Laurence Everett Pope II (September 24, 1945 – October 31, 2020) was an American diplomat. He was the

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. ...

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 1993 to 1996 and former US

Chargé d’Affaires Chargé () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Chargé is a small town near Amboise. The Rock 'in Chargé festival has revitalized the village sinc2006 Population The inhabitants are called ''Chargéens''. See a ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. Pope held a number of senior posts in the Department of State. He was the Director for Northern Gulf Affairs (1987–1990), Associate Director for Counter-Terrorism (1991–1993), U.S. Ambassador to Chad (1993–1996), and Political Advisor to General

Anthony Zinni Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a former United States Marine Corps general and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). From 2001 to 2003, he served as a special envoy for the United States t ...

USMC, Commander-in-Chief of United States Central Command (1997–2000). In 2000, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

nominated him as Ambassador to Kuwait but his appointment was not confirmed by the Senate. Ambassador Pope retired from the U.S. Foreign Service on October 2, 2000, after 31 years of service. He continued to consult with various institutions and was a respected

arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in medieval Muslim Spain, which lay on the ...

. A graduate of

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

, Pope also had advanced studies at Princeton University and is a graduate of the U.S. Department of State Senior Seminar, a Senior Fellow at the Armed Forces Staff College. He spoked

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and French, and resided in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. Laurence Pope was the eldest son of Medal of Honor recipient Major Everett P. Pope, who was married to Eleanor Pope. He had a brother named Ralph H. Pope. On Thursday, October 11, 2012, the U.S. Department of State announced that Ambassador Pope had arrived in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

as the U.S Chargé d’Affaires in

. On January 4, 2013, the United States embassy in Tripoli announced that William Roebuck arrived in Tripoli as the new Chargé d’Affaires in

replacing Pope. Pope died at his home in

, from pancreatic cancer.Bowdoin Magazine-Laurence E. Pope '67
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Publications

* ''Letters (1694–1700) of François de Callières to the Marquis d’Huxelles'' (Edwin Mellen Press, 2004) *

, ''Foreign Service Journal'', April 2001, Vo. 78, No. 4.

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:Pope, Laurence 1945 births 2020 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Chad Bowdoin College alumni Writers from New Haven, Connecticut Writers from Portland, Maine United States Foreign Service personnel Deaths from cancer in Maine Deaths from pancreatic cancer