Harry Walter Shlaudeman (May 17, 1926 – December 5, 2018) was an American diplomat, who served successively as Ambassador to Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Nicaragua.

Biography

Shlaudeman was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, on May 17, 1926. 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 ...

, he served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

from 1944 to 1946. After the war, he attended

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 ...

, receiving his B.A. in 1952. Shlaudeman died on December 5, 2018, in

San Luis Obispo, California ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

, at the age of 92.

Foreign service career

Shlaudeman joined 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 1954. As a

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. FSOs formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. They spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, cons ...

, he was posted to

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

1955–56; to

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

1956–1958; to

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

1959–1962; and to

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

1962–1964. He moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in 1964, becoming the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

desk officer in the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

. In 1965, he became assistant director of the State Department's Office of Caribbean Affairs, and also served as an advisor to Ellsworth Bunker, the

United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States The following is a list of people who have served as United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States, or the full title, "United States Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States", with the rank and status of ...

. From 1967 to 1969, he was special assistant to

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

Dean Rusk David Dean Rusk (February 9, 1909December 20, 1994) was the United States secretary of state from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, the second-longest serving secretary of state after Cordell Hull from the ...

. He returned to the field in 1969 as deputy chief of mission in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, and then returned to the U.S. in 1973 to become Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs.

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

nominated Shlaudeman as United States Ambassador to Venezuela and he held this post from May 9, 1975, until May 14, 1976. Ford next nominated Shlaudeman as Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, and he held this office from July 22, 1976, until March 14, 1977. President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

nominated him as

United States Ambassador to Peru The following is a list of United States ambassadors, or other chiefs of mission, to Peru. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.'' List of re ...

, holding this post from June 28, 1977, until October 20, 1980. Carter then named him

United States Ambassador to Argentina The United States ambassador to Argentina is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Argentina. Argentina had declared its independence from Spain in 1816 and there followed a series of revoluti ...

, holding this post from November 4, 1980, until August 26, 1983, during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

. Shlaudeman spent 1983–84 as a member of the

National Bipartisan Commission on Central America National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. In 1984, President

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 ...

named Shlaudeman as the President's Special Envoy for Central America. He then served as

United States Ambassador to Brazil The following is a list of ambassadors of the United States, or other chiefs of mission, to Brazil. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary''. ...

from August 5, 1986, until May 14, 1989. President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

then nominated him as United States Ambassador to Nicaragua and he served in this post from June 21, 1990, until March 14, 1992. Shlaudeman received the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

in 1992.

References

External links

Bush's Nomination of Shlaudeman as Ambassador to Nicaragua
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shlaudeman, Harry W. 1926 births 2018 deaths United States assistant secretaries of state Politicians from Los Angeles Stanford University alumni Military personnel from California United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marines Ambassadors of the United States to Venezuela Ambassadors of the United States to Peru Ambassadors of the United States to Argentina Ambassadors of the United States to Brazil Ambassadors of the United States to Nicaragua Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients United States Foreign Service personnel 20th-century American diplomats