Eric M. Javits (born 24 May 1931) is an American diplomat who served as the Ambassador and Permanent U.S. Representative to the

Conference on Disarmament The Conference on Disarmament (CD) is a multilateral disarmament forum established by the international community to negotiate arms control and disarmament agreements based at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Conference meets annually in ...

in Geneva from 2001 to 2003 and the United States Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons from 2003 to 2009. He is a member of the

Council of American Ambassadors The Council of American Ambassadors (CAA) is an association of non-career United States ambassadors. A nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, the CAA comprises over 200 members whose ambassadorial service collectively extends over five decades ...

. Javits grew up in Connecticut and is a nephew of former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Jacob Javits Jacob Koppel Javits ( ; May 18, 1904 – March 7, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. During his time in politics, he served in both chambers of the United States Congress, a member of the United States House of Representa ...

(R-NY). His father, Benjamin Javits, was an attorney, philanthropist, and author and was brother to the late Senator Javits. He graduated from the

Choate School Choate Rosemary Hall ( ) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1890, it took its present name and began a co-educational system with the 1978 merger of ''The Ch ...

in 1948 and then spent one year at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in California. He transferred to Columbia College and graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

in 1952. He attended

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

and graduated in 1955. He began his legal career with Javits & Javits, the New York law firm founded by his father and his uncle. He conducted international practice as a partner in the firm from 1964 to 1989, when he left the practice of law to serve as a consultant in the U.S. Department of State. He was nominated to be the

United States Ambassador to Venezuela The following is a list of United States ambassadors, or other chiefs of mission, to Venezuela. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.'' The a ...

on July 11, 1989, but the confirmation was delayed because the New York lawyer has been subpoenaed in connection with a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. He later withdrew the nomination on June 26, 1990. Javits served as the president of

Queen Sofía Spanish Institute The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute is an organization in New York City, founded with the aim of promoting the culture of Spanish speaking countries and to foster their relations with the United States. It is located at the Oliver D. Filley House ...

from 1981 to 1987. He was also named chairman in 1987. He was twice conferred the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

by King

Juan Carlos Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until his abdication on 19 June 2014. In Sp ...

of Spain for his work in promoting Spanish culture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Javits, Eric M 20th-century American diplomats 20th-century American politicians Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Law School alumni Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Permanent representatives of the United States to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 21st-century American diplomats Connecticut lawyers 1931 births