Ralph Earle II (September 26, 1928 - January 13, 2020) was an American

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

arms control Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Arms control is typically exercised through th ...

negotiator. He was a key architect of several major international arms control accords. He served as the United States' chief negotiator at the

SALT II The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War superpowers dealt with arms control in two rounds o ...

round of talks on

nuclear disarmament Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space * Nucle ...

from 1978 to 1979, as director of the

Arms Control and Disarmament Agency The U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) was an independent agency of the United States government that existed from 1961 to 1999. Its mission was to strengthen United States national security by "formulating, advocating, negotiating, ...

(ACDA) between 1980 and 1981 and as deputy director at the ACDA from 1994 to 1999.

Early life and education

Earle was born in

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township and Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. I ...

, on September 26, 1928. He was the son of the former Governor of Pennsylvania,

George H. Earle III George Howard Earle III (December 5, 1890December 30, 1974) was an American politician and diplomat from Pennsylvania. He was a member of the prominent Earle and Van Leer families and the 30th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1935 to 1939. Earl ...

and Huberta Potter Earle Sheaffer. He attended

Episcopal Academy The Episcopal Academy, founded in 1785, is a private, co-educational school for grades Pre-K through 12 based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Prior to 2008, the main campus was located in Merion Station and the satellite campus was located in ...

in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania and graduated from

Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy is an elite coeducational preparatory school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association, the Ten Schools Admi ...

in Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1946. He graduated with a Bachlors degree in history from Harvard College in 1950 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

and served in the United States Army during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. Earle is a member of the influential Van Leer family. His paternal second great-grandfather was American Revolutionary War captain Samuel Van Leer.

Career

Following law school and a clerkship with Federal Judge Bailey Aldrich, he worked for the law firm of

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,200 legal professionals in 31 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Mergers with other law firms stimulated global growth and led to ...

and became a partner. In 1968, he was appointed to be Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs and was a protege of Paul Nitze. Earle served as the Defense Advisor to the US Mission to NATO from 1969 to 1972. He joined the U.S.-Soviet SALT II negotiations as an alternate to chief negotiator Paul Warnke. Soviet diplomat Vladimir Semyonov was initially frustrated to meet often with the second in command negotiator, but their relationship strengthened through a mutual appreciation of classical music and shared experiences of both having teenage daughters. In 1978, after the resignation of Warnke, Earle was appointed by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

as the United States' chief negotiator at the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II) with the Soviets and given the rank of Ambassador. He served as Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) from 1980 to 1981. Earle received the Distinguished Honor Award from the ACDA for his role in the SALT II negotiations. He re-joined ACDA from 1994 to 1999 as its deputy director. He was an active member of the Lawyers' Alliance for World Security (LAWS) and served on the Arms Control Association Board of Directors from 1987 to 1994. He was a member of the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs ...

, the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...

, and the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think ...

. In 2009, Ambassador Earle was awarded

's Heritage Award—which recognizes "an alumnus/a whose professional and personal achievements represent a special contribution to the betterment of society."

Personal life

Earle was married first to Eleanor Forbes Owens Earle and then to Julie von Sternberg Earle. He had five children: Eleanor Earle Mascheroni, Ralph Earle III, Duncan Owens Earle, Amanda Earle Ciccarelli, and Caroline Earle Walsh. He died on January 13, 2020 from complications due to Parkinson's disease and was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

on August 25, 2021.

Bibliography

Chief, U.S. SALT Delegation Ralph Earle II
SALT II Senate Testimony, pages 27-32, United States Department of State, Washington, D.C., July 9-11, 1979. *
Don't Abandon SALT II
', Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, pages 8-9, Aug-Sep 1986, Vol. 43, No. 1.

References

External links

*Deerfield Academy Heritage Award (2009) acceptance speec
Part 1
an
Part 2
at YouTube.com.
Library of Congress - Interview with Ralph Earle II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Earle, Ralph 1928 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American lawyers American diplomats Arms control people Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Deerfield Academy alumni Earle family Episcopal Academy alumni Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Lawyers from Philadelphia Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Military personnel from Pennsylvania People from Chester County, Pennsylvania United States Army personnel of the Korean War Van Leer family