Walter John Stoessel Jr. (January 24, 1920 – December 9, 1986) was an American

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

Life and career

Born in Manhattan, Kansas, Stoessel was the son of Katherine (Haston) and Walter John Stoessel Sr. and graduated from Beverly Hills High School in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The paternal side of his family had migrated to the United States from western Germany in the middle of 19th century. He graduated from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1941 and later undertook graduate studies at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. A career officer of the United States Foreign Service, Stoessel served as the U.S. ambassador to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

from 1968 to 1972, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs from 1972 to 1974, the

U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union The ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation is the ambassador, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Russian Federation. Since September 4, 2022, Elizabeth Rood is ser ...

between 1974 and 1976, and the ambassador to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

from 1976 through 1980. During his term as ambassador to Poland, Stoessel initiated contact with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and hosted talks on behalf of the United States, directly opening the door for President

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 ...

's famous visit to China. In 1981, while ambassador to West Germany, he joined the delegation, with

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

, greeting the U.S. hostages released by Iran when they deplaned. In 1982, 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 Stoessel as the

United States Deputy Secretary of State The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state. The current deputy secretary of state is Wendy Ruth Sherman, serving since April 2021 under United States Secre ...

. During his term he served briefly as acting Secretary of State between the tenures of

Alexander M. Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these cabi ...

and George P. Shultz. He died in Washington, D.C., of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

and is buried 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 ...

. The

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

awards a Walter J. Stoessel Award for Distinguished Diplomatic Service in his honor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoessel, Walter John Jr. 1920 births 1986 deaths United States Deputy Secretaries of State Ambassadors of the United States to Germany Ambassadors of the United States to the Soviet Union 20th-century American diplomats United States Career Ambassadors Reagan administration personnel American people of German descent Politicians from Manhattan, Kansas Columbia University alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Under Secretaries of State for Political Affairs United States Foreign Service personnel Acting United States Secretaries of State Beverly Hills High School alumni Stanford University alumni Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C.