Burton Levin (September 28, 1930 – October 31, 2016) was an American diplomat.

Life

He was born in

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 ...

. He earned his BA in 1952 from Brooklyn College, and his MA in International Affairs at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and went on to work in the Foreign Service. Levin served as Director of Mission in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and was the

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the United States' diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of th ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

from 1987 to 1990. Levin was a visiting fellow at the

Hoover Institute The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, and a visiting scholar 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 ...

. After retiring from the Foreign Service, he became the head of the Hong Kong office of

The Asia Society The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...

. He also sat on the board of directors for the Mansfield Foundation, the China Fund and the

Noble Group Noble Resources Trading Holdings Limited (commonly known as Noble resources) is a commodity trader based in Hong Kong. It trades energy products and industrial raw materials. Its predecessor, Noble Group Ltd was embroiled in an accounting fraud ...

. He died in Massachusetts on October 31, 2016.

References

External links

PBS interview with Levin
* School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Harvard University staff Hoover Institution people Ambassadors of the United States to Myanmar 2016 deaths Carleton College faculty 1930 births United States Foreign Service personnel Brooklyn College alumni Consuls-general for the United States in Hong Kong and Macau {{US-diplomat-stub