Gerald Sutton
Encyclopedia
Gerald Sutton was a Foreign Service
and Civil Service officer in the United States Department of State
from 1956 until his 1998 retirement.
Gerald Sutton was assigned during his diplomatic career to seven countries (Spain, Cuba, Japan, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Colombia) and developed an expertise on Northeast Asia and Latin America. Notable assignments included Director of the Office of Terrorism and Narcotics Analysis (86-90), Deputy Director of Japanese Affairs (1979-81), staff director of Kissinger Commission on Central America 84-85), Principal Officer of American Consulate Fukuoka,Japan (69-70), and political counselor in Ecuador (76-79) and Nicaragua (74-76). He was also charge'd'affaires (acting chief of mission) of the US Embassy in Quito, Ecuador during May 1979, and chief of the State Department's intelligence watch unit (85-86). He played a significant role in maintaining momentum toward the almost complete democratization of Latin America in the 1980s through his efforts in Ecuador and Central America.
As a senior inspector under the Inspector General
, he eventually visited over 100 countries during his career. He was awarded several Superior Honor, Meritorious Honor, and Career Achievement awards by the State Department and was decorated with the National Medal of Merit by the Ecuadorean government. In addition to State Department assignments, Sutton was a member of the Dick Cheney team on the "Continuity of Government" (i.e. post-nuclear attack planning) project. He also served as deputy chairman of the Inter-agency Committee on Terrorism Reporting.
Notable points in Sutton's career include: the negotiation of a joint communique with the Japanese side (1981) mutually acknowledging officially and publicly for the first time that the two nations were "allies"; the initiative which resulted in President Carter sending a stiff—and ultimately successful—note to the Ecuadorean junta admonishing it to refrain from blocking a return to democratic civilian government (1979); the conclusion that Libya was responsible for the bombing of a G.I.-frequented discothèque in Berlin—a finding which directly led to the US retaliatory bombing of Libya's capital;his intelligence analysis leading to the apprehension of the Arab hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise ship (1986).
Sutton married former Japanese juvenile radio actress Shigeko Kawahara—scion of a prominent Western Japan media/cultural family—in 1970. At the time Mrs. Sutton was personal assistant to the Western Japan resident vice president of Japan Steel Corporation. Mrs. Sutton was cited in 2005 by the US Air Force Chief of Staff for "outstanding support" as an Omni Air International crew member participating in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet effort in the Iraq war. She flew two dozen missions ferrying allied troops to entry points to the war zone and was assigned the protocolary military rank of first lieutenant.
Retired from the State Department in 1998, he lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was a quondam precinct captain for Barack Obama in the 2008 Nevada Democratic primary. Sutton has long been an avid sports fan (currently Redskins, Lakers, and Dodgers) and a collector of modern and folk art.
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
and Civil Service officer in the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
from 1956 until his 1998 retirement.
Biography
Born in Chicago, Gerald Sutton moved to Los Angeles, later graduating from Venice High School and then UCLA in Political Science (with honors) in 1956. He did postgraduate work at the National University of Mexico in 1956.Gerald Sutton was assigned during his diplomatic career to seven countries (Spain, Cuba, Japan, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Colombia) and developed an expertise on Northeast Asia and Latin America. Notable assignments included Director of the Office of Terrorism and Narcotics Analysis (86-90), Deputy Director of Japanese Affairs (1979-81), staff director of Kissinger Commission on Central America 84-85), Principal Officer of American Consulate Fukuoka,Japan (69-70), and political counselor in Ecuador (76-79) and Nicaragua (74-76). He was also charge'd'affaires (acting chief of mission) of the US Embassy in Quito, Ecuador during May 1979, and chief of the State Department's intelligence watch unit (85-86). He played a significant role in maintaining momentum toward the almost complete democratization of Latin America in the 1980s through his efforts in Ecuador and Central America.
As a senior inspector under the Inspector General
Office of the Inspector General
Office of the Inspector General is an office that is part of Cabinet departments and independent agencies of the United States federal government as well as some state and local governments. Each office includes an Inspector General and employees charged with identifying, auditing, and...
, he eventually visited over 100 countries during his career. He was awarded several Superior Honor, Meritorious Honor, and Career Achievement awards by the State Department and was decorated with the National Medal of Merit by the Ecuadorean government. In addition to State Department assignments, Sutton was a member of the Dick Cheney team on the "Continuity of Government" (i.e. post-nuclear attack planning) project. He also served as deputy chairman of the Inter-agency Committee on Terrorism Reporting.
Notable points in Sutton's career include: the negotiation of a joint communique with the Japanese side (1981) mutually acknowledging officially and publicly for the first time that the two nations were "allies"; the initiative which resulted in President Carter sending a stiff—and ultimately successful—note to the Ecuadorean junta admonishing it to refrain from blocking a return to democratic civilian government (1979); the conclusion that Libya was responsible for the bombing of a G.I.-frequented discothèque in Berlin—a finding which directly led to the US retaliatory bombing of Libya's capital;his intelligence analysis leading to the apprehension of the Arab hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise ship (1986).
Sutton married former Japanese juvenile radio actress Shigeko Kawahara—scion of a prominent Western Japan media/cultural family—in 1970. At the time Mrs. Sutton was personal assistant to the Western Japan resident vice president of Japan Steel Corporation. Mrs. Sutton was cited in 2005 by the US Air Force Chief of Staff for "outstanding support" as an Omni Air International crew member participating in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet effort in the Iraq war. She flew two dozen missions ferrying allied troops to entry points to the war zone and was assigned the protocolary military rank of first lieutenant.
Retired from the State Department in 1998, he lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was a quondam precinct captain for Barack Obama in the 2008 Nevada Democratic primary. Sutton has long been an avid sports fan (currently Redskins, Lakers, and Dodgers) and a collector of modern and folk art.