Jay Pierrepont "Peter" Moffat Jr. (January 17, 1932 – October 23, 2020) was an American diplomat. He served as the

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 territorie ...

Ambassador to

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

from 1983 to 1985. He was the first ambassador to the newly reopened U.S. Embassy in

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the ...

. He was a member of the Butler-Belmont family.

Biography

Jay (also known as Peter) Moffat was born in 1932. His father was the

United States Ambassador to Canada This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Canada.U.S. ...

Jay Pierrepont Moffat Jay Pierrepont Moffat (January 7, 1896 – January 25, 1943) was an American diplomat, historian and statesman who, between 1917 and 1943, served the State Department in a variety of posts, including that of United States Ambassador to Canada ...

and his grandfather was the

United States Ambassador to Japan The is the ambassador from the United States of America to Japan. History Since the opening of Japan by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, in 1854, the U.S. has maintained diplomatic relations with Japan, except for the ten-year period between the at ...

Joseph Clark Grew Joseph Clark Grew (May 27, 1880 – May 25, 1965) was an American career diplomat and Foreign Service officer. He is best known as the ambassador to Japan from 1932 to 1941 and as a high official in the State Department in Washington from 1944 to ...

who tried hard to avert the pacific stage of the

World War II 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 ...

. He was also the grandnephew of

Seth Low Pierrepont Seth Low Pierrepont (1884–1956) was a United States diplomat and politician. Early life and education Born in Brooklyn, New York on December 25, 1884 to Henry Evelyn Pierrepont, a merchant, and Ellen Low, Pierrepont was one of six children. ...

(member of

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

, 1921 to 1927) and nephew of

Abbot Low Moffat Abbot Low Moffat (May 12, 1901 – April 17, 1996) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat from New York. Life and career Moffat was born on May 12, 1901, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He graduated from Harvard University in 1923, ...

(member of

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

from the New York County 15th District, 1929 to 1943). On December 28, 1953, Moffat married Pamela Mary Dawson. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

with an A.B. in 1953. Moffat served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1953 to 1956. In 1956 he entered the U.S Foreign Service as intelligence research officer in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He was consular officer in

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

and

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, from 1958 to 1960, and political officer in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, from 1961 to 1965. In the State Department, he served as officer in charge of Benelux affairs at the Bureau of European Affairs from 1965 to 1968, and staff assistant to the Secretary of State from 1968 to 1969. He was a political officer in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, from 1969 to 1970, and Deputy Chief of Mission in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

from 1971 to 1974. In 1974, he attended the

NATO Defense College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the f ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. From 1974 to 1976 he was Deputy Executive Secretary in the State Department. He was Deputy Chief of Mission in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, from 1976 to 1980 and attended the Executive Seminar in National and International Affairs at the Foreign Service Institute from 1980 to 1981. He was chargé d'affaires in N'Djamena, Chad, beginning in March 1982, taking over duties from

John Blane John Propst Blane (July 15, 1929 – April 13, 2012) was an American diplomat. He was the Principal Officer and Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to the Republic of Chad at the U.S. Embassy in N'Djamena in 1982, following the Embassy's closing in ...

, who had reopened the embassy that January. On April 28, 1983, he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to be the United States Ambassador to Chad. He was promoted from chargé and confirmed on May 27, 1983. He left that post on July 23, 1985. He was, in turn, succeeded as Ambassador by his predecessor as chargé, John Blane. He was a lineal descendant of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

and

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...

, first US Chief Justice and negotiator of the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

, which formally ended the Revolutionary War and recognized the United States as a sovereign nation. Moffat's foreign languages were

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, 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 ...

References

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Chad

United States Department of State: Chad

United States Embassy in N'Djamena
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moffat, Jay Pierrepont Jr. 1932 births 2020 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Chad Harvard University alumni United States Army officers United States Foreign Service personnel People from New York City

Biography

See also

References

External links