Wiliam Dawson Jr. (August 11, 1885 – July 3, 1972) was a career United States diplomat. He was U.S. ambassador to multiple countries, including being the first ambassador to the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

. He was born at Saint Paul, Minnesota, on August 11, 1885, the son of William Dawson and Maria Rice. After graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1906, he attended the

Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...

in Paris and soon after entered the United States Foreign Service. His first posting was to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1908. He served as vice and deputy consul-general to Barcelona, Spain, and Frankfurt, Germany; and consul at

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

, Argentina;

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay; Danzig, Poland; and Munich, Germany. Dawson was consul-general at large from 1922 to 1924 and served as chief instructor at the Department of State's Foreign Service School from 1925 to 1928. He married Agnes Balloch Bready on June 8, 1926. He served in Mexico as consul-general; was U.S. Minister to Ecuador,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and Uruguay; and U.S. ambassador to Panama and Uruguay during his long career. After retiring in 1946 he served as advisor on Latin American affairs to the U.S. delegation during the formation of the United Nations, went to Brazil on a special mission with General George Marshall and became the first U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States. He died on July 3, 1972, at the Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, in Blue Hill, Maine. Following a private funeral service he was buried later at Washington, D.C.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, William 1885 births 1972 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Ecuador Ambassadors of the United States to Panama Ambassadors of the United States to Uruguay American people in the Venona papers People from Saint Paul, Minnesota Permanent Representatives of the United States to the Organization of American States University of Minnesota alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Colombia United States Foreign Service personnel American consuls