Parker Thompson "Pete" Hart (September 28, 1910 – October 15, 1997) was a United States diplomat.

Biography

Parker T. Hart was born in

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

on September 28, 1910. He received a BA from

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 1933, an MA from

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 ...

in 1935, and a diploma from the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...

in Geneva in 1936. He attended the

Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings ...

in 1936. After completing his studies, Hart joined the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

. His first posting was in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1938, the year of the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

. He was posted to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

from 1942 to 1949. In 1949, Hart opened the U.S. consulate in

Dhahran Dhahran ( ar, الظهران, ''Al-Dhahran'') is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 240,742 as of 2021, it is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Together with the nearby cit ...

, the site of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

's newly discovered oilfields. Hart was posted to Washington, D.C. in 1952, as Director of the Office of Near East Affairs. He returned to the field in 1955 as Deputy Chief of Mission in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. He was briefly consul general in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

in 1958. Later in 1958, he returned to the U.S. to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East and South Asian Affairs. In 1961, President of the United States

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

named Hart

United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia The United States recognized the government of King Ibn Saud in 1931, but it was not until 1939 when it appointed its first U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Bert Fish, then resident in Cairo and ambassador to Egypt. Fish made one trip down to Jed ...

; Ambassador Hart presented his credentials on July 22, 1961, and served there until his credentials were terminated on May 29, 1965. He was concurrently

United States Ambassador to North Yemen The United States recognized the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen in 1946 and commissioned its first ambassador, J. Rives Childs to the Kingdom of Yemen on August 22, 1946. A diplomatic legation was established in Ta'izz. At that time the ambassa ...

from October 1, 1961, to September 27, 1962, and the first

United States Ambassador to Kuwait This is a list of United States ambassadors, or lower-ranking diplomatic heads, to Kuwait. Ambassadors * Dayton S. Mak (1961–1962) – ''Chargé d'Affaires'' * Parker T. Hart (1962–1963) – ''First ambassador'' * Howard Rex Cottam (1963–1 ...

from 1962 to 1963. From 1965 to 1968, Ambassador Hart was

United States Ambassador to Turkey The United States has maintained many high level contacts with Turkey since the 19th century. Ottoman Empire Chargé d'Affaires *George W. Erving (before 1831) * David Porter (September 13, 1831 – May 23, 1840) Minister Resident * David Port ...

; in this capacity he negotiated a settlement that prevented war between two

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

allies,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, over

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

nominated Hart as

Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary guides the operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in variou ...

in 1965 and Hart held this office from October 14, 1968, until February 4, 1969. He was the first assistant secretary capable of speaking the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...

. He was replaced when

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 ...

took power and

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 ...

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 ...

moved U.S. foreign policy in the region in a more pro-

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

direction. Hart then spent several months as Director of the

Foreign Service Institute The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the United States federal government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats as well as other professionals to advance U.S. foreig ...

, before resigning from the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

later in 1969. Hart served as President of the

Middle East Institute The Middle East Institute (MEI) is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank and cultural center in Washington, D.C., founded in 1946. It seeks to "increase knowledge of the Middle East among the United States citizens and promote a better understan ...

from 1969 to 1973. He then worked as a special representative and consultant for

Bechtel Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia. , the ''Engineering News-Record'' ranked Bechtel as the sec ...

from 1973 to 1990. He retired in 1990 and would go on to publish two books of memoirs In retirement, Hart lived in Washington, D.C., where he died on October 15, 1997. He was 87 years old

Selected publications

* *

Papers

Additional material about Parker T. Hart can be found in the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

American Heritage Center The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West (including politics, settlement, and western trails) and ...

's archives. The archives include correspondences, reports, speeches, and subject files about development of business possibilities in, and the political climate of, the Middle East for his consulting work with the Bechtel Corporation, as well as

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...

, and IBM. There is a small amount of correspondence related to the Arab boycott of Egypt. Hart's consultation services concerning

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

’ Saudi Arabian petition to the Saudi government for reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with its vehicle assembly program are documented, and there is background information on Prince Talal, son of the founding King of Saudi Arabia, which Hart provided to the Santa Fe International Corporation.

References

External links

In Memoriam in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
*
The Papers of Parker T. Hart
at Dartmouth College Library
Parker T. Hart Papers
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Parker 1910 births 1997 deaths United States Assistant Secretaries of State People from Medford, Massachusetts Dartmouth College alumni Harvard University alumni Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Saudi Arabia Ambassadors of the United States to Kuwait Ambassadors of the United States to Turkey Ambassadors of the United States to North Yemen Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni United States Foreign Service personnel 20th-century American diplomats