Lowell Charles Kilday (February 20, 1931 – August 6, 2011) was an American diplomat who served as

United States ambassador to the Dominican Republic This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to the Dominican Republic. List of ambassadors See also * Dominican Republic – United States relations * Foreign relations of the Dominican Republic *Ambassadors of the United States Ref ...

and director of the Office of Brazilian Affairs.

Early life and education

Born to William and Helga Kilday in

New Hope, Wisconsin New Hope is a town in Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 736 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated communities of New Hope, Garfield, and Peru are located in the town. Geography According to the United States Census Bu ...

, he grew up in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and graduated from North Division High School in 1948. Kilday joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 1950 and served a tour of duty in Korea during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

as a member of the 1st Cavalry Division. Returning to the United States, he attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science.

Career

After graduating from college, Kilday joined the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carr ...

. He served tours in Cuba, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Angola and Costa Rica before being appointed Ambassador in 1985 by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

appointed Lowell as his Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. At the end of his career, he was awarded the rank of Career Minister, the highest regular senior rank for a Foreign Service Officer.

Death

Kilday died in

Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 31,339 as of the 20 ...

in 2011.

References

1931 births 2011 deaths People from Portage County, Wisconsin Military personnel from Milwaukee People from Springfield, Virginia University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Ambassadors of the United States to the Dominican Republic North Division High School (Milwaukee) alumni {{US-diplomat-stub