William G. Bradford (January 6, 1925 – July 16, 2008) was an American diplomat. He was the

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 territorie ...

Ambassador to

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

from 1976 to 1979.

Early life

William Bradford was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 1925.

Career

He joined the U.S. Foreign service c.1952. He oversaw diplomatic positions in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

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(1952 to 1955), and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

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(1955 to 1958), in the Public Safety Division and Refugee Relief Act, respectively. He was the Assistant Secretary for Administration of Streamlining Management in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1958 to 1960. From 1962 to 1964, he worked at the U.S. Embassy in

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South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

. He was on detail at the U.S. Embassy 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 p ...

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 , Sierra ...

, from 1966 to 1968. From 1969 to 1975 he worked at the Department of African Affairs. In 1976, Bradford assisted in the

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evacuation of Saigon. He was appointed as United States Ambassador to Chad by President Gerald Ford on September 3, 1976. He was confirmed on October 15, 1976, and served until June 19, 1979. He was later the campaign manager for 1980 presidential candidate

John B. Anderson John Bayard Anderson (February 15, 1922 – December 3, 2017) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 16th congressional district from 1961 to 1981. A member o ...

Death

Bradford died on July 16, 2008, of lung cancer at

Inova Fairfax Hospital Inova Fairfax Medical Campus is the largest hospital campus in Northern Virginia and the flagship hospital of Inova Health System. Located in Woodburn in Fairfax County, Virginia, Inova Fairfax Hospital is one of the largest employers in the cou ...

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References

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Chad

United States Department of State: Chad

United States Embassy in N'Djamena

Ambassadors of the United States to Chad 1925 births 2008 deaths United States Foreign Service personnel {{US-diplomat-stub