William Robert Rivkin (April 16, 1919 – March 19, 1967)
/ref> was a United States diplomat who served as ambassador to Luxembourg, Senegal, and Gambia in the 1960s.

Early life and education

Rivkin was born in 1919, the first child of Samuel Wolf Rivkin, an immigrant from the Russian Empire who worked as a local tailor, and Florence Fryer, a British immigrant who had met Samuel in Muscatine, Iowa. He grew up in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

and graduated from Davenport High School, now Davenport Central High School. He received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1941 and a J.D. degree from Northwestern University in 1948. While at Iowa, he was the national intercollegiate oratorical champion. At Northwestern, he edited the Northwestern Law Review and finished first in his law class. After graduation from Iowa, Rivkin joined the United States Army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel during World War II. He was awarded the Bronze Star and received the French ''l'ordre de la santé publique'', rank of ''chevalier''.

Government service

In 1956, Rivkin served as deputy director of

Adlai E. Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was twice the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. He was the grandson of Adlai Stevenson I, the 23rd vice president of ...

's second Presidential campaign, and in 1960 was the Midwest coordinator of the Presidential Campaign of then-Senator John F. Kennedy. He was a U.S.

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, serving as Ambassador to Luxembourg (1962-1965) under President John F. Kennedy, and to Senegal (1966-1967) and the Gambia (1966-1967) under President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was 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 ...

and Phi Beta Kappa.

Personal life and death

In 1959, Rivkin married Helen Enid Hammerman.Chicago Tribune: "Enid H. Long, 71 - Served on college board, medical relief missions" By James Janega
January 29, 2002 Helen's grandfather founded J.K. Industries in Chicago and her father, Sol Hammerman, and her Uncle Meyer Hammerman, grew it into one of the nation's largest children's clothing manufacturers at the time. They remained married until his death in 1967. They had four children: *Laura Ledford; *Julie Wheeler; * Robert S. Rivkin, a current senior vice president of Delta Airlines, and the former General Counsel of the United States Department of Transportation (since April 2009). He is married to Cindy S. Moelis who was appointed by President Obama to serve as the Director of the

President's Commission on White House Fellowships The White House Fellows program is a federal fellowship program established via Executive Order by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964, based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Corp ...

in April 2009. *

Charles Rivkin Charles Hammerman Rivkin (born April 6, 1962) is an American media executive and former United States diplomat who is chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). Rivkin served as Assistant Secretary of Stat ...

, is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the

Motion Picture Association The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...

(MPA) and the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, as well as the former United States Ambassador to France (2009-2013).New York Times: "New U.S. Envoy Takes Up Post" By BRIAN KNOWLTON
August 16, 2009 In 1971, Enid remarried to Dr. John Sterry Long and dedicated the rest of her life to humanitarian causes particularly focusing on the delivery of medical and food aid to distressed populations in remote regions of the world. Rivkin died in 1967. He is interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The annual Rivkin award of the United States Foreign Service is presented in his honour.

References

External links

JFK library record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivkin, William Robert 1919 births 1967 deaths University of Iowa alumni Northwestern University alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Ambassadors of the United States to Luxembourg Ambassadors of the United States to Senegal Ambassadors of the United States to the Gambia Jewish American military personnel Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Rivkin family 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American diplomats