Bernard Anthony Gufler (1 June 1903 – 6 September 1973) was a distinguished

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

diplomat and member of 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 a long career he served in many postings abroad, including Ambassador to Ceylon and Ambassador to Finland.

Early life

He was born on 1 June 1903, in Lawrence city,

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, United States to a

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family. He obtained his early education from schools in

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and higher education from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

, and later on 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 ...

. He was married to the former Dorothy 'Gretchen' Van Ness in December 1937.

Career

He joined the United States Foreign Service in 1929 and served in postings in Canada,

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Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

during the years before and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was US chief of mission in

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East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, during 1955–58. He was US consul in Colombo, Ceylon, c. 1951 to 1953. He was US ambassador to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from 1959 to 1961 and ambassador to Finland from 1961 to 1963. He retired from service in 1968 and died of a sudden heart attack, while visiting

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, Germany, on 6 September 1973. Gufler's role as a diplomat acting in the U.S. interests, at many levels, cannot be underestimated. In the later years of World War II and early Cold War, he was instrumental in recommending that ex-

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POW generals and senior military officers be 'won over' to serve American (and Allied) intelligence interests in Europe, especially

. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

used Gufler to deliver to Finnish president

Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as Prime Minister ...

a secret message during the

Note Crisis The Note Crisis (, ) was a political crisis in Finland–Russia relations, Soviet–Finnish relations in 1961. The Soviet Union sent Finland a Letter of protest, diplomatic note on 30 October 1961, referring to the threat of war and West Germany, ...

. During the peak of the Cold War in Berlin, he is remembered by other senior diplomats as the 'de facto ambassador' , in fact running the United States mission effectively, in 'counterpoise' to

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actions and intentions. About his role in

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a Pakistani senior diplomat commented that his services were 'invaluable' in promoting the United States' positive image and winning people 'towards realizing the Cold War imperatives' as espoused by the Americans.See S. Irtiza Husain ''Gher Kinaro Pe'' (Urdu: On Alien Shores, Memoirs of an early Pakistani diplomat, 1947-1967) pub

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

:Savan Publishers Ltd, 1972, p. 163 and p. 178. Husain mentions Gufler by name, and makes much of his promoting a positive US image among people in the non-aligned Ceylon/Sri Lanka, and in also covertly promoting US relations with Pakistan, via his connections to senior Pakistani diplomats such as HE Mr Salim Khan, aa, and others. Husain also claims that Gufler and Salim Khan played a special role in convincing the Pakistani military commander-in-chief and later dictator, General

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

to visit the USA and to eventually develop a strong pro-USA and anti-Soviet policy in Pakistan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gufler, Bernard Anthony 1903 births 1973 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Finland Ambassadors of the United States to Sri Lanka Princeton University alumni United States Foreign Service personnel 20th-century American diplomats

Early life

Career

See also

References