Robert Orris Blake (April 7, 1921 – December 28, 2015) was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Mali from 1970 to 1973.

Early life

Blake was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, on April 7, 1921, and grew up in

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census figure. Whittier ...

. He was the son of Frank Orris Blake and Marjorie (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Edwards) Blake. Blake received a Bachelor of Arts from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1943 and a Master of Arts in 1947 from

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 ...

School of Advanced International Studies. From 1943 to 1946, Blake was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy 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 ...

."Blake, Robert Orris," ''Who's Who in Government'', Marquis Who's Who, LLC, Biographical Research Bureau, 1977

Career

During his 30-year career in United States Foreign service, Blake served as Ambassador to

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

from December 10, 1970, until May 20, 1973, as a member of the

Nixon administration Richard Nixon's tenure as the 37th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974, in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office, the ...

, serving under

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

. From August 1968 until December 1970, Blake was Deputy Chief of Mission, Paris. Prior to Paris Blake served in

Managua, Nicaragua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

Moscow, Russia Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Kinshasa.United States Ambassador to the Republic of Mali Announcement of Intention To Nominate Robert O. Blake of California
", November 24, 1970 He was also the Officer in Charge of U.S.S.R. Affairs, and Advisor on Political and Security Affairs, United States Mission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, and United States Representative to the Joint Commission on the Environment. Blake was the Senior Fellow at the

World Resources Institute The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. Subsequent presidents include Jonathan Lash (1993– ...

, where he served as the Chairman of the Committee on Agricultural Sustainability. He was a member of 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 ...

, National Advisory Board of the

Natural Resources Council of Maine The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) is a Maine-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, with offices in Augusta, Maine. Founded in 1959 as a small, volunteer-based environmental advocacy group, NRCM has grown to be Maine's largest envi ...

, and the

Maine Coast Heritage Trust The Maine Coast Heritage Trust is a nonprofit land conservation organization. Its conservation partner is the Maine Land Trust Network, which is one of its programs. Formation In 1969, Margaret Rockefeller learned from the staff at Acadia Natio ...

Personal life

On July 28, 1956, Blake was married to Sylvia Whitehouse at the Trinity Episcopal Church in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. Sylvia was the daughter of diplomat Edwin Sheldon Whitehouse and sister of Ambassador Charles S. Whitehouse (father of

Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2007 as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1993 to 1998 as the United States Att ...

, a current

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Rhode Island). Robert and Sylvia had one daughter and two sons, including: * Robert O. Blake, Jr., a career diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the

Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs The assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs is the head of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs within the United States Department of State, which handles U.S. foreign policy and relations in the following countri ...

and U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia * Lucy Blake, a conservationist who serves as the president of Northern Sierra Partnership. * George Whitehouse Blake Blake died of prostate cancer at his home in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on December 28, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Robert O. 1921 births 2015 deaths Diplomats from Los Angeles Stanford University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Mali United States Foreign Service personnel American expatriates in France American expatriates in the Soviet Union American expatriates in Nicaragua American expatriates in Japan American expatriates in Tunisia American expatriates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo