Donald McHenry

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Donald Franchot McHenry (October 13, 1936 (unconfirmed)-- ) was the United States Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations from September 1979 until January 20, 1981.

McHenry was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up across the river in East St. Louis, Illinois. He attended Illinois State University, graduating with a BS in 1957. He then continued on to earn a Master's degree from Southern Illinois University in 1959. His mother chose "Franchot" as his middle name because she was a fan of the actor Franchot Tone.

McHenry spent much of his career working in foreign diplomacy. He began working with the United States Department of State in 1963, and spent eight years there. From 1971 to 1976, he worked for a series of private think-tanks - the Brookings Institution, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - writing about foreign policy.

In 1976, McHenry served as a member of President Carter's transition staff at the State Department before joining the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. In March 1977, he was appointed as the U.S. Deputy Representative to the U.N. Security Council. In September 1979, he was appointed Ambassador and U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N. by President Jimmy Carter.

In 1986 McHenry received a L.H.D. from Bates College. He has served on the board of directors of several multi-national corporations and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is currently Professor of Diplomacy and International Affairs at Georgetown University and president of the IRC Group, a private consulting firm. He has also been a director of The Coca-Cola Company since 1981, and is a director of AT&T Corporation and International Paper Company.

McHenry is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans. [1]

Preceded by: Andrew Young

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. 1979 – 1981

Succeeded by: Jeane Kirkpatrick

United States Ambassadors to the United Nations	↓
Stettinius • Johnson • Austin • Lodge • Wadsworth • Stevenson • Goldberg • Ball • Wiggins • Yost • Bush • Scali • Moynihan • Scranton • Young • McHenry • Kirkpatrick • Walters • Pickering • Perkins • Albright • Richardson • Burleigh • Holbrooke • Cunningham • Negroponte • Danforth • Patterson • Bolton