Stuart Jay Beck (December 23, 1946 – February 29, 2016) was an American law practitioner and a

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

for

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

. As a lawyer he helped negotiate the

Compact of Free Association The Compacts of Free Association (COFA) are international agreements establishing and governing the relationships of free association between the United States and the three Pacific Island sovereign states of the Federated States of Micronesia ( ...

, which established Palau as an independent nation in free association with the United States in 1994. For his contributions to Palau, he was granted

honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

. In 2003, he accepted the post for Palau's first Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He served continuously in this position until 2013, at which time he was appointed as Palau's first ever United Nations Ambassador for Oceans and Seas. In addition to that position, Beck co-chaired with Amir Dossal the Sustainable Oceans Alliance, an organization dedicated to the adoption by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

of a Sustainable Development Goal on Oceans.

Education and early career

Born in Manhattan, New York, to Martin F. Beck and the former Lorraine Hills, Beck was raised in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and

Lawrence, Nassau County, New York Lawrence is a village in Nassau County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 6,483. The Village of Lawrence is in the southwestern corner of the Town of Hempstead, adjoining the border wit ...

, and attended Woodmere Academy.Roberts, Sam
"Stuart J. Beck, American Who Helped Guide Palau Into Nationhood, Dies at 69"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', March 1, 2016. Accessed March 2, 2016. "Stuart Jay Beck was born on Dec. 23, 1946, in Manhattan, the son of Martin F. Beck, a radio broadcasting executive, and the former Lorraine Hills. He was raised in Brooklyn and on Long Island, in Lawrence. He graduated from Woodmere Academy (now Lawrence Woodmere Academy), Harvard University and Yale University Law School." Beck was educated at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(AB, 1968) and

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

(JD, 1971). Beck's first career move following Yale Law School (1971 through 1977) was to work as an associate for a private law practice in Washington D.C. and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, which involved primarily civil and criminal litigation. After this time, Beck went on to co-found and preside as President of

Granite Broadcasting Corporation Granite Broadcasting LLC is a broadcasting holding company in New York City which owns one television station in the United States, in Syracuse, New York. Granite was founded by W. Don Cornwell and Stuart Beck in 1988,

(1988-2004), a diversified portfolio of network-affiliated television stations throughout the United States. In 1981, Beck also achieved partner at Richenthal, Birnbaum and Beck. He served at the firm until 1988.

Personal life

Beck was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He returned to New York City after his work in Palau. With him, a young man named Leslie Tewid who would live with him and attend New York University under Beck's sponsorship. In early 1980, Leslie, a grade school classmate of Beck's future wife Ebiltulik, introduced the two of them. She is the mother of their four children. They lived in Manhattan,

Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the Adminis ...

, and

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, before moving to Manhattan where he passed, across the street from Sloan Kettering. On February 29, 2016, Beck died peacefully at home at the age of 69 from renal cancer.

Political biography

As Chief Counsel for the Palau Political Status Commission (1977-1981), H.E. Beck negotiated the decolonization of Palau from the last United Nations trusteeship to a sovereign nation, organized a constitutional convention, negotiated a

with the United States, and recruited

John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the ...

to serve as Palau's economic advisor. While Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Beck spearheaded United Nations initiatives to stop

bottom trawling Bottom trawling is trawling (towing a trawl, which is a fishing net) along the seafloor. It is also referred to as "dragging". The scientific community divides bottom trawling into benthic trawling and Demersal zone, demersal trawling. Benthic tra ...

and

shark finning Shark finning is the act of removing fins from sharks and discarding the rest of the shark back into the ocean. This act is prohibited in many countries. The sharks are often still alive when discarded, but without their fins.Spiegel, J. (200 ...

, among others. He founded Ambassadors for Responsibility on Climate Change (ARC) and successfully advanced a resolution to treat climate change as a security issue, prompting a Security Council debate on the topic. In August 2013, Beck relinquished his post as Permanent Representative and was appointed by President

Tommy Remengesau Thomas Esang "Tommy" Remengesau Jr. (born 28 February 1956) is a Palauan politician. He served as the Palauan president between 2001-2009 and 2013-2021. He served as a Senator in the Palau National Congress between his two administrations. In ...

as Palau's first ever Ambassador to the Oceans and Seas, with a mandate to initiate essential change at the international level for protection of the marine environments of the world. Ambassador Beck was a visiting lecturer at

in 2012, co-teaching a course entitled "Climate Change and the International Court of Justice".

Academic awards

* Winner, John Currier Gallagher Prize, 1971 * Chair, Thomas Swann Barrister's Union, 1970-1971

United Nations initiatives and achievements

* Elected Vice-President of the General Assembly in 2007 and 2012 by Asia-Pacific Group. Served periodically as acting president of the General Assembly. * Organized the Pacific

Small Island Developing States The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a grouping of developing country, developing countries which are small island country, island countries and small states that tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include s ...

(PSIDS) caucus. Consolidated a group of eleven Pacific states into a bloc at the UN, serving in a variety of capacities including chair, Subcommittee on Oceans and chair, Subcommittee on Engagement with Gulf States. * Created UN Presence Initiative to increase recognition and outreach by UN to Pacific countries, resulting in first UN office in Palau. * Initiated first deployment of Palauan UN Peacekeepers, including to

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. * Led efforts to ban bottom trawling, resulting in the General Assembly's 2006 consensus resolution prohibiting, for the first time, bottom trawling in sensitive areas of the high seas. * Organized international efforts to protect sharks, including: 2009 declaration of Palau as the world's first Shark Sanctuary. The launch of the Global Shark Coalition with Honduras, Bahamas, Colombia,

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

, Mexico and

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

joining Palau as sanctuaries. Added language to various UN reports and resolutions to manage shark fishing and eliminate shark finning. *Led international efforts to

mitigate climate change Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, repl ...

and sea-level rise. Initiated General Assembly Resolution A/RES/63/281 in June 2009, passed by consensus with over 110 co-sponsors. The resolution characterized climate change for the first time as a security issue, and prompted the Security Council to conduct a debate entitled "Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Impact of Climate Change" in July 2011. Initiated a process to bring the issue of climate change to the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

for an advisory opinion, including the circulation of a draft resolution to that effect, the organization of Ambassadors for Responsibility on Climate Change (the "ARC" group) and a panel of high-level experts to advise it. These initiatives were the basis for a course on international environmental law to be co-taught at Yale Law School in the fall of 2012. * Served as a board member on the TerraMar Project and attended two United Nations meetings with

Ghislaine Maxwell Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell ( ; born 25 December 1961) is a British-French-American former socialite and convicted sex offender. She was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with the deceased financier and ...

, an associate of

Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( , ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American financier and child sex offender. Born and raised in New York City, Epstein began his professional career as a teacher at the Dalton School, despite lacking a col ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Stuart 1946 births 2016 deaths Harvard University alumni Lawrence Woodmere Academy alumni Lawyers from Brooklyn Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Ambassadors of Palau Palauan people of American descent People from Bronxville, New York Lawyers from Manhattan People from Lawrence, Nassau County, New York Permanent representatives of Palau to the United Nations Yale Law School alumni Yale Law School faculty 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American lawyers