Kenneth M. Quinn

Last updated
Kenneth M. Quinn
Kenneth M. Quinn 2024 (cropped).jpg
10th United States Ambassador to Cambodia
In office
December 12, 1995 –July 25, 1999
Profession Diplomat

Kenneth M. Quinn (born May 26, 1942) is the former President of the World Food Prize Foundation and a former career U.S. Foreign Service Officer. He was the president of the foundation for 20 years from January 1st, 2000 to January 3rd, 2020. [1] Before assuming that role, Quinn spent 32 years working for the U.S. State Department. He has served as the United States Ambassador to Cambodia, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, as well as a member of the National Security Council staff at the White House. [2] [3]

Contents

Biography

Quinn was born in New York City in 1942, and he attended high school in Dubuque, Iowa. [4] Quinn received his undergraduate degree from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He went on to earn graduate degrees in international relations from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the University of Maryland. He and his wife, Le Son, have three children. [2]

Diplomatic career

Quinn was a 32-year career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service before he retired and joined the World Food Prize Foundation. [2] He entered the United States Foreign Service in 1968. During the Vietnam War he served almost six years in Vietnam, first as a USAID Rural Development adviser in the Mekong Delta and later as head of a MACV District Advisory team. [5] He later served elsewhere in Southeast Asia as well as in Vienna and Washington, DC. [6] Quinn is fluent in Vietnamese and acted as interpreter for President Gerald Ford. [2]

Awards

Quinn has received a number of awards, including the State Department's Award for Heroism and Valor for his work in Cambodia and Vietnam. For his combat operations participation in Vietnam, Quinn received the U.S. Army Air Medal, and he remains the only civilian ever to win this honor. [2] [7] He also is a three-time recipient of the American Foreign Service Association's Rivkin and Herter Awards for courage in challenging policy. [2]

Quinn is also a member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. [8]

References

  1. ↑ "Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn". www.worldfoodprize.org. World Food Prize Foundation. Archived from the original on 2023-04-01. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn". worldfoodprize.org. World Food Prize Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Iowan and former ambassador recalls role in Vietnam evacuation 50 years ago". KCCI . Des Moines. April 30, 2025. Archived from the original on May 1, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Kenneth M. Quinn". NNDB.com. Soylent Communications. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  5. ↑ Discussant biography, Kenneth M. Quinn, "Fifty Years On: New Perspectives on the Vietnam War," Global Vietnam War Studies Initiative 2025 Conference, 3-4 October 2025, Harvard Kennedy School Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia,
  6. ↑ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR KENNETH M. QUINN" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 8 August 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  7. ↑ "Ambassador Kenneth Quinn Receives Army Air Medal". U.S. Department of State Archives. U.S. Department of State - Office of the Spokesman. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Kenneth M. Quinn". thechicagocouncil.org. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Charles H. Twining
 United States Ambassador to Cambodia
1996–1999		Succeeded by
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