Herbert Daniel Spivack (1 October 1917 - 12 November 2004) was a career American diplomat who served in Iran, Burma, Cambodia, and Bangladesh.

Early life

Spivack was born in October 1917. He completed his BA and MA from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1937. He completed his graduate work 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 the

Pennsylvania State College The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855 as Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Pe ...

. He joined the Foreign Service in 1945.

Career

Spivack was the consular officer in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

from 1945 to 1947. From 1947 to 1949, he was the political officer at the United States Embassy in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

, Burma. From 1950 to 1954, he was the economic affairs advisor in Paris, France. Spivack served as a deputy chief of mission from 1962 to 1965 in the United States Embassy in Cambodia. He was for a brief time as the Chargé d'Affaires of the United States Embassy in Cambodia. From 1965 to 1969, he was the economic consular of the United States Embassy in New Delhi, India. Spivack served as the Chargé d'Affaires(ad interim) of the

Embassy of the United States, Dhaka The Embassy of the United States of America in Dhaka is the diplomatic mission of the United States in Bangladesh. It is located in Baridhara. The embassy has 400 staff led by the US Ambassador to Bangladesh. History The United States established ...

in Bangladesh from May 1972 to October 1972. The United States recognized Bangladesh as an Independent country on 5 April 1972 after the end of

Bangladesh Liberation war The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

in 1971. Spivack was the principal diplomatic officer of the United States in Dhaka and the top diplomat at the Dhaka consulate during the war. He was recalled to Washington D.C. for consultations and was asked by President

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 ...

to convey the recognition of the United States to President

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

of Bangladesh. On 18 May `972 the US consulate in Dhaka was upgraded to a full embassy under Spivack. From 1974 to 1975, he was the U.S. Consul General in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany.

Death

Spivack died on November 12, 2004, in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spivack, Herbert D. 1917 births 2004 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Bangladesh New York University alumni American expatriates in Iran American expatriates in Myanmar American expatriates in France American expatriates in Cambodia American expatriates in India Pennsylvania State University alumni