Laurence Desaix Anderson (February 12, 1936 – February 11, 2021) was a career
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 ...
officer specializing in
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
n affairs, and served as
American Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Vietnam.
Career
Anderson, a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, spent most of his career working on Asian issues. He was the first envoy to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, following the establishment of diplomatic relations, serving as chargé d'affaires from August 1995 when the embassy opened until 1997.
Anderson was born in 1936 in
Sumner, Mississippi
Sumner is a town in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. The population was 407 at the 2000 census. Sumner is one of the two county seats of Tallahatchie County. It is located on the west side of the county and the Tallahatchie River, which runs th ...
. He received his
B.A.
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
in history from
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 ...
, and did graduate work in
European literature
Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, and is shaped by the periods in which they were conceived, with each period containing prominent weste ...
at the
University of California at Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
. He also served on active duty as an officer in the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
from 1958 to 1960, after which he managed his family farm in Mississippi.
He entered the Foreign Service in 1962. His first assignment was in Kathmandu, Nepal, as General Services Officer (1963–64). Anderson was then assigned to Vietnam as an A.I.D. provincial representative and later as an advisor to the revolutionary development programs in Vietnam. Following his assignment to the Vietnam Working Group in the State Department (1965–67), he was assigned as a political officer to the U.S. Embassy in Taipei (1970–73), and afterward to the
U.S. Embassy Tokyo (1973–76). After a stint in the Political-Military Bureau, he was assigned as deputy political counselor and chief Indochina watcher in the
U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand (1977–80). He then was named Country Director for Vietnam, Laos, and Kampuchea in the Department of State (1980–83) and subsequently Country Director for Japan (1983–85). He then served as deputy chief of mission in Tokyo under Ambassador
Mike Mansfield
Michael Joseph Mansfield (March 16, 1903 – October 5, 2001) was an American Democratic Party politician and diplomat who represented Montana in the United States House of Representatives from 1943 to 1953 and United States Senate from 1953 t ...
(1985–89). He was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific, covering Japan, Korea, China, and Mongolia (1989–92). He was also assigned as a diplomat-in-residence at Princeton and Rutgers Universities, where he lectured and wrote on East Asian political economies (1992–93). He served as the State Department coordinator for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial and leaders meetings hosted by President Clinton in Seattle, Washington (1993–94). He subsequently was a senior member for Asia of the Policy Planning Council (1994–95).
Following his service as chargé in Hanoi, Anderson left the Foreign Service in May 1997. He served as State Department Special Envoy on Cambodia in August 1997. He taught on contemporary Asian political economies at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University during the spring semester of 1998. President Clinton appointed Anderson as the executive director of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) from 1997 to 2001.
Anderson has contributed to such publications as "U.S. and Japan: Challenges and Opportunities?" in SAIS Review, summer-fall 1993/volume 13, number 2 and "APEC Focus: Accomplishment and Challenge?" in Pacific Rim Law Review and Policy Journal, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, spring review, 1995.
The primary historical significance of Anderson's contribution was his instrumental role in restoring formal diplomatic relations between the
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 ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. His most notable assignment was opening the first
U.S. Embassy in Hanoi after the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, in August 1995. He faced many challenges, however, Vietnam and the US were finally able to restore diplomatic relations.
Before embarking on his mission, Anderson gained insight by meeting with senators
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
,
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
,
Bob Kerrey
Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001.
Before entering politics, he served in the Vietn ...
,
Thad Cochran
William Thad Cochran ( ; December 7, 1937 – May 30, 2019) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator for Mississippi from 1978 to 2018. A Republican, he previously served in the U.S. House of Representative ...
,
Chuck Robb
Charles Spittal Robb (born June 26, 1939) is an American former U.S. Marine Corps officer and politician who served as the 64th governor of Virginia from 1982 to 1986 and a United States senator representing Virginia from 1989 until 2001. A me ...
,
Frank Murkowski
Frank Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Alaska from 1981 to 2002 and as t ...
,
Kit Bond
Christopher Samuel Bond (March 6, 1939 – May 13, 2025) was an American attorney and politician from Missouri. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a United States Senate, U.S. Senator from 1987 to 20 ...
,
Craig Thomas, and
Jay Rockefeller
John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is an American retired politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Vir ...
.
Anderson was an executive board member of the
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation
The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation was established in 1983 to "promote understanding and cooperation among the nations and peoples of Asia and the United States." The Foundation honors Mike Mansfield (1903–2001), congressman from Montana, ...
which is composed of former US Ambassadors to Japan.
References
External links
L. Desaix Anderson biography National Committee on North Korea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, L. Desaix
1936 births
2021 deaths
Ambassadors of the United States to Vietnam
American expatriates in Japan
American expatriates in Nepal
American expatriates in Taiwan
American expatriates in Thailand
Farmers from Mississippi
Military personnel from Mississippi
People from Sumner, Mississippi
Princeton University alumni
Princeton University staff
Rutgers University people
United States Foreign Service personnel
United States–Vietnam relations
UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni