Bismarck Myrick (born December 23, 1940) is a former U.S. Ambassador to the
Republic of Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
(1999–2002) and
Lesotho (1995–1998). He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and a decorated Vietnam War hero. He represented the U.S. at the swearing in of South Africa's first democratic parliament, led by Nelson Mandela. The Kingdom of Lesotho conferred on him the Kingdom's highest honor to a non-citizen. Liberia's major newspapers and civil society organizations named him "Diplomat of the Year" or "Man of the Year" for three consecutive years. The City Council appointed him Goodwill Ambassador for Goree Island, Senegal in 2008.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
named two streets in his honor in 2001 and selected him as a 2006 "Portsmouth Notable" – the city's highest honor. He is featured in the March, 2013 edition of "The Citizen of Chesapeake" Newspaper. Active in community service, he is on a number of boards, such as the World Affairs Council.
Career
A native of
Portsmouth, Virginia, Myrick earned a bachelor's degree from the
University of Tampa
The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...
and a master's degree from
Syracuse University. Spelman College awarded him a Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
Military
Myrick began his military career as an army private. He performed military police duties in
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
before his first assignment as an infantry officer in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
. He was an infantry company commander in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
from 1968 to 1969. He earned the
Silver Star, two
Bronze Stars
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
for heroism in combat, two
Bronze Stars
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
for meritorious service in a combat zone, the
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
, Meritorious Service Medal, Parachutist Badge and Combat Infantryman Badge. He was inducted into the
U.S. Army Hall of Fame at
Fort Benning, Georgia
Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...
in 1996. An Army Foreign Area Officer (Africa Specialist), he was Director of African Studies at the School of International Studies, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He is in the National Infantry Museum's Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was the ODU 2011 Veterans Day Honoree and Featured Speaker.
Foreign Service
He joined the
Foreign Service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...
in 1980 and was assigned as Desk Officer for
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
in the Office of East African Affairs. From 1982 to 1984, he served as Political Officer at
Monrovia
Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...
in
Liberia. He returned to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
to serve from 1985 to 1987 as Action Officer in the Office of Strategic Nuclear Policy, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs. He was Chairman (1986–87) of the Interagency Nuclear Testing Arms Control Working Group and served on the U.S. Delegation to the Geneva Nuclear Testing talks. Myrick served as Deputy Director for policy planning and coordination in the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs from 1987 to 1989. In 1989, he was awarded a Una Chapman Cox Fellowship and conducted research on a project entitled "Change in the Horn of Africa and Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy in the 1990s." He holds the Department of State's
Superior Honor Award and four Meritorious Honor Awards.
While serving as the
ambassador to Liberia, Myrick became the center of a potential international incident: after alleging that Myrick had interfered in domestic political issues, ruling
National Patriotic Party
The National Patriotic Party (NPP) is a political party in Liberia. It was formed in 1997 by members of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia following the end of the First Liberian Civil War.
History
The party contested the 1997 general ...
chairman Cyril Allen urged the government to arrest Myrick. Disputes erupted among NPP partisans, as some opposed the statement of their party boss and called for an increased separation between their party and the government.
["NPP Partisans Differ on Threats to Arrest U.S. Ambassador". '' Monrovia Guardian'' 2000-03-24: 1/6.]
The government of Lesotho awarded him the Most Meritorious Order of Mohlomi, its highest honor to a non-citizen, for his work in promoting democracy. He also served as Principal Officer in
Cape Town, South Africa from 1993 to 1995, and as Principal Officer in
Durban, South Africa
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
from 1990 to 1993, where he helped manage U.S. policies during that nation's transformation from apartheid to non-racial democracy. During his military career, Myrick also served in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
from 1975 to 1979 as an Army
foreign area officer.
Myrick is co-author of Three Aspects of Crisis in Colonial Kenya ; author of "The United States and Liberia" in The African Experience: Past, Present, and Future and author of scores of official documents.
Old Dominion University
He currently teaches
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
at
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...
as an Ambassador-in-Residence and Lecturer.
References
External links
The Political Graveyard - Index to Politicians: Myerson to Myzell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myrick, Bismarck
1940 births
Living people
United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
People from Portsmouth, Virginia
Recipients of the Silver Star
Ambassadors of the United States to Liberia
African-American diplomats
Ambassadors of the United States to Lesotho
United States Foreign Service personnel
University of Tampa alumni
United States Army soldiers
20th-century African-American people
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs alumni
21st-century African-American people
20th-century American diplomats
21st-century American diplomats