Anthony Cecil Eden Quainton (April 4, 1934 – July 31, 2023) was an American diplomat who served as the United States ambassador to the

Central African Empire The Central African Empire () was established on 4 December 1976 when the then-President of the Central African Republic, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, declared himself Emperor of Central Africa. The empire would fall less than three years later when ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

, and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Early life and education

He was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and educated at

St. Michaels University School St. Michaels University School (abbreviated SMUS) is an independent day and boarding school in the municipality of Saanich, the largest and most populous municipality in the Capital Regional District and on Vancouver Island. Previous headmasters i ...

in Victoria, Canada. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and a Bachelor of Literature from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, where he studied as a

Marshall Scholar The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is considered among the most prestigious scholarshi ...

Career

Quainton 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 ...

in 1959. As a

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. FSOs formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. They spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, cons ...

, he was posted to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

1959–62, to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

1963, to

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

1964–66, and to

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

1966–69. He spent 1969–72 at the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, as the senior political officer for

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in the Bureau of Near East and South Asian Affairs. He then spent 1972–73 as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy, Paris. From 1973 through 1976, he was

deputy chief of mission A deputy chief of mission (DCM, in Europe the term deputy head of mission – DHoM or DHM is used instead) is the number-two diplomat assigned to an embassy or other diplomatic mission. The deputy chief of mission is usually considered the second ...

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

. In 1976, President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

nominated Quainton as United States ambassador to the Central African Empire. Ambassador Quainton presented his credentials on February 20, 1976, and held this post until June 9, 1978. He then became the

coordinator for Counterterrorism The coordinator for counterterrorism heads the Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism, which coordinates U.S. government efforts to fight terrorism. As the head of the counterterrorism bureau, the coordinator for counterterror ...

. During this time, he oversaw the task force in charge of dealing with the 1980 Dominican Republic Embassy siege in Bogotá by M-19 guerrillas.The Tampa Tribune, Feb. 29th 1980. He held this post until 1981 and was then named United States ambassador to Nicaragua 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 ...

, presenting his credentials on March 26, 1982, and serving there until May 6, 1984. Reagan then appointed Quainton United States ambassador to Kuwait, a post which he held from September 1984 to August 1987. Quainton returned to the United States in September 1987, serving as Deputy

inspector general of the Department of State The Inspector General of the Department of State heads the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State and is responsible for detecting and investigating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the United States Department of St ...

from September 1987 to November 1989. Newly-inaugurated President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

named Quainton

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

. He presented his credentials on December 11, 1989, and served until September 16, 1992. After his tenure in a Peru, Bush then nominated Quainton to be

assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security The assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security is the head of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security in the United States Department of State. The assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security reports to the Under Secretary of State ...

, an office he held from September 23, 1992, until December 29, 1995. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

then named him

director general of the Foreign Service The director general of the Foreign Service is the designated manager of the United States Foreign Service. The director general is a current or former Foreign Service officer, appointed by the President of the United States, president, with t ...

which Quainton held from December 29, 1995, to August 22, 1997. In 1997, Quainton left government service and joined the

Una Chapman Cox Foundation The Una Chapman Cox Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to support the effectiveness and professionalism of the United States Foreign Service through various projects and initiatives. Amb. (ret.) Lino Gutierrez serves as the curren ...

. He then became president and CEO of the National Policy Association. Since 2003, he has been the Distinguished Diplomat-in-Residence at the American University School of International Service. He retired in 2019 but continued to teach his signatures courses on diplomatic practice and Peru until 2023.

Personal life

While in England, he married a fellow Marshall Scholar, Susan Long, in 1957. He spent 1958–59 working as a

research assistant A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, research institute, or privately held organization to provide assistance in academic or private research endeavors. Research assistants work under ...

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics, politic ...

References

State Dept. Archived Biography

Faculty Page at the School of International Service

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quainton, Anthony 1934 births United States assistant secretaries of state 2023 deaths People from Seattle Princeton University alumni Marshall Scholars Ambassadors of the United States to Nicaragua Ambassadors of the United States to the Central African Republic Ambassadors of the United States to Kuwait Ambassadors of the United States to Peru American chief executives Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Directors general of the United States Foreign Service 20th-century American diplomats United States coordinators for counterterrorism St. Michaels University School alumni