Leonard S. Unger

Leonard Seidman Unger
Born December 17, 1917
San Diego, California
Died June 3, 2010 (aged 92)
Occupation American diplomat

Leonard Seidman Unger (December 17, 1917 – June 3, 2010) was a diplomat and United States Ambassador to Laos (1962–64), Thailand (1967), and was the last US ambassador to the Republic of China (1974–79).[1]

Personal life

Unger was born in San Diego, California and graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts in 1939.[2] He was the co-author of The Trieste negotiations and co-editor of Laos : beyond the revolution. After retiring from the foreign service, he taught at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.[3] He died on June 3, 2010 in Sebastopol, California.[4]

Diplomacy career

Unger was a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and Council on Foreign Relations. He was also the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs in the Johnson administration.[5] and the head of the Interdepartmental Vietnam Coordinating Committee, a committee set up by President Johnson to explore various 'use of force' options in the period before United States involvement in the Vietnam war escalated.[6][7] Prior to his involvement in South-East and East Asia, Unger was the United States Political Advisor to the Free Territory of Trieste.[8]

References

  1. "U. S. Envoy in Taiwan Defends Policy on Peking". The New York Times. June 23, 1974.
  2. "Dr. Conant Twits Alumni 'Wailers'; A Couple Of Old Classmates Get Together". The New York Times. June 22, 1939.
  3. "CIA at Tufts University". Cia-on-campus.org. 1978-10-30. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  4. State Magazine, December 2010 issue
  5. "RAIDS WILL GO ON, RUSK REASSERTS; Shift by Reds Could Bring Halt, He Says in Detroit". The New York Times. April 20, 1965.
  6. "Ex-Envoy to Laos Named To Special Vietnam Panel". The New York Times. January 9, 1965.
  7. Helsing, Jeffrey W. (2000). Johnson's war/Johnson's great society: the guns and butter trap. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 24.
  8. "THE-CONSULATE-OF-THE-UNITED-STATES-OF-AMERICA-IN-TRIESTE". docstoc.com. Retrieved August 1, 2011.