Wilbert John Le Melle (November 11, 1931 – January 11, 2003) was an American diplomat, author and academician. He served as an Ambassador of The United States to the Republic of Kenya and to the Republic of

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

from 1977 to 1980. He was also a president of

Mercy College (New York) Mercy College (Mercy or Mercy NY) is a private university with its main campus in Dobbs Ferry, New York, and additional locations in Manhattan, the The Bronx, Bronx, and Yorktown Heights, New York, Yorktown Heights. The university is historically ...

and of the

Phelps Stokes Fund The Phelps Stokes Fund (PS) is a nonprofit fund established in 1911 by the will of New York philanthropist Caroline Phelps Stokes, a member of the Phelps Stokes family. Created as the Trustees of Phelps Stokes Fund, it connects emerging lea ...

Biography

Born on November 11, 1931, in

New Iberia New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the Laf ...

, Louisiana to Therese and Eloi LeMelle, one of eight kids. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1955 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1956 from

Notre Dame Seminary Notre Dame Seminary is a Catholic seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. It operates under the auspices of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. It serves the other six Catholic dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of New Orleans, six additional dioces ...

and a Ph.D. in political science/international relations in 1963 from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

. He served in the

United States 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, cla ...

from 1957 to 1959. He was an assistant professor in of history and philosophy at

Grambling State University Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Heritage ...

between 1956 and 1961. Between 1963 until 1965 he worked in the Department of Government at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

as an assistant professor and research associate in the African Studies Program. In February 1965 he started work at the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

, as a program officer for West Africa. He spent the next nine years living in various parts of Africa with his family while his job location changed, places like Kenya, Maghreb, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. In 1977, president

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

asked Le Melle to serve as Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Kenya and Seychelles.

References

1931 births 2003 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Kenya African-American diplomats People from New Iberia, Louisiana University of Denver alumni Grambling State University faculty Boston University faculty Notre Dame Seminary alumni Mercy College (New York) faculty Ambassadors of the United States to Seychelles Heads of universities and colleges in the United States 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century American diplomats 20th-century American academics {{US-diplomat-stub