Winston Lord

Last updated
Bette Bao
​
(m. 1963)​
Winston Lord
Winston Lord.jpg
20th Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
In office
April 23, 1993 –February 18, 1997
Children2
Parent
Relatives Charles Alfred Pillsbury (great-grandfather)
Alma mater Yale University (BA)
Tufts University (MA)

Winston Lord (born August 14, 1937) is a retired American diplomat. As Special Assistant to the National Security Advisor and then as Director of Policy Planning at the United States Department of State, Lord was a close adviser to Henry Kissinger and was instrumental in bringing about the renormalization of U.S.-China relations in the 1970s.

Contents

He later served as President of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1977 to 1985, United States Ambassador to China from 1985 to 1989, and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1993 to 1997. [1]

Early life and education

Lord was born in New York City on August 14, 1937, as the youngest of three sons born to Oswald Bates Lord, a textile executive for Galey and Lord, which later became a division of Burlington Industries, and Mary Pillsbury Lord, a granddaughter of the Pillsbury Company co-founder Charles Alfred Pillsbury. [2] [3]

His oldest brother, Charles Pillsbury Lord, was a graduate of Yale University, served in the U.S. Air Force, and had a career in business and education. [4] His older brother, Richard, died three months after he was born in 1935 with severe deformities as a result of Mary Lord's exposure to icy waters while pregnant during the sinking of SS Mohawk on January 24th, 1935. [2]

Winston Lord's mother, Mary Pillsbury Lord, was a civic leader, activist, and political ally of Dwight D. Eisenhower, having met him while visiting Europe as the chair of Civilian Advisory Committee of the Women's Army Corps. She later worked as a campaign leader for Eisenhower's bid for presidency in 1952, organizing women's votes for Eisenhower. After Eisenhower's victory in 1953, he named Lord as the United States Representative to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, succeeding Eleanor Roosevelt. [5] [6] Winston Lord later credited her mother's career as one of the factors that steered him towards a career in public service and international affairs. [2]

After attending The Buckley School and the Hotchkiss School, Lord graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in English in 1959. [2] He is a member of the Yale secret society Skull and Bones. [2] [7] [8] After graduating from Yale, Lord studied at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he graduated first in his class with an M.A. in 1960. [9]

Career

Lord played a role in the restoration of relations between the United States and China in the early 1970s, and he has been a key figure in US-China relations ever since. From 1969–73, as a member of the United States National Security Council's planning staff, he was the special assistant to National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, accompanying him on his secret trip to Beijing in 1971. The following year, he was part of the U.S. delegation during President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China, was on President Ford's visit in 1975 and many other Kissinger trips. Lord was in every Nixon, Ford, and Kissinger meeting with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping during the 1970s.[ citation needed ]

Lord was also the top assistant on Vietnam negotiations, in every Kissinger meeting with North Vietnam from 1970–1973. Lord was a principal drafter of both the 1972 Shanghai Communiqué, which opened relations with China, and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, which ended the Vietnam War. [10]

Lord became the State Department's Director of Policy Planning and top policy adviser on China (1973–77), United States Ambassador to China (1985–1989) under President Reagan, and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (1993–1997) under President Clinton. Early in his career he served in the Foreign Service and the Defense Department.[ citation needed ] He was a senior counselor for the President's National Bi-partisan Commission on Central America (1983–1984).[ citation needed ]

Between governmental posts[ when? ][ clarification needed ] Ambassador Lord has headed and helped direct many private organizations related to international affairs. He served as President of the Council on Foreign Relations (1977–1985). [11] He was co-Chairman of the International Rescue Committee Board and Overseers, Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, and Chairman of the Carnegie Endowment National Commission on America and the New World (1992). He is currently a director of the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. [12] [ citation needed ], a global advisor to the Women's Tennis Association, Chair Emeritus of the International Rescue Committee, trustee of the Trilateral Commission, Vice Chair of the NCAFP Northeast Asia Security Forum, and member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a former member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group. [13]

Lord has also previously served[ when? ] on the Boards or as a member of the America-China Forum, The Fletcher School, National Committee on US-China Relations, US-Japan Foundation, American Academy of Diplomacy, Asia Society, and Aspen Institute Distinguished Fellows.[ citation needed ]

Lord has written articles in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, and Foreign Affairs. In 2019, he published Kissinger on Kissinger: Reflections on Diplomacy, Grand Strategy, and Leadership, a book of interviews that Lord conducted with the former National Security Advisor. [14]

In 2020, Lord, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him." [15]

Lord is a participant of the Task Force on U.S.-China Policy convened by Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations. [16]

Personal life

Lord has been married since 1963 to author and human rights activist Bette Bao Lord and has two children, Elizabeth Pillsbury and Winston Bao.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Kissinger</span> American diplomat and scholar (1923–2023)

Henry Alfred Kissinger 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 from 1969 to 1975, serving in the presidential administrations of both Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

The United States National Security Council was established following the coordination of the foreign policy system in the United States in 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. An administrative agency guiding national security issues was found to be needed since world war II. The national Security Act of 1947 provides the council with powers of setting up and adjusting foreign policies and reconcile diplomatic and military establishments. It established a Secretary of Defence, a National Military Establishment which serves as central intelligence agency and a National Security Resources Board. The specific structure of the United States National Security Council can be different depending on the elected party of the time. Different party emphasize on different aspects of policy making and administrating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trilateral Commission</span> International political and economic discussion group

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 Rockefeller, an internationalist who sought to address the challenges posed by the growing economic and political interdependence between the U.S. and its allies in North America, Western Europe, and Japan. The leadership of the organization has since focused on returning to "our roots as a group of countries sharing common values and a commitment to the rule of law, open economies and societies, and democratic principles".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council on Foreign Relations</span> American think tank on foreign policy

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. CFR is based in New York City, with an additional office in Washington, D.C. Its membership has included senior politicians, secretaries of state, CIA directors, bankers, lawyers, professors, corporate directors, CEOs, and prominent media figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shanghai Communiqué</span> 1972 diplomatic relations agreement between the US and mainland China

The Joint Communiqué of the United States of America and the People's Republic of China, also known as the Shanghai Communiqué (1972), was a diplomatic document issued by the United States of America and the People's Republic of China on February 27, 1972, on the last evening of President Richard Nixon's visit to China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walsh School of Foreign Service</span> School of international affairs at Georgetown University

The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It grants degrees at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Bundy</span> American lawyer and intelligence analyst (1917–2000)

William Putnam Bundy was an American attorney and analyst with the CIA. Bundy served as a foreign affairs advisor to both presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He had key roles in planning the Vietnam War, serving as deputy to Paul Nitze at Defense under Kennedy and as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs under Johnson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Dobriansky</span> American diplomat (born 1955)

Paula Jon Dobriansky is an American diplomat, public official, and foreign policy expert who served as Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs (2001–2009) and the President's Envoy to Northern Ireland (2007–2009). A specialist in Central/East European affairs and the former Soviet Union, trans-Atlantic relations, and political-military affairs, Dobriansky held key senior roles in the administrations of five U.S. presidents.

Morton H. Halperin is an American analyst who deals with U.S. foreign policy, arms control, civil liberties, and the workings of bureaucracies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert D. Blackwill</span> American diplomat (born 1939)

Robert Dean Blackwill is a retired American diplomat, author, senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, and lobbyist. Blackwill served as the United States Ambassador to India under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003 and as United States National Security Council Deputy for Iraq from 2003 to 2004, where he was a liaison between Paul Bremer and Condoleezza Rice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China</span> American diplomatic overture to the Peoples Republic of China

From February 21 to 28, 1972, United States President Richard Nixon visited the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the culmination of his administration's efforts to establish relations with the PRC after years of U.S. diplomatic policy that favored the Republic of China in Taiwan. His visit was the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC, and his arrival in Beijing ended 25 years of no communication or diplomatic ties between the two countries. Nixon visited the PRC to gain more leverage over relations with the Soviet Union, following the Sino-Soviet split. The normalization of ties culminated in 1979, when the U.S. transferred diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing and established full relations with the PRC.

Bette Bao Lord is a Chinese-born American writer and civic activist for human rights and democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. Fred Bergsten</span> American economist (born 1941)

C. Fred Bergsten is an American economist, author, think tank entrepreneur, and policy adviser. He has served as assistant for international economic affairs to Henry Kissinger within the National Security Council and as assistant secretary for international affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He was the founding director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, until 2006 the Institute for International Economics, which he established in 1981 and led through 2012. In addition to his academic work, he has been an influential public commentator and advisor to the American and global economic policy community, writing for influential periodicals such as Foreign Affairs magazine and by writing numerous books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Jonathan Green</span> American Japanologist

Michael Jonathan Green is an American Japanologist currently serving as CEO of the United States Studies Centre and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also a member of Radio Free Asia's board of directors and Center for a New American Security (CNAS)'s board of advisors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John H. Holdridge</span> American diplomat (1924–2001)

John Herbert Holdridge was an American foreign service officer and diplomat, who was best known for having taken part in, and later recounted, Henry A. Kissinger's secret 1971 initiative to restore United States diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to Singapore (1975–1978) and Indonesia (1982–1986).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt M. Campbell</span> American diplomat and businessman (born 1957)

Kurt Michael Campbell is an American diplomat and businessman serving as the United States deputy secretary of state since 2024. He previously served as deputy assistant advisor to President Biden and National Security Council coordinator for the Indo-Pacific from 2021 to 2024. In this capacity, Campbell had been referred to as the Biden administration's "Asia coordinator" or "Asia czar"—chief architect of Joe Biden's Asia strategy.

Viron Peter Vaky was an American diplomat who was United States Ambassador to Costa Rica (1972–74), Colombia (1974–76), and Venezuela (1976). He was a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and Council on Foreign Relations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Pillsbury</span> American strategist and expert on China (born 1945)

Michael Paul Pillsbury is a foreign policy strategist, author, and former public official in the United States. He was appointed in December 2020 to be the Chair of the Defense Policy Board at the U.S. Department of Defense. He is also a senior fellow for China strategy at The Heritage Foundation and has been Director of the Center on Chinese Strategy at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., since 2014. Before Hudson, he held various postings in the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Senate. He has been called a "China-hawk", and an "architect" of Trump's policy towards China. In 2018, he was described by Donald Trump as the leading authority on the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard H. Solomon</span> American diplomat (1937–2017)

Richard Harvey Solomon was an American diplomat and academic who served as Director of Policy Planning from 1986 to 1989, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1989 to 1992, and U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines from 1992 to 1993. In September 1993, he became president of the United States Institute of Peace, a position he held until September 2012. He subsequently joined the RAND Corporation as a Senior Fellow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek J. Mitchell</span> American diplomat (born 1964)

Derek James Mitchell is an American diplomat with extensive experience in Asia policy. He was appointed by President Barack Obama as the first special representative and policy coordinator for Burma with rank of ambassador, and was sworn in by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on October 2, 2011. On June 29, 2012, the U.S. Senate confirmed him as the new United States Ambassador to Burma. On September 4, 2018, Mitchell succeeded Kenneth Wollack as president of the National Democratic Institute, a position he served until September 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Winston Lord, Office of the Historian, Department of State".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR WINSTON LORD" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 28 April 1998. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 June 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  3. ↑ Bachrach, Special to The New York TimesBradford (1963-05-05). "Father Escorts Miss Bette Bao At Her Nuptials; Jackson Alumna Wed to Winston Lord-- Four Attend Bride". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  4. ↑ "Charles Pillsbury Lord | Yale Class of 1956". yale56.org. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  5. ↑ Goodman, George (1978-07-23). "MARY LORD, 73, DIES; HELD POST AT U.N." The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  6. ↑ "Mary Lord Dies at 73, Served as U.N. Delegate". Washington Post. 2023-12-21. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  7. ↑ Alexandra Robbins, Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power, Little, Brown and Company, 2002, page 174-5, 189
  8. ↑ David W. Dunlap, "Yale Society Resists Peeks Into Its Crypt", New York Times , November 4, 1988.
  9. ↑ Box 682, Folder 7, Council on Foreign Relations Records, Council on Foreign Relations Records. Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
  10. ↑ Kissinger, Henry (1979). White House Years.
  11. ↑ "Historical Roster of Directors and Officers".
  12. ↑ "The Board of Directors". U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Retrieved 24 June 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ "Former Steering Committee Members". bilderbergmeetings.org. Bilderberg Group . Retrieved 2014-02-08.
  14. ↑ Lord, Winston. "Kissinger on Kissinger". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  15. ↑ "Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden". Defending Democracy Together. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "The Task Force on U.S.-China Policy". Asia Society. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to China
1985–1989		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
April 23, 1993–February 18, 1997		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.