Alfred Atherton

Alfred Leroy "Roy" Atherton Jr. (November 22, 1921 – October 30, 2002) was a United States Foreign Service Officer and diplomat.[1][2] He served as United States Ambassador to Egypt in 1979–1983.[3] He was a Middle East expert who helped in the negotiations that led to the 1978 Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt.[4]

For the Canadian surgeon, see Alfred Bennison Atherton.
Alfred L. Atherton Jr.
The Iranian Shah meeting with Ambassador Atherton, Sullivan, Vance, Carter and Brzezinski, 1977
United States Ambassador to Egypt
In office
July 2, 1979 – November 12, 1983
PresidentJimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Preceded byHermann F. Eilts
Succeeded byNicholas A. Veliotes
Personal details
Born(1921-11-22)November 22, 1921
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedOctober 30, 2002(2002-10-30) (aged 80)
Washington, D. C., U.S.
Alma materHarvard University

Early life

Atherton was born on November 22, 1921, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Alfred Leroy Atherton Sr.[5] and Joanna Reed.

He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy. He served in the U.S. Army in Europe from 1943 to 1945. He received a B.S. in 1944 and an M.A. in 1947 from Harvard University. He received a master's degree in economics from the University of California in Berkeley.

Diplomatic career

Foreign service (1947-1961)

Atherton joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1947, and served in Stuttgart, Bonn, Damascus, and Aleppo. From 1959 to 1961, he was Iraq-Jordan desk officer, then Officer in Charge for Cyprus, in the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs at the State Department. During 1961-62 he took advanced economic studies at the University of California at Berkeley.[6]

India (1962-1965)

From 1962 to 1965, he was economic officer in Calcutta, India.[7]

Middle East Affairs (1965-1978)

Between 1965 and 1966, he was deputy director of the Office of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department. In 1966 and 1967, he was Country Director for Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. From 1967 to 1970, he was Country Director for Israel and Arab-Israel Affairs. From 1970 to 1974, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs. From 1974 to 1978, he was Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs.[8][9]

Alfred Atherton (right), with Golda Meir, Abba Eban and Joseph Sisco

Ambassador at large: Camp David Summit

He became an Ambassador-at-large[10] and was a member of the U.S. negotiating team at the Camp David summit in September 1978.[11]

The summit produced the Camp David Accords. Atherton had spent months preparing both parties for the summit.[12]

Egypt (1979-1983)

He served as United States Ambassador to Egypt[13] from 1979 to 1983, where he was responsible for the largest U.S. mission in the world, with a staff of 872 Americans and 500 Egyptians. After the Camp David Accord many staff were dispatched to help administer the $1.5 billion a year in military assistance. During his tenure the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated. After completing his final overseas tour he returned to Washington D.C.[14]

Director General of the Foreign Service (1983-1985)

This was his final post prior to retiring from government service in 1985. The previous year he took on an added task heading up a fellowship program for promising future leaders from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand to study in the United States by the name of the Harkness Fellowships, a program run by the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based philanthropic foundation established by Anna M. Harkness.[15]

Service chronology
PositionHost country or organizationYear
US State Department Vice ConsulStuttgart, Germany1947–1949
US State Department Political Reports OfficeBonn, Germany1949–1952
US State Department Second Secretary-Vice ConsulDamascus, Syria1952–1956
US State Department ConsulAleppo, Syria1956–1959
US State Department Iraq-Jordan Desk, International Relations OfficeWashington D.C.1959–1961
US State Department Economic OfficerCalcutta, India1962–1965
US State Department Deputy Director of the Office of Near Eastern AffairsWashington D.C.1965–1966
US State Department Country director for Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and SyriaWashington D.C.1966–1967
US State Department Country director for Israel and Arab-Israel AffairsWashington D.C.1967–1970
US State Department Deputy Asst. Secy. for Near Eastern & South Asian AffairsWashington D.C.1970–1974
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs [16]Washington D.C.1974–1978
US Ambassador at Large [17]Washington D.C.1978–1979
US Ambassador to EgyptCairo, Egypt1979–1983
US State Department Director General of the Foreign ServiceWashington D.C.1983-1985

Memberships, awards and affiliations

Academic career

He was a visiting professor of Middle Eastern Affairs at Hamilton College as Sol M. Linowitz Visiting professor of government (1991-1992). There, he taught a small seminar on the history and dynamics of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He also was a visiting professor at Mount Holyoke and Birmingham Southern Colleges.[18]

Personal

He married Betty Wylie (1921–2001) from Chicago, Illinois. They had three children; Lynne, Reed and Michael.[19]

He was a member of All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington D.C.[20]

He died at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, on October 30, 2002[21] from complications related to cancer surgery.[22] He is buried at Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington D.C. along with his wife, Betty Wylie [23] who died on February 18, 2009.

Ancestry

His paternal ancestors had resided in Lancaster, Massachusetts having been pioneer settlers to the area. He is a direct descendant of James Atherton,[24] who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in the 1630s.[25] The Atherton family ancestry originated from Lancashire, England.

Further reading
  • Eilts, Hermann Fr. "Alfred Leroy (Roy) Atherton, Jr. (1921-2002). (In Memoriam)." Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, vol. 22, no. 1, Jan.-Feb. 2003, p. 45+. Gale General OneFile,[26]

References
  1. "Alfred LeRoy Atherton. (2011). In Almanac of Famous People". Gale.
  2. "Alfred LeRoy Atherton. (2004). In The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives. Charles Scribner's Sons".
  3. United States Ambassador to Egypt Nomination of Alfred L. Atherton, Jr., May 8, 1979
  4. "10 years after Camp David - recognition of Atherton". c-span.org.
  5. "Atherton One Name Study entry for Alfred Leroy Atherton Sr".
  6. Mak, Dayton (1990). "AMBASSADOR ALFRED LEROY ATHERTON, JR" (PDF). The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project.
  7. "Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training - Trouble in the Mountains article".
  8. "U.S. Under Secretary of State Atherton down aircraft steps and greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Algeria, Mr. Parker Silent: March 1, 1976". Reuters.
  9. "President Carter Library - documents relating to the role of Roy Atherton".
  10. "Jewish Telegraphic Agency article on Atherton's nomination for new Middle East role". 18 April 1979.
  11. "National Archives - President J Carter Library - Roy Atherton papers".
  12. "Atherton briefs Dayan in Feb 1978". The New York Times. 26 February 1978.
  13. "New York Times Article: President J Carter names A L Atherton as future Ambassador to Egypt". The New York Times. 9 May 1979.
  14. "The American Presidency Project: President J Carter names A L Atherton as future Ambassador to Egypt".
  15. "Briefing, New Task for Atherton, December 18". The New York Times Section B. 1984. p. 16.
  16. "Atherton named in leak - reprimanded". The New York Times. 12 March 1976.
  17. "Atherton is nominated to be Ambassador at large dealing with Middle East issues". The New York Times. 21 February 1978.
  18. "Secretary Colin Powell eulogy".
  19. "Secretary Colin Powell eulogy".
  20. "Alfred Atherton". politicalgraveyard.com.
  21. "Atherton obituary in the Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. 2 November 2002.
  22. "Foreign Service Journal; Feb 2003" (PDF). p. 7.
  23. Mary Louise Weiss, ed. (1987). "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Program Foreign Service Spouse Series BETTY ATHERTON" (PDF).
  24. "James Atherton entry on the Atherton ONS".
  25. James Atherton of Dorchester settled in Lancaster Massachusetts in 1654. Lancaster, Mass. 16 August 2021.
  26. Eilts, Hermann Fr. "Alfred Leroy (Roy) Atherton, Jr. (1921-2002). (In Memoriam)". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, vol. 22, no. 1, Jan-Feb 2003. p. 45.
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