David Nalle (November 2, 1924 – August 2, 2013) was an American diplomat, writer, lecturer, and the former editor of '' Central Asia Monitor''.

Background

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Nalle interrupted studies in Engineering at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, during which he served as a Naval Aviator. He returned to complete a degree in English after the war.

Career: USIA

In 1951, Nalle joined the

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bil ...

(USIA), assigned to the Middle East desk and eventually Afghanistan. During the 1960s he was posted in Iran, Syria and Jordan. He developed a reputation as a linguist and expert on

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. While in Iran he also served as director of the Iran-America Society. He returned to the United States to head the USIA's division for the Near East, South Asia and North Africa in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Later, he was posted to Moscow as Press and Cultural Affairs Officer. After his tour in Moscow, he returned to his prior supervisory position at USIA. He served a total of 28 years with the USIA. During and after his tour in Moscow, at the end of the Brezhnev regime, he and wife Peggy Nalle played helped Russian dissident artists organize shows in Moscow. They helped get their work out of the Soviet Union for shows in the United States and Europe. They also helped some dissident artists emigrate from Russia.

Retirement: Alfred Friendly Press Fellowship

After retiring from USIA in 1980, Nalle became founding director of the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowship, a position which he held for nearly 10 years (1983–1992), overlapping with his position as Washington editor of the Central Asia Monitor (1993–2002). He wrote on Middle East and Central Asian affairs for

Middle East Journal ''The Middle East Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Middle East Institute ( Washington, D.C.). It was established in 1947 and covers research on the modern Middle East, including political, economic, and socia ...

and

Middle East Policy ''Middle East Policy'' is an academic peer-reviewed journal on the Middle East region in the field of foreign policy founded in 1982, published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Middle East Policy Council. Its current editor is Anne Jo ...

. He served as chairman emeritus of the Nava'i Lecture in Central Asian Studies at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and taught courses on Central Asia at OLLI/ American University. He served on the National Advisory Committees of the

Middle East Policy Council The Middle East Policy Council (MEPC) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization that produces analysis and commentary on issues impacting U.S. national interests in the Middle East. It was founded in 1981 under the stated mission ...

and the Alfred Friendly Foundation.

Personal and death

In 1950 he married Jane Oliver Nalle (May 16, 1927 – June 8, 1952) who died in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

aged 25, and was buried in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

British Cemetery. He married Margaret Shumaker Nalle (Peggy Nalle), of Washington and had two children. Nalle died of prostate cancer on August 2, 2013.

Works

''A Common Ground'' Video on Islam and the West, 1987.Listing of articles and reviews at the Middle East Policy Council.

Notes

References

Course Syllabus from 2002.Current course listing from American University.
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070927231726/http://www.mepc.org/resources/policy.asp#nalle_david Biographical information at Middle East Policy Center. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nalle, David 1924 births 2013 deaths American University faculty and staff Writers from Philadelphia Princeton University alumni United States Navy pilots of World War II Central Asian studies scholars American diplomats Chestnut Hill Academy alumni