Walter Leon Cutler (born November 25, 1931, in

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 ...

) is an international consultant and advisor, with a focus on the Middle East, and a former U.S. Ambassador. Cutler was previously a career diplomat, serving twice as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1984–87, 1988–89);

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 ...

(1982–84); and Congo-Zaire (1975-79). He was Ambassador-Designate to the Pahlavi Kingdom of Iran before diplomatic relations were broken in 1980. Other foreign service included opening the first American post in Yaounde, Cameroon; political officer in Algiers just after Algeria's independence; consul in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

, Iran; political-military officer in Seoul, Korea, at the time of North Korea's capture of the U.S intelligence ship Pueblo; and political officer in Saigon during the Vietnam war. At the Department of State he served as Executive Assistant to the Secretary of State; Special Assistant for Vietnam Negotiations; Director of Central African Affairs; and Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations. In 1987-88 he was a research professor of diplomacy at Georgetown University. From 1989 to 2006, Cutler was President of Meridian International Center, a not-for-profit institution in Washington, D.C. dedicated to promoting global understanding through the exchange of people, ideas and the arts. He now serves as President Emeritus. Currently residing in Washington with his wife Isabel (Didi), a photographer, Cutler is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, The American Academy of Diplomacy, The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, The Foreign Service Association, The Middle East Institute, The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, Tunisian-American Young Professionals, and GlobalTies US. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and the Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy in Medford, Massachusetts. He served two years in the U.S. Army.

References

External links

Walter Leon Cutler entry
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

2002 interview
with

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

2004 interview
with

*
Walter Leon Cutler
at the State Department's

Office of the Historian The Office of the Historian is an office of the United States Department of State within the Foreign Service Institute. It is legally responsible for the preparation and publication of the official historical documentary record of U.S. foreign p ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler, Walter Leon 1931 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ambassadors of the United States to Saudi Arabia Ambassadors of the United States to Tunisia The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni Diplomats from Boston United States Army soldiers Wesleyan University alumni United States Foreign Service personnel 20th-century American diplomats