David Kenneth Rush (January 17, 1910 – December 11, 1994) was a

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. ...

who helped negotiate the groundbreaking

Four-Power Agreement The Four Power Agreement on Berlin, also known as the Berlin Agreement or the Quadripartite Agreement on Berlin, was agreed on 3 September 1971 by the four wartime Allied powers, represented by their ambassadors. The four foreign ministers, Al ...

in 1971 that ended the post-war crisis over

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Early life

Kenneth Rush was born David Kenneth Rush in

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

, where his parents, from an old

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

family, had journeyed during a yearlong tour of the western United States. His father was a farmer in

Greenville, Tennessee Greeneville is a town in and the county seat of Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 15,479. The town was named in honor of American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene, and it ...

and his mother a teacher. His father died when he was two years old. After attending secondary schools in Greenville, Rush worked his way through the University of Tennessee by waiting on tables. He majored in history and was elected into the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. In 1932, he enrolled in

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

, where he edited the law journal and earned an LL.B. degree.

Career

Early career

From 1936-1937, Rush joined the

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

faculty as an assistant professor and taught law. It was here that he met to-be-President

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 ...

who was a student at the university. It was the beginning of their enduring friendship. In 1937, Rush accepted an offer to join the

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befor ...

and Carbon Corporation with the prospect of an executive position. He became a vice president in 1939 and was named president in 1966.

Political career

Rush resigned from all private positions in 1969 to become

United States Ambassador to West Germany The United States has had diplomatic relations with the nation of Germany and its principal predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Prussia, since 1835. These relations were broken twice (1917 to 1921, and 1941 to 1955) while Germany and the United St ...

. Rush was credited for playing a major role in the successful conclusion of the

Four Power Agreement on Berlin The Four Power Agreement on Berlin, also known as the Berlin Agreement or the Quadripartite Agreement on Berlin, was agreed on 3 September 1971 by the four wartime Allied powers, represented by their ambassadors. The four foreign ministers, Ale ...

between 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 ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, and

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 ...

after 17 months of negotiations. The agreement ended more than two decades of East-West tensions over the divided former capital of

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 ...

; it improved ties between Washington and Moscow, reaffirmed the Western Allies' rights in the city and paved the way for the development of peaceful relations between East and West Germany. President Richard Nixon appointed Rush as

Deputy Secretary of Defense The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the se ...

for 1972 under

Melvin Laird Melvin Robert Laird Jr. (September 1, 1922 – November 16, 2016) was an American politician, writer and statesman. He was a U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. congressman from Wisconsin from 1953 to 1969 before serving as United States Secret ...

, then named him

Deputy Secretary of State The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state. The current deputy secretary of state is Wendy Ruth Sherman, serving since April 2021 under United States Secre ...

from February 1973 to May 1974, including a period from September 3 to September 22 when Rush served as interim Secretary of State between the terms of

William P. Rogers William Pierce Rogers (June 23, 1913 – January 2, 2001) was an American diplomat and attorney. He served as United States Attorney General under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and United States Secretary of State under President Richard Nixo ...

and

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 ...

. On May 25, 1974, he was appointed counselor to the president for economic policy. From 1974 to his retirement on March 15, 1977, he served as Ambassador to

Death

Rush died at his home in

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles ...

on December 11, 1994 at the age of 84. According to one of his sons, he was under treatment for heart and blood ailments.

Personal life

In 1947, Rush married Jane Gilbert Smith. They had five sons and one daughter. Two of their sons died at a young age.

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rush, Kenneth 1910 births 1994 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to France Ambassadors of the United States to Germany Duke University faculty Florida Republicans Ford administration cabinet members Nixon administration cabinet members North Carolina Republicans People from Delray Beach, Florida People from Walla Walla, Washington United States Deputy Secretaries of Defense United States Deputy Secretaries of State Acting United States Secretaries of State 20th-century American diplomats