Walter John Stoessel
Walter John Stoessel, Jr. (born January 24, 1920 in Manhattan , Kansas , † December 9, 1986 in Washington, DC ) was an American diplomat who was most recently Deputy Secretary of State of the United States .
Life
Stoessel, son of a cavalry officer and insurance broker, studied after attending high school in Beverly Hills from 1939 to 1940 at the University of Lausanne and then at Stanford University , where he received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1941 .
In 1942 he entered the diplomatic service and was Vice Consul in Caracas until 1944 , before he then worked as an intelligence officer in the US Navy . After completing his military service, he returned to the diplomatic service in 1947 and was Vice Consul in Moscow from 1947 to 1949 . After spending a year studying at Russia - Institute of Columbia University , he was from 1950 to 1952 Diplomat in Bad Nauheim . After interim assignments in the US State Department , he was a consul in Paris between 1956 and 1959 .
After working again for several years in the US State Department, Stoessel was between July 1968 and August 1972 as the successor to John A. Gronouski ambassador to Poland . During this time he took in December 1969 secret talks to former chargé d'affaires of the People's Republic of China in Warsaw , which eventually contributed to the normalization of relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States.
After returning to the US, he was Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from August 1972 to January 1974 in the US State Department before he was Ambassador to the USSR from 1974 to 1976 . This was followed by his appointment as ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany in October 1976 . In this office he stayed until 1981. In that year he became State Secretary in the State Department and was responsible for political affairs there ( US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs ). Last time was Walter Stoessel, who is also at the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Council on Foreign Relations worked between February and September 1982 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (US Deputy Secretary of State).
In 1987 he was awarded the Lucius D. Clay Medal .
There was speculation by conspiracy theorists about the death of Stoessel, who died of a blood disease similar to leukemia , which went as far as an unwanted radiation . After his death he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Background literature
- Bernard Gwertzman: Diplomat's Fondest Memory PQXLM China Breakthrough. In: The New York Times , September 24, 1982.
Web links
- Walter John Stoessel in the Notable Names Database (English)
- Walter J. Stoessel in the database of Find a Grave (English)
- Office of the Historian (US State Department)
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Martin J. Hillenbrand |
US Ambassador to Germany October 27, 1976 - January 5, 1981 |
Arthur F. Burns |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stoessel, Walter John |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Stoessel, Walter John junior (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American diplomat |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 24, 1920 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Manhattan , Kansas |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 9, 1986 |
| Place of death | Washington, DC |