Richard Bordeaux Parker (July 3, 1923 – January 7, 2011) was an American diplomat, who was as a

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. FSOs formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. They spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, cons ...

, and an expert on 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 ...

. Parker served as Ambassador to Algeria, Lebanon and Morocco. He was the brother of U.S. Army officer David Stuart Parker.

Early life

Parker was the son of Col. Roscoe Parker, a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

officer (Cavalry), and grew up in U.S. Army posts across the southwest with a stint in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

and another in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. He attended

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

, but left in 1943 to join the U.S. Army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Parker served as an infantry officer with the 106th Infantry Division (first platoon of the Anti-Tank Company of the 422nd Infantry Regiment), where he was captured by the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

at the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

and briefly imprisoned. Captured at the same time as Parker, was

Donald Prell Donald B. Prell (July 7, 1924 – July 28, 2020) was an American World War II veteran, venture capitalist and futurist who created ''Datamation'', the first magazine devoted solely to the computer hardware and software industry. Early life Prell ...

, who commanded the second platoon of the Anti-Tank Company. After the war, Parker returned to Kansas State, where he completed his B.S. degree in 1947 and then earned an M.S. degree in 1948, before joining the U.S. Foreign Service in 1949.

Diplomatic career

Parker served as deputy chief of mission in

Rabat, Morocco Rabat (, also , ; ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. It is also the capital city of the Rabat-Salé ...

from 1970 to 1974. He was

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 so ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

from 1975 to 1977, to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

in 1977, and finally to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

from 1978 to 1979. He retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in 1981 and became the editor of ''

The Middle East Journal ''The Middle East Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Middle East Institute (Washington, D.C.). It was established in 1947 and covers research on the modern Middle East, including political, economic, and social ...

''. In addition to his diplomatic career, Parker taught at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, and

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

. He also served as the first president of the

Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) is a United States 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 1986 by retired Foreign Service officers, headquartered at the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Cent ...

from 1986 to 1989. In 1982, Parker participated in a study group held at 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 ...

where he discussed current problems in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. After these meetings Parker spent two years compiling and writing ''North Africa: Regional Tensions and Strategic Concerns''. His book was published in relation with and through the Council on Foreign Relations. In June 2004, Parker received the

American Foreign Service Association The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With over 15,000 due-paying members, AFSA represents 28,000 active and retired Foreign Service employees ...

's lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy award. He died at a nursing home in Washington, D.C., in January 2011. The ashes of Parker and his wife Jeanne were interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

in February 2011.

Service chronology

Papers

Ambassador Parker's papers are held at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, in Washington, D.C. Some of Richard Bordeaux Parker's photographs are held at the Freer Gallery and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives in Washington, D.C. The collection includes black and white negatives of

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both Secularity, secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Muslim world, Islamic world encompasse ...

throughout Algeria, Cairo, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, and Spain.

Published books

* ''A Practical Guide to Islamic Monuments in Cairo'', (, 1974) This guide has been kept up to date by Caroline Williams. The 1985 version is available at the Internet Archiv
Islamic Monuments in Cairo a Practical Guide
* ''A Practical Guide to Islamic Monuments in Morocco'', 1981 This is available at the Internet Archiv
A Practical Guide to Islamic Monuments in Morocco
* ''North Africa: Regional Tensions and Strategic Concerns'', (, 1987) (''revised and updated version'') * ''The Politics of Miscalculation in the Middle East'', (, 1993) * ''The Six-Day War: A Retrospective'', (, 1996) * ''The October War'', (, 2001) * ''Uncle Sam in Barbary: A Diplomatic History'', (, 2004) * ''Memoirs of a Foreign Service Arabist'', (, 2013)

Obituaries and Biographies

Renaissance Man

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Richard Bordeaux 1923 births 2011 deaths People from Kansas Ambassadors of the United States to Algeria Ambassadors of the United States to Lebanon Ambassadors of the United States to Morocco United States Army personnel of World War II Kansas State University alumni University of Virginia faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty United States Army Infantry Branch personnel Lawrence University faculty United States Foreign Service personnel

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

United States Army officers American prisoners of war in World War II 20th-century American diplomats Burials at Arlington National Cemetery