David Nalle (November 2, 1924 – August 2, 2013) was an American diplomat, writer and lecturer. He was the editor of the '' Central Asia Monitor''.

Biography

Born on November 2, 1924, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Nalle interrupted studies in Engineering at

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 ...

for

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 ...

, during which he served as a Naval Aviator. He returned to complete a degree in English after the war. In 1951, Nalle joined the

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999. Previously existing United States Information Service (USIS) posts operating out of U.S. embassies wor ...

(USIA), assigned to the Middle East desk and eventually Afghanistan. During the 1960s he was posted in Iran, Syria and Jordan. He developed a reputation as a linguist and expert on

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. While in Iran he also served as director of the Iran-America Society. He returned to the United States to head the USIA's division for the Near East, South Asia and North Africa in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Later, he was posted to Moscow as Press and Cultural Affairs Officer. After his tour in Moscow, he returned to his prior supervisory position at USIA. He served a total of 28 years with the USIA. During and after his tour in Moscow, at the end of the Brezhnev regime, he and wife Peggy Nalle played helped Russian dissident artists organize shows in Moscow. They helped get their work out of the Soviet Union for shows in the United States and Europe. They also helped some dissident artists emigrate from Russia. After retiring from USIA in 1980, Nalle became founding director of the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowship, a position which he held for nearly 10 years (1983–1992), overlapping with his position as Washington editor of the Central Asia Monitor (1993–2002). He wrote on Middle East and Central Asian affairs for

Middle East Journal ''The Middle East Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Middle East Institute (Washington, D.C.). It was established in 1947 and covers research on the modern Middle East, including political, economic, and social ...

and

Middle East Policy ''Middle East Policy'' is an academic peer-reviewed journal on the Middle East region in the field of foreign policy founded in 1982, published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Middle East Policy Council. Its current editor is Anne Joy ...

. He served as chairman emeritus of the Nava'i Lecture in Central Asian Studies at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and taught courses on Central Asia at OLLI/

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 ...

. He served on the National Advisory Committees of the

Middle East Policy Council The Middle East Policy Council (MEPC) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization that produces analysis and commentary on issues impacting U.S. national interests in the Middle East. It was founded in 1981 under the stated missi ...

and the Alfred Friendly Foundation. In 1950, he married Jane Oliver Nalle (May 16, 1927 – June 8, 1952) who died in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, aged 25, and was buried in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

British Cemetery. He married Margaret Shumaker Nalle (Peggy Nalle), of Washington and had two children. Nalle died of prostate cancer on August 2, 2013, aged 88.

Works

''A Common Ground'' Video on Islam and the West, 1987.

Listing of articles and reviews at the Middle East Policy Council.

Notes

References

Course Syllabus from 2002.

Current course listing from American University.
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070927231726/http://www.mepc.org/resources/policy.asp#nalle_david Biographical information at Middle East Policy Center. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nalle, David 1924 births 2013 deaths American University faculty Writers from Philadelphia Princeton University alumni United States Navy pilots of World War II Central Asian studies scholars Diplomats for the United States Chestnut Hill Academy alumni