Richard Bordeaux Parker (July 3, 1923 – January 7, 2011) was an American diplomat, who was as a

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

, and an expert on the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Parker served as Ambassador to Algeria, Lebanon and Morocco. He was the brother of U.S. Army officer David Stuart Parker.

Early life

Parker was the son of Col. Roscoe Parker, a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

officer (Cavalry), and grew up in U.S. Army posts across the southwest with a stint in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

and another in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. He attended

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, but left in 1943 to join the U.S. Army 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 ...

. Parker served as an infantry officer with the 106th Infantry Division (first platoon of the Anti-Tank Company of the 422nd Infantry Regiment), where he was captured by the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

at the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

and briefly imprisoned. Captured at the same time as Parker, was

Donald Prell Donald B. Prell (July 7, 1924 – July 28, 2020) was an American World War II veteran, venture capitalist and futurist who created ''Datamation'', the first magazine devoted solely to the computer hardware and software industry. Early life Prell ...

, who commanded the second platoon of the Anti-Tank Company. After the war, Parker returned to Kansas State, where he completed his B.S. degree in 1947 and then earned an M.S. degree in 1948, before joining the U.S. Foreign Service in 1949.

Diplomatic career

Parker served as deputy chief of mission in

Rabat, Morocco Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populatio ...

from 1970 to 1974. He was

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

from 1975 to 1977, to

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

in 1977, and finally to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

from 1978 to 1979. He retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in 1981 and became the editor of ''

The Middle East Journal ''The Middle East Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Middle East Institute (Washington, D.C.). It was established in 1947 and covers research on the modern Middle East, including political, economic, and social ...

''. In addition to his diplomatic career, Parker taught at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, and

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducation ...

. He also served as the first president of the

Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) is a United States non-profit organization established in 1986 by retired Foreign Service officers. It produces and shares oral histories by American diplomats and facilitates the publica ...

from 1986 to 1989. In 1982, Parker participated in a study group held at the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

where he discussed current problems in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. After these meetings Parker spent two years compiling and writing ''North Africa: Regional Tensions and Strategic Concerns''. His book was published in relation with and through the Council on Foreign Relations. In June 2004, Parker received the

American Foreign Service Association American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With over 15,000 dues-paying members, American Foreign Service Association represents 28,000 active and retir ...

's lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy award. He died at a nursing home in Washington, D.C. in January 2011. The ashes of Parker and his wife Jeanne were interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

in February 2011.

Service chronology

Papers

Ambassador Parker's papers are held at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, in Washington, D.C. Some of Richard Bordeaux Parker's photographs are held at the Freer Gallery and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives in Washington, D.C. The collection includes black and white negatives of

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ar ...

throughout Algeria, Cairo, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, and Spain.

Published books

* ''A Practical Guide to Islamic Monuments in Cairo'', 1974 * ''A Practical Guide to Islamic Monuments in Morocco'', 1981 * ''North Africa: Regional Tensions and Strategic Concerns'', (, 1987) (''revised and updated version'') * ''The Politics of Miscalculation in the Middle East'', (, 1993) * ''The Six-Day War: A Retrospective'', (, 1996) * ''The October War'', (, 2001) * ''Uncle Sam in Barbary: A Diplomatic History'', (, 2004) * ''Memoirs of a Foreign Service Arabist'', (, 2013)

Obituaries and Biographies

Renaissance Man

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Richard Bordeaux 1923 births 2011 deaths People from Kansas Ambassadors of the United States to Algeria Ambassadors of the United States to Lebanon Ambassadors of the United States to Morocco United States Army personnel of World War II Kansas State University alumni University of Virginia faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty Lawrence University faculty United States Foreign Service personnel

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

United States Army officers American prisoners of war in World War II 20th-century American diplomats Burials at Arlington National Cemetery