Mark Evans Austad (April 1, 1917 – October 20, 1988) was an American radio and television commentator in

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, Na ...

(under the name Mark Evans), and served under Gerald Ford as

United States Ambassador to Finland United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

from 1975 to 1977, and as

United States Ambassador to Norway The United States Ambassador to Norway (formally the Ambassador of the United States to the Kingdom of Norway) is the official representative of the President and the Government of the United States of America to the King and Government of Norw ...

from 1981 to 1984, under

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Biography

Austad was born Marcus Jacob Austad in

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

, to

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

immigrant parents, Jacob L. and Signa Anderson Austad. He was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) and served a three-year

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

from 1936 to 1939. From 1939 to 1941, he attended

Weber College Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founde ...

in Ogden where he was

student body president The student government president (sometimes called "student ''body'' president," "student ''council'' president" or "''school'' president") is generally the highest-ranking officer of a student union. While a student government group and a class p ...

and active in

public speaking Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

, in which he won first place in national competitions. Austad married the former Lola Brown in 1942 and they had three daughters. Throughout his life Austad was active in the LDS Church, and in addition to his missionary service he was also a Sunday School teacher in the 1970s in Washington, D.C., and was ordained as a High Priest.

Broadcasting

Austad passed up law school for an opportunity to work in radio as an announcer with KSL in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

in 1941. He was soon drafted into the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps for service during

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 ...

. To treat a pre-existing knee injury, he was sent to

Walter Reed General Hospital The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and reti ...

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, ...

, where he was also assigned to the hospital's

public address system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

referred to as WRGH. Among his duties was hosting a weekly program with prominent Washington personalities, such as

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

. In late 1942 Austad also worked part-time for

WWDC The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is usually held at Apple Park in California. The event is usually used to showcase new software and technologies in t ...

and then full-time upon his military discharge in 1945. After two years, he moved to the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

station WTOP where he succeeded

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...

on his own morning show. Starting in 1960, Austad became a commentator at

WTTG WTTG (channel 5) is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outlet WDCA (channel 20). WTTG and WDCA sh ...

television and in 1961 he became vice president of public affairs at Metropolitan Broadcasting Company, later called

Metromedia Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuMon ...

, where he stayed until 1981. During this time he continued to host other television shows such as "Panorama Potomac", "Face to Face", "The Mark Evans Show", and "Opinion in the Capitol", which he hosted for 25 years. He was also involved with television

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

, including an award-winner on pollution called ''1985'', several on world topics, and one on his visit with

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schweit ...

Civic activity

Austad participated with various civic and national organizations. He served as a member of the citizens advisory board of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F ...

(appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 ...

), a member of the executive board of the Washington, D.C., American Red Cross, a member of the public affairs committee of the

United States Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urgin ...

, a member of the board of the Arizona Heart Institute, a member of the board of the

Disabled American Veterans The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is an organization created in 1920 by World War I veterans for disabled military veterans of the United States Armed Forces that helps them and their families through various means. It was issued a federal ch ...

, and a trustee of the American Automobile Association. He received the

Silver Beaver Award The Silver Beaver Award is the council-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. Upon nomination by their local Scout council and with the approval of the National Court of Honor, recipients of this award are registered adu ...

and in 1970 he was named Scouter of the Year by the National Capital Area Council of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

, where he participated for over 25 years. He was invited on eight occasions to speak before the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

. For his "deep commitment to freedom and a strong national defense", in 1987 he received the Bronze Minuteman, the highest award of the

Utah National Guard The Utah National Guard consists of the: * Utah Army National Guard **19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) **65th Field Artillery Brigade **85th WMD CST **97th Troop Command **115th Engineer Group (CBT) **204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade **211th ...

. In 1971, in this period of civic involvement, Austad received an honorary doctor of humanities degree from

Weber State College Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founde ...

, his alma mater. The school would also later honor Austad by naming its largest theater in its fine arts center The Mark Evans Austad Auditorium. Austad served for two years as chairman of Washington D.C.'s

National Cherry Blossom Festival The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City to the city of Washington, D.C. Ozaki gave the trees to enhan ...

, and in 1973 and 1974 he was chairman of Washington D.C.'s

U.S. bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

celebration. Austad served on the presidential inaugural committees both times

was elected. In 1969 Austad chaired the

Inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

Ball committee, and in 1972 he was vice chairman of the

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...

committee. Nixon would appoint Austad to serve as one of the three public members of the United States delegation to the 28th

General Assembly of the United Nations The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

. After Nixon's presidential resignation, his successor Gerald Ford appointed Austad as Ambassador to Finland. In 1980 Austad would again serve on an inaugural committee, this time for

's first election, after which he was again appointed as an ambassador, this time to Norway.

Ambassadorships

After his service to the Nixon administration and visibility in the Washington, D.C., community, Austad was appointed Ambassador to Finland in 1975. In this role, he was also a delegate to the Helsinki

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a key element of the détente process during the Cold War. Although it did not have the force of a treaty, it recognized the boundaries of postwar Europe and established a mechanism f ...

which brought about the

Helsinki Accords The Helsinki Final Act, also known as Helsinki Accords or Helsinki Declaration was the document signed at the closing meeting of the third phase of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, Finland, between ...

. Austad became the first American diplomat to be knighted by Finland, under the

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. T ...

and Order of the Lion. In 1981, while living in

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire Wolfeboro is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,416 at the 2020 census. A resort area situated beside Lake Winnipesaukee, Wolfeboro includes the village of Wolfeboro Falls. History The town was granted ...

and

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

, Austad was appointed Ambassador to Norway by

. He served in this position until 1984 and was well received and awarded Norway's highest honor given to foreigners, the Grand Cross of St. Olav's Order, for his work in fighting heart disease. However, he was known for contending with some Norwegians, including the opposition Labor Party, a local Norwegian council, student groups, and a newspaper that frequently ran such headlines as "Austad Strikes Again." He also gained notoriety in the Norwegian media for a 1983 incident in which police were called to a startled woman's home where Austad was loudly banging on the door at 3 a.m. Austad claimed that after hosting an embassy cocktail party, he was on a late-night visit to a friend's house to plan their salmon fishing trip, but his taxi took him to the wrong address. It was alleged that Austad was "apparently under the influence of alcohol" and had spent "half an hour knocking and kicking at her front door Wednesday in an attempt to get in."See item #115 in Police merely dropped Austad back at his hotel, but United States House Democrats listed this incident as one of many ethics violations by Reagan Administration officials. Austad viewed the criticism as inaccurate innuendo and media sensationalism, started by the British newspaper '' Private Eye'' and picked up by other papers and

wire services A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire, ...

. Austad sued Private Eye for libel and they

settled A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

for a "substantial sum", for damages and legal expenses, and printed an apology stating their "article constituted a most serious and damaging libel upon Ambassador Austad." Austad dismissed the controversy, saying Norway's largest newspaper, ''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 milli ...

'', praised him as the best U.S. ambassador they had ever had.

Death

Austad died in 1988 at age 71 in Arizona. His funeral was held in Ogden, Utah, and his body was buried in Lindquist Washington Heights Memorial Park.

Notes

External links

Ambassador Mark Evans Austad Collection
held at the

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

Stewart Library Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Austad, Mark Evans 1917 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American documentary filmmakers American Mormon missionaries in Norway American radio personalities American television personalities Male television personalities American Mormon missionaries in Finland People from Ogden, Utah People from Scottsdale, Arizona Television personalities from Washington, D.C. People from Wolfeboro, New Hampshire Radio and television announcers Ambassadors of the United States to Finland Ambassadors of the United States to Norway Weber State University alumni American people of Norwegian descent Recipients of the Order of the Lion of Finland United States Army soldiers