Philip Charles Habib (February 25, 1920–May 25, 1992) was a Lebanese-American career diplomat known for work in Vietnam, South Korea and the Middle East. The New York Times in observing his passing described him as "the outstanding professional diplomat of his generation in the United States".
Habib was born in Brooklyn and raised there in section of the borough known as Bensonhurst, by Lebanese Maronite Catholic parents. He worked as a shipping clerk before starting his undergraduate study at the College of Forestry and Wildlife and Range Sciences at the University of Idaho. After graduating in 1942, he served in the United States Army until 1946 and attained the rank of captain. He continued his education in an agricultural economics Ph.D. program at University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1952. There he came across a flyer advertising the United States Department of State entrance exam, which he sat and passed.
Beginning in 1949, his foreign service career took him to Canada, New Zealand, South Korea (twice), Somalia, and South Vietnam. He held the State Department position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1967-1969 and was part of the Vietnamese peace talk delegation in 1968. Habib acquired increasingly important posts, serving as Ambassador to South Korea (1971-1974), Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (1974-1976), and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (1976-1978), during which time he was the chief mediator for the US between Israel and Egypt in the Camp David Peace Accord. According to some reports, he intervened to save the life of South Korean opposition leader Kim Dae-jung during a kidnapping in 1973.[1]. Kim later became the first opposition leader in South Korea to become president and also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his reconciliation efforts with North Korea.
Habib retired from the foreign service after suffering a third heart attack. In 1978 he accepted a teaching position (as "Diplomat-in-residence") at The University of Michigan but soon returned to public service in 1979, as a special advisor and, in 1981, as a special envoy sent to defuse the Lebanese Civil War by Ronald Reagan. Habib negotiated a peace that allowed the PLO to evacuate from the besieged city of Beirut. In 1982, for his efforts he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the highest official honor given to a US citizen by the US government.
Early in 1986, Reagan sent Habib to the Philippines to convince President Ferdinand Marcos to step down. In March 1986, Reagan appointed him as a special envoy to Central America with the intention of furthering US interests in the conflict in Nicaragua. Administration hard-liners intended to use his fame and stature to advance a military solution, namely further funding of the Contras [2].
However, Habib took his job seriously. Deciding that the Contadora Plan had run its course, Óscar Arias, the newly elected president of Costa Rica, drew up a plan that focused on democratization. While he viewed the Arias plan as riddled with loopholes, Habib took it seriously and worked to help revise it. "Phillip Habib became my ambassador to the rest of the Central American presidents," said Arias.
On August 7, 1987, the five Central American Presidents, much to the shock of the rest of the world, agreed in principle to the Arias plan. Because further negotiating would require Habib to meet directly with Nicaragua's President, Daniel Ortega, President Reagan forbade him to travel. Believing he no longer had the confidence of the president, Habib resigned.
In 1992, while on vacation in Puligny-Montrachet, France, Habib suffered a heart attack and died.
In 2002, John Boykin's biography of Habib, "Cursed is the Peacemaker" was published, focusing largely upon Habib's mediation between Israel and Lebanon during their war in 1982.
In 2006, Habib was featured on a United States postage stamp, one of a block of six featuring prominent diplomats.[3]
Warren Zevon wrote the song "The Envoy", from his 1982 album of the same name, in honor of Habib.
While he was the Ambassador to South Korea, Habib was the main impetus behind the building of a new Ambassador's residence, a noteworthy neo-classic Korean architectural design. The residence was later named Habib House in honor of his efforts.
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| Preceded by Robert S. Ingersoll |
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs September 27, 1974 – June 30, 1976 |
Succeeded by Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. |
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