John Herbert Holdridge (August 21, 1924 – July 12, 2001) was an American foreign service officer and diplomat, who was best known for having taken part in, and later recounted, Henry A. Kissinger's secret 1971 initiative to restore

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 ...

diplomatic relations with the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He also served as

U.S. Ambassador to Singapore The United States Ambassador to Singapore is the official representative of the United States of America to the Republic of Singapore. The incumbent ambassador is Jonathan E. Kaplan since December 6, 2021, serving as the ambassador of the Embas ...

(1975–1978) and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

(1982–1986).

Biography

Early life

John Holdridge was born August 21, 1924, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. His parents were Marie Gunther and Herbert C. Holdridge, a

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

graduate who reached the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

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 ...

. His parents later divorced, and John gained his only sibling, a much younger stepsister,

Cheryl Holdridge Cheryl Lynn Holdridge ('' née'' Phelps; June 20, 1944 – January 6, 2009) was an American actress, best known as an original cast member of ''The Mickey Mouse Club''. Early life Holdridge was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her mother, Juli ...

, after his father remarried. Holdridge attended

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1941, but transferred to the US Military Academy at West Point upon the US entry into

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 ...

. After graduation in 1945, he was commissioned an officer in the US Army, and served briefly in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. He resigned his commission in 1948, after passing the State Department's foreign service exam. He then began a two-year intensive study of

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

and

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 ...

Career

John Holdridge's first State Department posting was as US

Vice Consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

Embassy of the United States, Bangkok The Embassy of the United States in Bangkok ( th, สถานเอกอัครราชทูตสหรัฐอเมริกาประจำประเทศไทย) is the diplomatic mission representing the United States in Thail ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, from 1950 to 1953. He was promoted to

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

and assigned to first Consulate General Hong Kong (1953–56), then

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

(1956–58). He returned to Hong Kong in 1962 as chief of the political section, a post he held for four years. From 1966 to 1968 he became deputy director for the office of research and analysis, East Asian and Pacific affairs, the State Department in Washington, D.C., and then director from 1969 to 1973. With the election of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

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 Stat ...

in 1968, Holdridge became a senior staff member for the Far East of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

, probably upon the recommendation of

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

, the incoming

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

. Though not involved with domestic politics, Holdridge would be largely identified with

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

administrations and the real politik policies of Kissinger throughout his later career. While serving on the

NSC NSC may refer to: Sport and competition * NSC United, an American soccer team * National Scholastics Championship, an American quiz bowl competition * National Scrabble Championship, now known as the Scrabble Players Championship * National Sho ...

, Holdridge was selected by Kissinger to help lay the groundwork for diplomatic reproachment between the US and Red China. He accompanied Kissinger on his secret 1971 trip to the Mainland, and helped draft the protocol agreement between

Zhou En-lai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Mao ...

and Henry Kissinger that marked the beginning of normalized relations. For his services, he was appointed deputy chief of mission in

Beijing, China } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, for 1973–75. Holdridge was then selected by

Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

in 1975 to serve as the fourth

United States Ambassador to Singapore The United States Ambassador to Singapore is the official representative of the United States of America to the Republic of Singapore. The incumbent ambassador is Jonathan E. Kaplan since December 6, 2021, serving as the ambassador of the Emb ...

. After the election of

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 (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, Holdridge continued to serve in Singapore until 1978. After that he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency until early 1981 as national intelligence officer for East Asia/Pacific, on detail from the State Department. In 1981 he became Assistant Secretary of State of East Asian & Pacific Affairs, then was appointed US Ambassador to Indonesia from 1983-86. Holdridge is also known for giving the final format for the so-called "

Six Assurances The Six Assurances are six key foreign policy principles of the United States regarding United States–Taiwan relations. They were passed as unilateral U.S. clarifications to the Third Communiqué between the United States and the People's Republi ...

" to Taiwan in 1982, formally adopted by the US House of Representatives in 2016.

Later life

John Holdridge had three children with his wife Martha. After retiring from active service, he wrote a memoir on the restoration of US-China diplomatic relations. He also made occasional appearances as a commentator on Asian political affairs for American television. Holdridge died of

pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory failu ...

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, ...

, on July 12, 2001.Wang, Chi
Remember John H. Holdridge
US-China Policy Foundation. Retrieved March 2011

References

External links