Caroline Clendening Laise (November 14, 1917 – July 25, 1991) was an American

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, ambassador to Nepal and the first female Assistant Secretary of State.

Early life and education

Born in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the northwesternmost Administrative divisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Frederick County, Virginia, Frederi ...

, to Elizabeth Frances (''née'' Stevens) and James Frederic Laise. She received a Bachelor of Arts in public administration in 1938 from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

, where she was a member of the Gamma Delta chapter of Phi Mu fraternity. She later received a Master of Arts in political science from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in 1940.

Career

Laise began her career in government as a coder for the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission (also known as a Public Service Commission) is a government agency or public body that is established by the constitution, or by the legislature, to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, overse ...

in 1940. She had a position in the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration for a short time before joining the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the 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 o ...

in 1948. She was an adviser from 1956 to 1961, and in 1962 became deputy director of the Bureau of South Asian Affairs. In 1965, Laise was presented with the Federal Woman's Award. In 1965, Laise traveled to India and Pakistan as an adviser to Vice President Hubert Humphrey. After a year in

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 ...

, President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

named her ambassador to

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

in 1966, a position she held until 1973. She was the fifth woman to be promoted to ambassador by Johnson. In October 1973, she became

Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Assistant may refer to: * Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones * Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration * Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google * ''The Assistant'' (TV ser ...

, and in 1974 became director general of the Foreign Service, until her retirement in 1977.

Personal life

On January 3, 1967 she married 72-year-old ambassador-at-large Ellsworth Bunker in

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 ...

. Their marriage was the first between two American ambassadors on active duty. Laise continued using her maiden name professionally which was unusual at the time. Later that year, he was named ambassador to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

and for nearly the first six years of their marriage they only saw each other monthly, via a special government flight offered by President Johnson as enticement for Bunker to accept the post. She died of cancer in

Dummerston, Vermont Dummerston is a New England town, town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,865 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is home to the longest covered bridge still in use in Vermont. Its borders include three m ...

at the age of 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laise, Carol Ambassadors of the United States to Nepal United States assistant secretaries of state 1991 deaths 1917 births American women ambassadors American University alumni George Washington University alumni Directors general of the United States Foreign Service 20th-century American diplomats