Thomas Reeve Pickering (born November 5, 1931) is a former American diplomat. Among his many appointments, he served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992.

Early life and education

Born in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange (known simply as Orange) is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 34,447, an increase o ...

, Pickering is the son of Hamilton Reeve Pickering and Sarah Chasteney Pickering. Raised in Rutherford, New Jersey, he graduated from Rutherford High School. He enrolled at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. Brunswick is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part o ...

in 1949 with plans to join the ministry and graduated cum laude in 1953 with high honors in history and is a member of Theta Delta Chi and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. He then earned a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at

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 ...

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus on both sides of the Medford and Somervill ...

. Upon graduation from Tufts, he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and attended the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

where he received a second master's degree in 1956. In addition to the honorary doctorate-in-laws degree that Bowdoin awarded him in 1984, Pickering has been the recipient of 12 honorary degrees. Before joining the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

, Pickering served on active duty in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1956 to 1959, and later served in the Naval Reserve where he reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Diplomatic career

Pickering's four-decade-long career in

Foreign Service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

included ambassadorships in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(1993–1996);

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(1992–1993); 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 ...

(1989–1992);

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

(1985–1988);

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

(1983–1985);

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

(1981–1983); and

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

(1974–1978). Additionally, he served as

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs The under secretary of state for political affairs is currently the fourth-ranking position in the United States Department of State, after the United States Secretary of State, secretary, the United States Deputy Secretary of State, deputy secre ...

from 1997 to 2000. He holds the rank of Career Ambassador, the highest in the U.S. Foreign Service.

Early career

Early in his career, he was assigned to the U.S. embassy in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and later was special assistant to secretaries of state William P. Rogers and

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 ...

. When Pickering served as United States Ambassador to Jordan in the mid-1970s, King Hussein declared him "the best American ambassador I've dealt with." From 1978 to 1981, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. He then spent time as the

United States Ambassador to Nigeria The following is a list of United States ambassadors to Nigeria. Ambassadors Notes See also *Nigeria – United States relations *Foreign relations of Nigeria *Ambassadors of the United States ReferencesUnited States Department of State: Bac ...

before President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

surprisingly replaced the ambassador to

, Deane R. Hinton, and put Pickering in his place. Pickering's time as United States Ambassador to El Salvador was particularly eventful. Only a year after having been appointed ambassador in 1984, Pickering was the subject of assassination threats from right-wing Salvadoran politicians. The same year, Republican senator

Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the Conservatism in the United States, conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

urged that Pickering be dismissed, arguing that he helped manipulate the country's elections. In both cases, President

offered Pickering his full support and he secured him a job as United States Ambassador to Israel after his appointment in El Salvador. It was later noted when Pickering was nominated as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations that he played a minor role in the

Iran–Contra affair The Iran–Contra affair (; ), also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitat ...

while ambassador to El Salvador. As ambassador to Israel, Pickering led the United States' criticism of an Israeli policy that expelled Palestinians accused of instilling uprising. Pickering stressed to Israeli prime minister

Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir (, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh prime minister of Israel, serving two terms (1983–1984, 1986–1992). Before the establishment of the State of Israel, ...

that the United States considered the actions illegal and unhelpful for peace efforts.

United Nations and subsequent career

President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

's appointment of Pickering as

United States Ambassador to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the United States Mission to the United Nations, U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the Permanent representative to the U ...

was approved almost unanimously in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in 1989 with no dissensions and only one abstention. Pickering played a critical role as Ambassador during the First Gulf War, when he helped lead the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

's response to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

's invasion of

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. Bush's decision to move Pickering from the

to become the United States Ambassador to India was highly criticized given Pickering's successful tenure. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' declared that Pickering was "arguably the best-ever U.S. representative to that body" and that the move was made simply because he overshadowed Secretary of State James A. Baker during the Persian Gulf Crisis. Pickering's last ambassadorial appointment was made by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

who designated him United States Ambassador to Russia. In December 1994, while serving as U.S. Ambassador to Russia, he wrote that "hostility to early NATO expansion is almost universally felt across the domestic political spectrum here." Although the quote would erroneously be described as coming from William J. Burns, who was serving as counselor for political affairs at the U.S. Embassy in

Moscow 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 ...

at the time, Burns did not claim ownership of the cable, only saying, in his

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

, that "we reported tjust after the Budapest outburst." Following the resignation of Secretary of State Warren Christopher in 1996, Pickering was reportedly a top contender for the post, but was ultimately passed over in favor of then-UN Ambassador

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

. From 1997 to 2001, Pickering served as

, the number-three position at the

. When Albright appointed him to the post, ''Time'' magazine declared him the " five star general of the diplomatic corps". In 1998, he was a special envoy to Nigeria and was meeting with imprisoned leader M. K. O. Abiola on the day of his release. In a BBC interview made at the time, Pickering recounted how during the meeting Abiola became ill, and died soon after.

After the State Department

Following his retirement from the Foreign Service in 2001, Pickering served as Senior Vice President for International Relations at

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

until 2006. Currently, he is serving as an independent board member at the world's biggest pipe company, OAO TMK, in Moscow. At present, he is affiliated with the

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a global non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, conducting research and analysis on global crises. ...

and currently serves as its Co-Chair, and oversees their international actions as co-chair. In addition, he is Chairman of the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, Chairman of the Board of Advisers of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Chairman of the American Academy of Diplomacy, Chairman of the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation, and a member of the Board of Advisors of the National Bureau of Asian Research and th
Global Panel Foundation
based in Berlin, Prague and Sydney.

Following his retirement, the U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program was renamed the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program to honor Pickering. Fellowships are funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars. In May 2004, Bowdoin awarded Pickering the Bowdoin Prize, the highest award that the College bestows upon its graduates. Pickering serves on the board of directors for CRDF Global and the American Iranian Council, an organization devoted to the normalization of relations between Iran and America. He is currently a member of the Constitution Project's bipartisan Liberty and Security Committee. He is also 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 ...

and the Henry L. Stimson Center board of directors as well as the advisory board of Eurasia Group, the political risk consultancy firm, and America Abroad Media. He serves on the Guiding Coalition of the nonpartisan Project on National Security Reform. Pickering also serves as an advisory board member for the Partnership for a Secure America. Ambassador Thomas R

Pickering also serves as Co-Chairman of the International Economic Alliance (IEA), where he actively hosts and partakes in international forums attended by notable corporate leaders, ambassadors, and senior government officials from member nations of the Alliance. Pickering is a member of the

Global Leadership Foundation The Global Leadership Foundation (GLF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization consisting of a network of former heads of state/government and other distinguished leaders (GLF Members), who seek to assist developing countries in improving gov ...

, an organization that works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation, and promote good governance. He is also a board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). In 2012, along with former

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: appointment; gra ...

Admiral Michael Mullen, Pickering helped lead a State-Department-sponsored panel investigating the Attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi. In 2014, Pickering gave the keynote speech at the Student Conference on U.S. Affairs at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, New York, addressing the unique challenges that disaster preparedness poses to United States foreign policy planning.

Personal life

Pickering lives in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most p ...

. His wife, the former Alice Jean Stover, whom he married in 1955, died in 2011. The couple had two children, Timothy and Margaret. Pickering is fluent in French, Spanish, and Swahili, and has a working knowledge of Russian, Hebrew, and Arabic.

Honors and awards

In 2002, Pickering was presented the Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award by the American Foreign Service Association. In May 2015, Pickering received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

. He addressed the graduates as the commencement speaker.

References

External links

Foreign Service Journal article on his Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award.

Thomas Reeve Pickering (1931 - )
U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian

at The American Academy of Diplomacy
Charting the Future of U.S.-India Relations
June 2011 interview with Ambassador Thomas Pickering * * * *
Video (with audio available) conversations with Pickering
on Bloggingheads.tv
Interview with Thomas R. Pickering
in Spanish newspaper

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

on 12 Juli 2009 , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickering, Thomas R. 1931 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to El Salvador Ambassadors of the United States to India Ambassadors of the United States to Israel Ambassadors of the United States to Jordan Ambassadors of the United States to Nigeria Ambassadors of the United States to Russia Atlantic Council Boeing people Bowdoin College alumni Carter administration personnel Clinton administration personnel Ford administration personnel George H. W. Bush administration personnel Nixon administration personnel Reagan administration personnel National Bureau of Asian Research Military personnel from Fairfax County, Virginia Military personnel from Orange, New Jersey People of the Salvadoran Civil War Permanent representatives of the United States to the United Nations Rutherford High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Rutherford, New Jersey The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni The Stimson Center Under secretaries of state for political affairs United States career ambassadors United States Navy officers University of Melbourne alumni 20th-century American diplomats 20th-century American military personnel