| Smith Hempstone | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 1, 1929 |
| Died | November 19, 2006 (aged 77) Suburban Hospital Bethesda, Maryland |
| Residence | Bethesda, Maryland |
| Nationality | United States |
| Education | George Washington University, 1946-47 University of the South, B.A., 1950 Harvard University, graduate study, 1964–1965. |
| Alma mater | University of the South |
| Occupation | journalist |
| Home town | Washington, D.C. |
| Board member of | Trustee, University of the South, 1975–1978 governor, Institute of Current World Affairs, 1975–1978. |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
| Spouse | Kathaleen Fishback "Kitty", January 30, 1954–his death |
| Children | daughter, Katherine Hope Hempstone of Baltimore; and a grandson |
| Parents | Smith (a naval officer) and Elizabeth (Noyes) Hempstone |
| Awards | Sigma Delta Chi Award for distinguished service in journalism (foreign correspondence), 1960 Nieman Fellow, 1964–1965 Overseas Press Club citations for excellence in foreign correspondence, 1968, 1974 honorary doctorate of letters from University of the South, 1968. |
| Notes | |
Smith Hempstone (February 1, 1929 – November 19, 2006) was a journalist, author, and the United States ambassador to Kenya in 1989–93. He was a vocal proponent of democracy, fighting for free elections in Kenya in 1991.
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Hempstone attended George Washington University and graduated from the University of the South. He was a U.S. Marine in the Korean War (1950–1952), leaving as a Captain.
He did radio rewrite for the Associated Press in Charlotte, North Carolina (1952). He was a reporter at the Louisville Times, Louisville, Kentucky (1953), rewrite man at National Geographic, Washington, D.C. (1954), then a reporter at the Washington Star (1955–1956). He was a fellow of the Institute of Current World Affairs in Africa (1956–1960). He was a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Daily News in Africa (1961–1964), and in Latin America (1965). He was a foreign correspondent for the Washington Star in Latin America (1966), and Europe, (1967–1969). He was associate editor and editorial page director of the Star (1970–1975). He left the Star in 1975 after a disagreement with Joe L. Allbritton, its new owner. He wrote a syndicated twice-weekly column, "Our Times," beginning 1975.
He worked as the Africa correspondent for The Chicago Daily News, wrote several books, and wrote a syndiicated column carried by 90 newspapers. In 1982, he began working as editor of The Washington Times, serving editor-in-chief after the departure of James R. Whelan from 1984 to 1985.
He was appointed ambassador to Kenya by George H. W. Bush in 1989, a time when the United States was beginning to push African countries toward democracy and human rights. Hempstone worked toward these goals by fighting for multi-party elections in Kenya in 1991, nine years after Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi had banned all parties except his own. The administration derided him, saying he failed to understand that strong, unified government was necessary to keep Kenya's tribal groups from splitting the country. He aided dissidents and befriended opponents of the administration, causing the African press to describe his style as "bulldozer diplomacy". The Kenyan government isolated him, and according to Hempstone in his book Rogue Ambassador: An African Memoir, attempted to kill him twice. Multi-party elections were ultimately held in 1992, and were won by Moi with 36% of the vote.
Hempstone died in 2006 in Suburban Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland, from complications of diabetes.