeding Alfred Atherton as chief human resources officer at the Foreign Office. On November 23, 1987, he was awarded the title Career Ambassador , the highest rank in the foreign service. He remained in the role of Director General of the Foreign Service until May 3, 1989, when he was replaced by Edward J. Perkins .

Web links

• Entry on the homepage of the Office of the Historian of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• George S. Vest in nndb (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Seymour Weiss	Director of the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs 1974–1977	Leslie H. Yellow
Arthur A. Hartman	Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs 1977–1981	Lawrence Eagleburger
Thomas O. Enders	Ambassador and Head of the Permanent Mission to the European Community 1981–1985	J. William Middendorf
Alfred Atherton	Director General of the Foreign Service 1981–1985	Edward J. Perkins