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Thomas Patrick Melady (March 4, 1927 – January 6, 2014) was an American diplomat and author. From 2002 until his death he served as the Senior Diplomat in residence at
After his graduation from high school he served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947, then graduated from
Thomas Patrick Melady (March 4, 1927 – January 6, 2014) was an American diplomat and author. From 2002 until his death he served as the Senior Diplomat in residence at The Institute of World Politics
The Institute of World Politics (IWP) is a private graduate school of national security, intelligence, and international affairs in Washington DC, and Reston, Virginia. Founded in 1990, it offers courses related to intelligence, national secu ...
in Washington, D.C.
Career
After his graduation from high school he served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947, then graduated from Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...
in 1950 (B.A.) and The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...
in 1955 (M.A., Ph.D.). He was an adjunct professor at St. John's University St John's University may refer to:
*St. John's University (New York City)
**St. John's University School of Law
**St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus
*College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...
and president of the Africa Service Institute in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, from 1959 to 1967. From 1966 to 1969 he was adjunct professor at Fordham University
Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...
. In 1968, Melady was the first person honored with the Norwich (Connecticut) Native Son Award.
A former consultant for the National Urban League
The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...
in New York and chairman of Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...
, he was appointed by President Richard M. 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 t ...
as ambassador to Burundi
Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
in 1969, senior advisor to the US delegation to the UN General Assembly
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 ...
in 1970, and ambassador to Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
from 1972 to 1973.
In 1989 he was appointed by President George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Holy See. After completing his assignment to the Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
during the first year of the administration of President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, he served as distinguished visiting professor at George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
in Washington, D.C. According to the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, his first instruction, since declassified, was to influence the Vatican to recognize the state of Israel, something which was done a few years later in 1993.
He served as president of Sacred Heart University
Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic un ...
in Fairfield, Connecticut, from 1976 to 1986, when he became the university's president emeritus. He was later a consultant to the U.S. Secretary of Education
The United States secretary of education is the head of the United States Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on ...
and President 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 ...
appointed him to serve as assistant secretary for post-secondary education.
Melady was an authority on Afro-Asian and Central European Affairs and the author of 16 books and more than 180 articles, including ''Western Policy and the Third World'', ''Uganda: The Asian Exiles'', ''The United States and the Vatican in World Affairs'', and "Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Future? Part II". He had honorary doctorates from 30 universities and was honored by six countries. He was awarded two papal knighthoods and was a Knight of Malta. He was married and had two children.
He died of brain cancer on January 6, 2014, aged 86, at his home in Washington, D.C.
References