Henry Alfred Byroade, (July 24, 1913 – December 31, 1993) was an American career diplomat. Over the course of his career, he served as the U.S. ambassador to Egypt (1955–1956), South Africa (1956–1959), Afghanistan (1959–1962), Burma (1963–1968), Philippines (1969–1973), and Pakistan (1973–1977). Byroade graduated from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

military academy in 1937 and began a career as an

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer. His first post in army was on the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

as a member of the Corps of Engineers from 1937 to 1939. The Corps sent him back in 1939 to engineering college. He got his master's degree in civil engineering from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1940, and was stationed at

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

, helping to form the first aviation engineer regiment. In 1946, at the age of 32, he was promoted to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

. In 1949 he was seconded to the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

, where he headed the Office of German Affairs. In 1952, he resigned from the Army and was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East, South Asia, and Africa—a post he held until 1955. In 1954, he attracted criticism from both Israel and the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

for the US administration's policy declaration in which he told the Israelis, "You should drop the attitude of a conqueror and the conviction that force is the only policy that your neighbors will understand" and told the Arabs, "You should accept this state of Israel as an accomplished fact". That same year, he referred to Israel's

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

ideology and its free admission of Jews through the

Law of Return The Law of Return ( he, חֹוק הַשְׁבוּת, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Isr ...

as "a legitimate matter of concern both to the Arabs and to the Western countries". Byroade had been Ambassador to Egypt for more than a year when it was announced that he was being transferred. He was considered a friend of Arab causes but unable, during his Egyptian assignment, to prevent an arms deal between

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and Egypt, or to dissuade the Egyptian government of

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-r ...

from expanding its campaigns against the West. Criticism of his effectiveness in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

in the Eisenhower Administration led to his reassignment to South Africa. Emanuel Neumann, chairman of the executive of the

Zionist Organization of America The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) () is an American non-profit pro-Israel organization. Founded in 1897, as the Federation of American Zionists, it was the first official Zionist organization in the United States. Early in the 20th centur ...

urged that he be removed from Cairo, claiming he had been an apologist for the Egyptian government. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1977, and died in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which ...

on December 31, 1993, at the age of 80.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20080314214120/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10404.htm
Obituary
* ttp://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/byroade.htm Oral History Interview with Henry Byroadefrom the Truman Library
The State Department's Campaign Against the Jewish State Idea in 1954
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byroade, Henry A 1913 births 1993 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Afghanistan Ambassadors of the United States to Egypt Ambassadors of the United States to Myanmar Ambassadors of the United States to Pakistan Ambassadors of the United States to South Africa Ambassadors of the United States to the Philippines Cornell University College of Engineering alumni United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni United States Foreign Service personnel 20th-century American diplomats