Robert James McCloskey (November 25, 1922 – November 28, 1996) was an American diplomat, ombudsman, and relief services executive. Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas McCloskey and Anna Wallace, he was

spokesperson for the United States Department of State The Spokesperson for the United States Department of State is a U.S. government official whose primary responsibility is to serve as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State and the U.S. government's foreign policies. The posi ...

from 1964 to 1973 but after a short stint (June 20, 1973, to January 14, 1974) as United States Ambassador to Cyprus, he was asked to return to his old job as spokesperson.

Career

From February 21, 1975, to September 10, 1976, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations. He later served as

United States Ambassador to the Netherlands The United States diplomatic mission to the Netherlands consists of the embassy located in The Hague and a consular office located in Amsterdam. In 1782, John Adams was appointed America's first Minister Plenipotentiary to Holland. According t ...

and to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. His government career was followed by a stint as ombudsman at the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', then as senior vice president of International

Catholic Relief Services Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...

Family

He married Anne Taylor Phelan on July 8, 1961. They had two daughters, Lisa and Andre. He died of leukemia in 1996 in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...

at age 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCloskey, Robert J. 1922 births 1996 deaths United States Department of State officials Ambassadors of the United States to Cyprus Ambassadors of the United States to Greece Ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands Diplomats from Philadelphia United States Department of State spokespeople United States Foreign Service personnel Deaths from leukemia in Maryland