Charles William Maynes (December 9, 1938 – June 2, 2007) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

diplomat and long-time editor of '' Foreign Policy'' magazine.

Biography

Charles W. Maynes was born in Huron, South Dakota, on December 9, 1938. He was educated at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, receiving a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

in 1960. He was then awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and studied at Merton College, Oxford, receiving a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

, philosophy, and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

in 1962. Maynes was fluent in French and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

. Maynes joined the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carry ...

after graduating from Oxford. Over the next nine years, he served as a Foreign Service Officer in Laos and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. In 1972, he left the foreign service to join the staff of

Sargent Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family. Shriver was the driving force behind the creatio ...

, the

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...

of Democratic candidate George McGovern in the 1972 presidential election. In the early 1970s, he also served on the staffs of Sen.

Fred R. Harris Fred Roy Harris (born November 13, 1930) is an American academic, author, and former politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States Senate from Oklahoma. Born in Walters, Oklahoma, Harris was elected to the Oklahoma Senate ...

( D— OK) and Rep. Frank B. Morse (D— MA-5). From 1972 through 1977, Maynes was secretary of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In 1977,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

nominated Maynes as

Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs is the head of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs within the United States Department of State that creates and executes policy in international organizations ...

and, after

Senate confirmation Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something prev ...

, Maynes held this office from April 14, 1977, until April 9, 1980. During his time in office, Maynes helped draft agreements that led to the independence of

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. He also oversaw U.S. efforts related to the

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...

. Leaving government service in 1980, Maynes became editor of '' Foreign Policy'' magazine, a position he would hold until 1997. From 1997 through 2007, Maynes was president of the Eurasia Foundation. Mayne died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on June 2, 2007.

References

Matt Schudel, "Charles W. Maynes, 68; Foreign Policy Expert at State Department", ''Washington Post'', June 7, 2007Interview with Ambassador Charles William Maynes
(1998) {{DEFAULTSORT:Maynes, Charles W. 1938 births United States Assistant Secretaries of State People from Huron, South Dakota Harvard College alumni Alumni of Merton College, Oxford American Rhodes Scholars 2007 deaths People from Chevy Chase, Maryland