Robert Borden Reams (January 27, 1904 – March 26, 1994) was an American diplomat. He was the first United States Ambassador to Upper Volta (now

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

), Dahomey (now

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesCôte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

) simultaneously. On July 31, 1960, an envoy, Donald R. Norland, had presented his credentials as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim on the previous day of Reams' appointment.

Biography

Reams was born in Luthersburg,

Clearfield County Clearfield County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,562. The county seat is Clearfield, and the largest city is DuBois. The county was created in 1804 and later organized in 1822. C ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, on January 27, 1904. He was the son of John Homer Reams and Lulu Ann (Borden) Reams. He married Charlotte Johns on April 6, 1924, divorced her in 1947 and married Dorothy Yovich that same year. He later joined the U.S Foreign and saw overseas post as U.S. Vice Consul in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

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 ...

from 1929 to 1931,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

from 1931 to 33 and again from 1935 to 1936; From 1933 to 1935 Reams was U.S. Vice Consul in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

, South Africa. He later became U.S. Consul in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

in 1937 until 1940. Reams served as the specialist on Jewish issues for the State Department's Division of European Affairs during World War II. In the role he downplayed reports of Nazi exterminations of Jews in Europe, casting doubts on diplomatic cables that sought to notify the United Nations and raise alarm. Reams concluded the reports of mass deportation and murder were accurate, but wrote in 1942 that if the State Department corroborated such information, it would have exposed governments to "increased pressure... to do something." Reams similarly resisted efforts in 1943 to potentially rescue Jews in Europe facing deportation and extermination. Reams wrote there was a "danger" that the German Government might agree to release Jewish refugees to the U.S., and that to care for such refugees would be an "onus" on the United Nations. Between 1942 and 1944, Reams and his colleagues in the State Department resisted all efforts to save European Jews. Randolph Paul of the Treasury Department described Reams and his colleagues as an "underground movement... to let the Jews be killed." On October 14, 1960, Reams was nominated to be the U.S. Ambassador to Dahomey, Niger, Ivory Coast, and Upper Volta by President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

. He was a resident at

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

during his ambassadorship. By 1962, Reams had been superseded by respective ambassadors to each country he represented. Reams died from an aortic aneurysm on March 26, 1994, at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reams, R. Borden 1904 births 1994 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Burkina Faso Ambassadors of the United States to Benin Ambassadors of the United States to Niger Ambassadors of the United States to Ivory Coast United States Foreign Service personnel American expatriates in South Africa American expatriates in Denmark