Alfred Atherton
Encyclopedia
Alfred Leroy "Roy" Atherton Jr. (November 22, 1921 – October 30, 2002) was a United States Foreign Service Officer
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...
and diplomat. He served as United States Ambassador
Ambassadors from the United States
This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to individual nations of the world, to international organizations, to past nations, and ambassadors-at-large.Ambassadors are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate...
to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
in 1979–1983.
Early life
Atherton was born November 22, 1921, in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He received a B.S. in 1944 and an M.A. in 1947 from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945.
Diplomatic career
Atherton joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1947, and served in StuttgartStuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, and Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
. From 1959 to 1961, he was Iraq-Jordan desk officer, then Officer in Charge for Cyprus, in the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs at the State Department.
In 1961-62 Atherton took advanced economic studies at the University of California at Berkeley. From 1962 to 1965, he was economic officer in Calcutta, and from 1965 to 1966, he was Deputy Director of the Office of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department.
In 1966 and 1967, Atherton was Country Director for Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. From 1967 to 1970, he was Country Director for Israel and Arab-Israel Affairs.
From 1970 to 1974, Atherton was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs. From 1974 to 1978, he was Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs. He was a member of the U.S. negotiating team at the Camp David summit in September 1978. The summit produced the Camp David Accords
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States...
. He served as United States Ambassador
Ambassadors from the United States
This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to individual nations of the world, to international organizations, to past nations, and ambassadors-at-large.Ambassadors are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate...
to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
from 1979 to 1983.
From 1991 to 1992, Atherton served at Hamilton College as Sol M. Linowitz Visiting Professor of Government. There, he taught a small seminar on the history and dynamics of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Career timeline
- 1983-1985 US State Department Director General of the Foreign Service
- 1979-1983 US Ambassador to Egypt
- 1978-1979 US Ambassador at Large
- 1974-1978 US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs
- 1970-1974 US State Department Deputy Asst. Secy. for Near Eastern & South Asian Affairs
- 1967-1970 US State Department Country director for Israel and Arab-Israel Affairs
- 1966-1967 US State Department Country director for Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria
- 1965-1966 US State Department Deputy Director of the Office of Near Eastern Affairs
- 1962-1965 US State Department Economic Officer, Calcutta
- 1959-1961 US State Department Iraq-Jordan Desk, International Relations Office
- 1956-1959 US State Department Consul, Aleppo
- 1952-1956 US State Department Second Secretary-Vice Consul, Damascus
- 1949-1952 US State Department Political Reports Office, Bonn
- 1947-1949 US State Department Vice Consul, Stuttgart