Willard Ames De Pree (November 11, 1928 – July 2, 2018) was an American career diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Bangladesh and Mozambique.

Early life

De Pree was born on November 1, 1928, in

Zeeland, Michigan Zeeland ( ) is a city in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,719 at the 2020 census. The city is located at the western edge of Zeeland Charter Township. Its name is taken from the Dutch province of Zeeland. Hist ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In 1950 he graduated with a B.A. from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

. In 1952 he completed his M.A. from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He worked as a teaching assistant in the University of Michigan from 1951 to 1953. In 1952 he worked in the State Department as a student intern. From 1954 to 1956 he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Career

De Pree joined the Foreign Service in 1956. From 1956 to 1957 he worked as a college relations officer in the State Department. In 1957 he was posted to Cairo, Egypt as a consular officer. From 1958 to 1960 he worked as the economic/consular officer in Nicosia,

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. From 1960 to 1961 he received training in the African area from the

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. After his training he worked as an intelligence officer in the State Department from 1961 to 1964. From 1964 to 1968 he served as the Political Officer in the United States Embassy in Accra, Ghana. From 1968 to 1970 he was the deputy chief of mission in

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

. He attended Foreign Service Institute studying foreign policy for a year. De Pree worked as the deputy coordinator from 1971 to 1972 at the senior seminar of the State Department. From 1972 to 1975 he was a member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff. From 1976 to 1980 he served as the United States Ambassador to Mozambique. After his term ended he was promoted to Senior Inspector in the State Department. He worked as the Executive Assistant to the

Under Secretary of State for Management The Under Secretary of State for Management is a position within the United States Department of State that serves as principal adviser to the Secretary of State and Deputy Secretary of State on matters relating to the allocation and use of Depa ...

from 1982 to 1983. From 1983 to 1987 he served as the Director of the Office of Management Operations in the State Department. On July 2, 1987, he was appointed the United States Ambassador to Bangladesh by President Ronald Reagan. He served as the United States Ambassador to Bangladesh from October 5, 1987, to August 17, 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ames De Pree, Willard 1928 births 2018 deaths University of Michigan alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Mozambique Ambassadors of the United States to Bangladesh Northwestern University alumni Harvard College alumni People from Zeeland, Michigan United States Foreign Service personnel American expatriates in Egypt American expatriates in Cyprus American expatriates in Ghana American expatriates in Sierra Leone