Leonard Seidman Unger (December 17, 1917 – June 3, 2010) was a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and United States Ambassador to

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

(1962–64), Thailand (1967–73), and was the last US

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the Republic of China on Taiwan (1974–79).

Personal life

Unger was born in San Diego, California and graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts in 1939. He was the co-author of ''The Trieste negotiations'' and co-editor of ''Laos : beyond the revolution''. After retiring from the foreign service, he taught at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He died on June 3, 2010, in

Sebastopol, California Sebastopol ( ) is a city in Sonoma County, in California with a recorded population of 7,521, per the 2020 U.S. Census. Sebastopol was once primarily a plum and apple-growing region. Today, wine grapes are the predominant agriculture crop, a ...

Diplomacy career

Unger was a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

. He was also the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs in the Johnson administration. and the head of the Interdepartmental Vietnam Coordinating Committee, a committee set up by President Johnson to explore various 'use of force' options in the period before United States involvement in the Vietnam war escalated. Prior to his involvement in South-East and East Asia, Unger was the United States Political Advisor to the Free Territory of Trieste.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unger, Leonard S. 1917 births 2010 deaths People from San Diego Ambassadors of the United States to Thailand Ambassadors of the United States to Laos Ambassadors of the United States to Taiwan Harvard College alumni The Fletcher School at Tufts University faculty