Charles Mark Lichenstein (September 20, 1926 – August 22, 2002) was the American alternate representative for special political affairs to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, the second-highest ranking American diplomat at the United Nations, from 1981 to 1984. Lichenstein is best remembered for controversial comments that he made welcoming the possibility of relocating the United Nations headquarters outside of the United States.

Early life

Lichenstein was born on 1926 in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

Career

He graduated from Yale University with undergraduate and graduate degrees, and later taught pollical science at Yale. He also was a faculty member at Notre Dame and Albertus Magnus Colleges. In the 1960s, Lichenstein worked in the presidential campaigns of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

and

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

. In 1962, he was head of research at the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

Nixon administration

Lichenstein was the primary ghostwriter for

's book ''

Six Crises ''Six Crises'' is the first book written by Richard Nixon, who later became the 37th president of the United States. It was published in 1962, and it recounts his role in six major political situations. Nixon wrote the book in response to John ...

'', published in 1962. Lichenstein was staff assistant to Robert Finch during the

Nixon administration Richard Nixon's tenure as the 37th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974, in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office, the ...

, and an assistant to

Dean Burch Roy Dean Burch (December 20, 1927 – August 4, 1991) was an American lawyer and lobbyist. He served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from October 1969 to March 1974 and Counselor to the President in 1974, during the ad ...

during the Ford administration.

PBS

From 1975 to 1979, Lichenstein was senior vice president of

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

United Nations

In 1981, Lichenstein was appointed by

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 ...

as the American alternate representative for special political affairs to the

, serving as a deputy to America's chief U.N Ambassador

Jeane Kirkpatrick Jeane Duane Kirkpatrick (née Jordan; November 19, 1926December 7, 2006) was an American diplomat and political scientist who played a major role in the foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration. An ardent anticommunist, she was a lon ...

. After the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

shot down

Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (KE007/KAL007)In aviation, two types of Airline codes, airline designators are used. The flight number KAL 007, with the ICAO code for Korean Air Lines, was used by air traffic control. In ticketing, however, IAT ...

on September 1, 1983,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

both denied Soviet aircraft permission to land at airports in either state in violation of the

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the United Nations (UN). It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its United Nations System#Six ...

, which requires the United Nations' host nation to allow all member countries access to the U.N. Lichenstein responded, saying,

The United States ederal Government which opposed the ew York and New Jerseylegislation, offered the Soviet Union landing rights at a military base so its foreign minister, Andrei A. Gromyko, could fly in for the General Assembly meeting although the Soviets refused. When the United Nations committee met to review the situation, the Soviet delegate,
Igor I. Yakovlev Igor may refer to: * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name Arts, entertainment, and media *Igor (character) Igor, or sometimes Ygor, is a stock character, as a sometimes hunch-backed laboratory ass ...
, said the ban on landing "raises the question of whether the United Nations should be in the United States." A furious Mr. Lichenstein replied that if member states felt "they are not being treated with the hostly consideration that is their due," they should consider "removing themselves and this organization from the soil of the United States. We will put no impediment in your way," he continued, "The members of the U.S. mission to the United Nations will be down at the dockside waving you a fond farewell as you sail off into the sunset."

Following opposition to Lichenstein's remarks by the

U.S. 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 ...

, Lichenstein offered his resignation, but it was not accepted. President Reagan instead responded with this statement that endorsed Lichenstein's controversial remarks:

Maybe all those delegates should have six months in Moscow and then six months in New York, and it would give them an opportunity to see two ways of life. I think the gentleman
harles Lichenstein Gottlieb Christoph Harless (originally Harles) (21 June 1738 – 2 November 1815) was a German classical philology, classical scholar and bibliography, bibliographer. Biography He was born at Culmbach in Bavaria. He studied at the universitie ...
who spoke the other day had the hearty approval of most people in America in his suggestion that we weren’t asking anyone to leave, but if they chose to leave, good-bye.Lewis, Paul
"Charles M. Lichenstein, 75, American Envoy at the U.N.,"
New York Times, August 22, 2002

The Heritage Foundation

Lichenstein left his position at the

in 1984 to become a distinguished fellow at

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

, where he remained a strong critic of the United Nations and a proponent of UN reform. He also served on several committees focused on improving efficiency and effectiveness at the UN. In 1995, Lichenstein told the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

: "The original purpose of the United Nations was the fanciful hope that you could deter conflicts, and sometimes, if that failed, you could bring them to a conclusion. It was a hope, a dream, for which the basis never existed in 1945 or 1995 or anywhere in between."Bernstein, Adam
"U.N. Delegate Charles Lichenstein, 75, Dies,"
Washington Post, August 31, 2002. Lichenstein was a distinguished fellow at The Heritage Foundation until his death on August 22, 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichenstein, Charles 1926 births 2002 deaths The Heritage Foundation people Diplomats for the United States Nixon administration personnel Reagan administration personnel Ghostwriters PBS people Writers from Albany, New York Yale University alumni Yale University faculty Albertus Magnus College faculty Politicians from Albany, New York