William R. Rivkin, 1919–1967, was born in Muscatine, Iowa. He received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1941 and a law degree from Northwestern University in 1948. While at Iowa, he was the national intercollegiate oratorical champion. At Northwestern, he edited the Northwestern Law Review and finished first in his law class.
After graduation from Iowa, Ambassador Rivkin joined the United States Army where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel during World War II. He was awarded the Bronze Star and received the French l'ordre de la santé publique, rank of chevalier.
In 1956, Ambassador Rivkin served as deputy director of Adlai E. Stevenson II's second Presidential campaign, and in 1960 was the Midwest coordinator of the Presidential Campaign of then-Senator John F. Kennedy.
He was a U.S. diplomat, serving as Ambassador to Luxembourg under President John F. Kennedy, and to Senegal and The Gambia under President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Phi Beta Kappa. He is interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The annual Rivkin award of the United States Foreign Service is presented in his honour.
Ambassador Rivkin had four children: Laura Ledford; Julie Wheeler; Robert Rivkin, the current General Counsel of the United States Department of Transportation; and Charles Rivkin, the current United States Ambassador to France.