Donald Read Heath (August 12, 1894 – October 15, 1981) was a member of the United States Foreign Service for more than four decades including service as the Minister to Laos (1950–1954), and Ambassador to

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

(1950–1954),

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 ...

(1952–1955),

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

(1955–1957) and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

(1958–1961). During his tenure as Ambassador to Vietnam, Heath advocated and carried out American policy under Secretary of State John Foster Dulles that helped set the stage for American military involvement. Heath was born in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

the son of Hubert A. and Estelle (Read) Heath. He was educated in Topeka public schools and graduated from

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 ...

about 1915. He attended the University of Montpellier in France for one semester. While a student at Washburn, Heath was a member of the Kansas Beta Chapter of the

Phi Delta Theta Fraternity Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. T ...

where among his chapter brothers was Arthur S. Champeny. On October 10, 1920, he married Sue Louise Bell. In 1950, Washburn awarded Heath its Distinguished Service Award. In 1958, the Washburn again honored him with an honorary doctorate of laws.

Foreign service career

Heath was a

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

correspondent for United Press International from February 1916 to August 1917 and then again from October 1919 to September 1920. From August 1917 to October 1919 he was first lieutenant in U.S. Army in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1920 he began a career in the foreign service that would last four decades. From 1920 to 1929, Heath held consular positions in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, and Switzerland. From 1929 to 1932 he was a consul at the American Embassy in

Port-au-Prince, Haiti Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618 ...

and he was then assistant chief of the Division of Latin American Affairs at the State Department. From 1937 to 1941 he was the First Secretary at the U.S. Embassy in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

before the American entry into the war. Then from 1941 to 1944, he was a consul in Santiago, Chile followed by less than a year as the chief of the Division of North and West Coast Affairs at the State Department. In 1944 Heath returned to Europe as an advisor to fellow Kansan General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

. He remained in Germany as an advisor on reconstruction until 1947 when he was posted as U.S. Ambassador to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. In 1949 Bulgaria charged deputy premier Traicho Kostov with plotting against the Communist regime and added Heath’s name to the charges to give the case "its proper anticapitalist flavor." The Bulgarian government declared Heath ''persona non grata'' and the U.S. promptly broke off diplomatic relations. In 1956 Bulgaria re-examined the case, exonerating Kostov years after he had been executed. In 1959 Bulgaria dropped all charges against Heath and diplomatic relations were restored. Following his expulsion from Bulgaria, Heath was posted as the first U.S. Ambassador to the newly independent countries in Indochina including Laos (1950–1954),

(1950–1954), and South Vietnam (1950–1954). During these concurrent postings he was resident in Saigon. Heath supported the

Domino Theory The domino theory is a geopolitical theory which posits that increases or decreases in democracy in one country tend to spread to neighboring countries in a domino effect. It was prominent in the United States from the 1950s to the 1980s in t ...

and wrote that if the French pulled out "Only the blind could doubt the immediate Communist engulfment of Southeast Asia." In October 1954 Heath and Lieutenant General John W. "Iron Mike" O'Daniel were authorized to begin a crash program to improve "the loyalty and effectiveness of the Free Vietnamese Forces." The result was a formal agreement in December between representatives of France, the Republic of Vietnam, and the United States to supply direct aid through the Military Assistance Program (MAP). He was next the U.S. Ambassador to

(1955–1958),

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

(1957–1959), and, finally,

(1958–1961).

Donald R. Heath Jr.

Donald R. Heath Jr. had been a

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

courier working with the American spy Mildred Harnack, a great-great aunt of Rebecca Donner.

Post-diplomatic work

Following his retirement from the Foreign Service in 1961, he held a professorship at the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Personal life

Heath died in

Orinda, California Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city's population as of the 2020 census is estimated at 19,514 residents. History Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados ...

on October 15, 1981. He was survived by a daughter, Sue L. Brown; a son, Donald R. Heath Jr.; seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

References

External links