Princeton Nathan Lyman (November 20, 1935 – August 24, 2018) was a diplomat and former

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the United States' diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of th ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

(1986–89) and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

(1992–95), and former

Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs The assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs is the head of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs within the United States Department of State that creates and executes policy in international organizations ...

(1996–98). He was a member of the

American Academy of Diplomacy The American Academy of Diplomacy is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan, elected organization whose active membership is limited to men and women who have held positions of high responsibility in crafting and implementing American foreign policy. ...

and the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but also has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, its original home. Its stated miss ...

, and was Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies with the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

. Lyman had a bachelor's degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and a Ph.D. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

.U.S. Department of State Archived Biography.
Retrieved 2010-01-12.

Career

Lyman played a crucial role in the negotiation and signing of the 1994 Accord on Afrikaner self-determination in

. As the U.S. Ambassador, he skillfully mediated between General Constand Viljoen, representing

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

interests, and the African National Congress (ANC). Lyman's deep understanding of South Africa's complex political landscape and his respect for Afrikaner concerns helped prevent potential conflict during the transition from

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

, ultimately facilitating the peaceful inclusion of Afrikaners in the new South African democracy. In January, 2010, Lyman weighed in in opposition to using the U.S.

Alien Tort Statute The Alien Tort Statute ( codified in 1948 as ; ATS), also called the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), is a section in the United States Code that gives federal courts jurisdiction over lawsuits filed by foreign nationals for torts committed in vio ...

in federal court to gain reparations for South African workers, from corporations who operated in South Africa during the

era. In January, 2011, Lyman, who acted for the US government in mediation talks between the north and south of Sudan, was in Sudan for the independence referendum of Southern Sudan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyman, Princeton Nathan 1935 births 2018 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Nigeria Politicians from San Francisco University of California, Berkeley alumni Harvard University alumni Ambassadors of the United States to South Africa Reagan administration personnel George H. W. Bush administration personnel Clinton administration personnel Obama administration personnel