Zev Sufott (; 27 October 1927 – 18 April 2014) was an Israeli

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

who served as Israel's first

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, beginning in 1992. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, he was also a former Israeli Ambassador to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and the Deputy Director for Europe within the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Early life

Sufott was born and raised in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He graduated from

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, where he pursued

Oriental Studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...

. Sufott and his parents were firm believers in

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

. He was wounded during the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

shortly after the creation of Israel. Sufott enrolled in the

Chinese studies Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilization p ...

program at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he learned Chinese more than forty years before becoming Ambassador to China. He was posted in Washington D.C. during the 1960s, where he enrolled in

African studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's History of Africa, history (pre-colonial, Colonisation of Af ...

courses at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

and received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Career

Zev Sufott joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1950, beginning a diplomatic career that lasted more than forty years. He was posted to the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C., where he served as First Secretary and Counselor, and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

. He then served as the Israel Ambassador to the

, and afterwards as Deputy Director for Europe at the Foreign Ministry. In 1990, Sufott was approached by the then Director General of the Foreign Ministry, Reuven Merhav, who informed him that Israel intended to open a liaison office of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, the capital of China. It was the first step to the establishment of

diplomatic relations Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

between Israel and the

. Merhav appointed Sufott as Special Advisor at the liaison office in 1991. In 1992, the two countries established full diplomatic relations and Sufott was appointed as Israel's first Ambassador to China. In 1997, Sufott published a book, ''A China Diary: Towards the Establishment of China-Israel Diplomatic Relations,'' detailing the history of China–Israel relations. He further reflected on fledgling relations between the nations in a 2000 article for ''Israel Affairs,'' writing, "In the four decades before diplomatic relations, and even after their establishment in 1992, China has never been a priority on Israel's

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

agenda… On the contrary, Israel's foreign policy vis-à-vis China has been influenced, and at times dictated, by policy priorities and interests in other regions."

Death

Zev Sufott died from cancer in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

on 18 April 2014, at the age of 86. He was buried in Kiryat Shaul Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sufott, Zev 1927 births 2014 deaths Ambassadors of Israel to China Ambassadors of Israel to the Netherlands Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences alumni Yale University alumni Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British emigrants to Israel British Zionists Diplomats from Liverpool Deaths from cancer in Israel Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery Mahal personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War