Louis Goethe Dreyfus Jr. (1889 – 1973) was an American diplomat. As an experienced diplomat, he served as both minister and ambassador to Afghanistan at differing times; his career at the Department of State ultimately lasted more than 40 years.

Career

After his graduation from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1910, he entered the Foreign Service in 1911. After postings in Berlin, Paris, and South America, he was nominated as the American ambassador to Iran in 1939. Because of an incident involving the Iranian minister, (who was caught speeding in

Elkton, Maryland Elkton is a town in and the county seat of Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,443 at the 2010 census. It was formerly called Head of Elk because it sits at the head of navigation on the Elk River, which flows into the n ...

) and the Elkton police, along with the subsequent newspaper coverage, the Iranian government recalled their minister in early 1936. The incident caused a diplomatic rupture: all consular matters were transacted through '' chargés d'affaires'' until 1939, at which time Dreyfus was nominated. While in Iran, Dreyfus reported on the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran to the State Department. Dreyfus also served as Minister to Iceland, both before and after it became a republic; and Minister to Sweden after

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 opposing ...

. He also served as the acting Chief of the Foreign Service Inspection Corps (what later became the Inspector General of the Department of State) from 1947 to 1948, before finally returning to Afghanistan as 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 ...

from 1949 to 1951, when he was succeeded by George R. Merrell.

Later life

After he retired from the State Department in 1951, he lived in Santa Barbara, California, until his death on May 19, 1973.

References

External links

Louis Goethe Dreyfus, Jr.
at the

Office of the Historian The Office of the Historian is an office of the United States Department of State within the Foreign Service Institute. It is legally responsible for the preparation and publication of the official historical documentary record of U.S. foreign p ...

website. Ambassadors of the United States to Afghanistan Ambassadors of the United States to Iran Ambassadors of the United States to Iceland 1889 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American diplomats {{US-diplomat-stub