Joseph John Sisco (October 31, 1919 – November 23, 2004) was a diplomat who played a major role in then-Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...
's
shuttle diplomacy
In diplomacy and international relations, shuttle diplomacy is the action of an outside party in serving as an intermediary between (or among) principals in a dispute, without direct principal-to-principal contact. Originally and usually, the proce ...
in 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 ...
. His career in 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 ...
spanned five presidential administrations.
Diplomatic career
Sisco had served for a year as an officer of the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
before joining the State Department in 1951, where he served as a foreign affairs officer until 1965, when he was promoted to
by
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 ...
. In 1969, he was promoted to
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
The assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs is the head of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs within the United States Department of State. The assistant secretary guides the operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in vario ...
. He left the government in 1976, and served as the President of
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 ...
until 1980.
Private sector career
In June 1980, he joined
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
as a columnist, appearing occasionally on air as an expert on Middle Eastern and Asian affairs.
Personal life
Sisco attended
Morton College and
Knox College and was a member of
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, maki ...
fraternity.
Sisco's wife, Jean Head Sisco, whom he married in 1946 while they were students at the University of Chicago, died in 1990.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sisco, Joseph J.
Chancellors and presidents of American University
1919 births
2004 deaths
Knox College (Illinois) alumni
Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel
United States assistant secretaries of state
Under secretaries of state for political affairs
University of Chicago alumni