Robert Richardson Bowie (August 24, 1909 – November 2, 2013) was an American diplomat and scholar. Bowie graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1931 and received a law degree 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 ...

in 1934 and turned down offers to work as a corporate lawyer with New York's major law firms, returning to

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

to work in his father's law firm, Bowie and Burke. He served in the U.S. Army (1942–1946) as a commissioned officer with the Pentagon and in occupied Germany from 1945 until 1946. In 1946 he resigned as a lieutenant-colonel. He taught at Harvard from 1946-1955. The youngest professor of the school, he was a trusted confidant to

John J. McCloy John Jay McCloy (March 31, 1895 – March 11, 1989) was an American lawyer, diplomat, banker, and high-ranking bureaucrat. He served as United States Assistant Secretary of War, Assistant Secretary of War during World War II under Henry L. Stims ...

, the "unofficial chairman of the American establishment." During periods of leave from Harvard between 1950 and 1952 Bowie worked for McCloy as one of his legal advisers in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. He served as

Director of Policy Planning The director of policy planning is the United States Department of State official in charge of the department's internal think tank, the policy planning staff, with a rank equivalent to assistant secretary. The position has traditionally been he ...

from 1953–1957; co-founder, with

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 ...

, of Harvard's Center for International Affairs (1958); Counselor for the State Department from 1966-1968. 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 ...

, the

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973, principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

, the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars limited to 3,000 elected members and established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and i ...

, and 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. ...

. He is a recipient of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

and the Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

. He served as

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

chief National Intelligence Officer from 1977-1979. He died at the age of 104 in November 2013.

Books

* ''Waging Peace: How Eisenhower Shaped an Enduring Cold War Strategy,'' by Robert R. Bowie and Richard H. Immerman, Oxford UP, 1998,
Endnotes
* ''Suez, 1956'', Oxford UP * ''Shaping the Future: Foreign Policy in an Age of Transition'', Columbia UP

References

External links

Harvard Weatherhead Center for International Affairs

100th Birthday Celebration
1909 births 2013 deaths Princeton University alumni American international relations scholars People of the Central Intelligence Agency Recipients of the Legion of Merit American men centenarians Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Directors of policy planning Harvard Law School alumni Harvard University faculty Diplomats from Baltimore Educators from Baltimore Bowie family {{US-diplomat-stub