Stephen Warren Bosworth (December 4, 1939 – January 4, 2016) was an American academic and diplomat. He served as Dean of The

Fletcher School The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student b ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

and served as United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy from March 2009 to October 2011. He served three times as a U.S. Ambassador, to

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 ...

(1979–1981), to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

(1984–1987), and to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

(1997–2001). In 1987, he received 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. ...

's Diplomat of the Year Award. In February 2009, U.S. Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

named Bosworth a Special Representative for North Korea policy.

Early life and education

Bosworth was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

in 1939. He graduated with a B.A. in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

(1961) and an honorary doctorate (1986) from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. He was also a graduate student at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. He has two brothers, Brian Bosworth (head of the corporation FutureWorks) and Barry Bosworth (involved in advertisement).

Private career

Prior to 1984, his previous foreign service assignments include

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

, and

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 ...

where he was the State Department's

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 ...

, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for inter-American affairs, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs. He was a member of the International Board of Advisers for the President of the Philippines, and also a member of the boards of International Textile Group and Franklin Templeton Investment Trust Management Co. (Korea). He was a member of 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 ...

. At times he held teaching and oversight positions at various colleges and universities: Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (1990–1994); Linowitz Chair of International Studies,

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

(1993); Trustee, Dartmouth College (1992–2002), Chairman of Board of Trustees, (1996–1999). Before his appointment as ambassador to South Korea, he was the executive director of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (1995–1997). Before coming to KEDO, he was president of the United States Japan Foundation.

Political career

He served on the executive committee of Americans Elect, a political party seeking to gain ballot access in every state in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Personal life

Bosworth was married to Sandra De Puit, with whom he had a son and a daughter, but ended in a divorce. From 1984 until his death in 2016, he was married to Christine Holmes, from whom he had two stepchildren.

Death

On January 4, 2016, Bosworth died at the age of 76 due to

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Writings

References

External links

*
Ambassador Bosworth Speaks on North Korea Policy at The Korea Society's 2009 Annual Dinner

Stephen Bosworth on the Korean Conflict
selected quotes, National Campaign to End the Korean War

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bosworth, Stephen W. 1939 births 2016 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to the Philippines Ambassadors of the United States to South Korea Ambassadors of the United States to Tunisia Americans Elect people Columbia University faculty Dartmouth College alumni Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Massachusetts Directors of policy planning Scholars of North Korea The Fletcher School at Tufts University faculty George Washington University alumni Hamilton College (New York) faculty People from Grand Rapids, Michigan Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class 20th-century American diplomats 21st-century American diplomats