William Roe Polk (March 7, 1929 – April 6, 2020) was an American foreign policy consultant and author. He was a professor of history at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, and was President of the latter's
Adlai Stevenson Institute of International Affairs.
Early life
William Roe Polk was born on March 7, 1929, in
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, to George Washington Polk, a lawyer and rancher, and Adelaide Elizabeth () Polk, a librarian.
He grew up on a ranch in west Texas. He was a relation of president
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
and of the prominent lawyer and diplomat
Frank Polk
Frank Lyon Polk (September 13, 1871 – February 7, 1943) was an American lawyer and diplomat, who was also a name partner of the law firm today known as Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Early life
Polk was born in New York City. He was the son of W ...
. He attended public school in Fort Worth and the New Mexico Military Institute.
[ He studied in ]Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
and worked on a Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
newspaper before matriculating and earning a BA and Ph.D
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
from Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and BA and MA from Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
.[williampolk.com]
William R. Polk's Author
/ref> He also studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
, the Universidad de Chile
The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843. , the University of Baghdad
The University of Baghdad (UOB) ( ar, جامعة بغداد ''Jāmi'at Baghdād'') is the largest university in Iraq, tenth largest in the Arab world, and the largest university in the Arab world outside Egypt.
Nomenclature
Both University ...
and the American University of Cairo
The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs ...
.[
]
Career
Polk taught Middle Eastern history and politics at Harvard from 1955–61, and was then appointed by President Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
to the State Department
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 ...
's Policy Planning Council focusing on the Middle East and North Africa.[ While there he served as a member of the ]Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...
management team.
In 1961 Polk was a Guggenheim Fellow
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
in Near Eastern Studies
Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...
.
Polk resigned from the federal government to join the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
as professor of history in 1965, where he taught for ten years and established its Center for Middle Eastern Studies, serving as Founding Director.[
In 1967 Polk became president of the Adlai Stevenson Institute of International Affairs, which hosted the 20th Pugwash Conference on nuclear weapons problems, helped organize the “Table Ronde” meeting which laid groundwork for the ]European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, and contributed to planning the United Nations Environmental Program
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...
.[ During the 1967 Middle Eastern ]Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
he returned to Washington to write a draft peace treaty and to serve as an advisor to McGeorge Bundy
McGeorge "Mac" Bundy (March 30, 1919 – September 16, 1996) was an American academic who served as the U.S. National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 through 1966. He was president of the Ford Founda ...
, who was President Johnson’s personal representative during that crisis.[
Polk was Vice Chairman of the W.P. Carey Foundation][ and a member of the ]Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
.Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
Membership Roster (as of October 24, 2013)
/ref> He lived and wrote in southern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and was married to Baroness Elisabeth von Oppenheimer.[ He has lectured at the Canadian Institute of International Relations, the ]Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
, the Royal Institute of International Affairs
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
, and the Institute of World Economy and International Affairs of the Soviet (now Russian) Academy of Sciences, as well at over a hundred universities and colleges.
William Polk was also the foreign policy adviser for Democratic candidate Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran for ...
's presidential campaign.
Personal life and death
Polk was married to Joan Cooledge from 1950 until their divorce in 1960. He then married Ann Cross in 1962 and they divorced in 1975. Polk then married Baroness Elisabeth von Oppenheimer in 1981.
He had three daughters, a son, and eight grandchildren. Polk died from 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 ' ...
on April 6, 2020, in Vence
Vence (; oc, Vença) is a commune set in the hills of the Alpes Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France, north of Nice and Antibes.
Ecclesiastical history
The first known Bishop of Vence is Severu ...
, France, at the age of 91.
Books
*''Backdrop to Tragedy: The Struggle for Palestine'' (1957). coauthors William R. Polk, David M. Stamler, and Edmund Asfour. Beacon Pres
online edition
*''The Opening of South Lebanon, 1788-1840: A Study of the Impact of The West on the Middle East'' (1963). Harvard University Press
*''The United States and the Arab World'' (1965). Harvard University Press, 3rd edition 1975:
**''The Arab World''. 4th edition 1980, hardcover: , paperback:
**''The Arab World Today''. 5th edition 1991,
*''Beginnings of Modernization in the Middle East: The Nineteenth Century'' (1968). University of Chicago Press,
*''Passing Brave'' (1973). Alfred Knopf, reprint Panda Press 2013
*''The Golden Ode by Labid Ibn Rabiah. Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by William R. Polk'' (1974). University of Chicago Press,
*''The Elusive Peace: The Middle East in the Twentieth Century'' (1979). Palgrave Macmillan,
*''Neighbors and Strangers: The Fundamentals of Foreign Affairs'' (1997). University Of Chicago Press,
*''Polk's Folly: An American Family History'' (2000). Doubleday, , Anchor paperback
*''Understanding Iraq: The Whole Sweep of Iraqi History from Genghis Khan's Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the American Occupation'' (2005). HarperCollins hardcover: , paperback:
*''The Birth of America: From Before Columbus to the Revolution'' (2006). HarperCollins hardcover:
*''Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now'' (2006). coauthor George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...
, Simon & Schuster paperback:
*''Violent Politics: A History of Insurgency, Terrorism, and Guerrilla War, from the American Revolution to Iraq'' (2007). HarperCollins hardcover:
*''Understanding Iran: Everything You Need to Know, From Persia to the Islamic Republic, From Cyrus to Ahmadinejad'' (2009). Palgrave * *Macmillan hardcover:
*
*
*
*
*
References
External links
Homepage
of William R. Polk, wit
by William R. Polk, from ''New York Review of Books
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
'' February 18, 1999.
Interview of Polk
about his book ''Polk's Folly'' by Chicago Public Radio, April 27, 2000, RealAudio
RealAudio, or also spelled as Real Audio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fid ...
format.
"A Visit to Iraq"
The Calm Before a Second Desert Storm? by William R. Polk, ''Washington Report on Middle East Affairs'', April 2003, pages 24–26.
by William R. Polk April 24, 2004.
guest editorial in ''Informed Comment'', May 26, 2004.
by William R. Polk, ''American Conservative'', January 17, 2005.
by William R. Polk ''History News Network'', April 4, 2005.
"Could a New Dictatorship Arise in Iraq?"
interview of Polk by NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
April 28, 2005 (RealAudio
RealAudio, or also spelled as Real Audio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fid ...
or WMA audio formats).
"Concerning Public Ignorance"
What America Needs to Do to Achieve Its Foreign Policy Goals, by William R. Polk ''History News Network'', August 29, 2005.
on writing ''The Birth of America'' June 19, 2006.
A blueprint for leaving Iraq now November 8, 2006.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, William R.
1929 births
2020 deaths
People from Fort Worth, Texas
Writers from Texas
Polk family
Harvard University alumni
Harvard University faculty
University of Chicago faculty
Middle Eastern studies in the United States
American people of Scotch-Irish descent