William J. Porter
William James Porter (born September 1, 1914 in Stalybridge , England , † March 15, 1988 in Fall River , Massachusetts ) was an American diplomat of British descent who was not only ambassador several times , but also served as the United States Under Secretary of State for political affairs held the third highest post in the United States State Department .
Life
The son of an officer in the Royal Navy who fell in World War I studied at the Thibodeau College of Business Administration from 1930 to 1932 after attending school and acquired US citizenship in 1936 . He then entered the diplomatic service in 1936 and, after a year as secretary of the envoy in Hungary, was vice-consul in Baghdad from 1937 to 1941 . After that he was first vice consul in Beirut and then between 1943 and 1946 in Damascus . In 1946 he returned to the USA and was responsible advisor for Palestine for a year before he worked as consul in Nicosia from 1947 to 1950 .
This was followed by a brief activity as a special assistant to the director of the foreign broadcaster Voice of America and then from 1951 to 1953 as a responsible officer for Greece in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After serving as Consul General in Rabat , Porter was Director of North African Affairs in the State Department between 1957 and 1962 .
In 1961 he became director of the Voice of America for a few months and then in September 1962 the first US ambassador to Algeria . After three years of activity in Algiers , he moved to South Vietnam in September 1965 as the successor to U. Alexis Johnson as Vice Ambassador to South Vietnam , thus representing Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge .
In August 1967 he succeeded Winthrop G. Brown as Ambassador to South Korea and held this office until August 1971. In February 1973 he was named Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the third highest post in the State Department of the United States. Then Porter was between March 1974 and December 1975 as the successor to Adolph W. Schmidt first ambassador to Canada and finally as the successor to James E. Akins from February 1975 to May 1977 ambassador to Saudi Arabia .
Web links
- William J. Porter in nndb (English)
- William Porter, 73, US Delegate At Vietnam Peace Talks, Is Dead . In: The New York Times of March 17, 1988 (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Porter, William J. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Porter, William James (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American diplomat |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 1, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Stalybridge , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 15, 1988 |
| Place of death | Fall River , Massachusetts |