Henry Allen Holmes (born January 31, 1933) was the United States Ambassador to Portugal from 1982 to 1985 and a career diplomat.

Biography

Born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

to American parents, Holmes received his high school education at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, graduating in June 1950. He earned his A.B. in 1954 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 ...

, where he was a classmate of Donald RumsfeldScarborough, Rowan. ''Rumsfeld's War: The Untold Story of America's Anti-Terrorist Commander.'' Regnery Publishing, 2004. p. vi. and participated in the NROTC program. Holmes then joined the

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

, leaving as an infantry captain in 1957 to study at Sciences Po in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. He graduated with a certificate in 1958 and was hired as an intelligence research analyst for the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

that same year. Holmes began his diplomatic career by joining the Foreign Service in 1959; his first posting was as a consular and political officer in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. He continued to advance through various State Department positions for the next two decades, including posts in

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 ...

and

, until his appointment as Ambassador to Portugal in 1982. From 1985 to 1989, he served as US Assistant Secretary of State for Politico-Military Affairs. In 1989, he was appointed Ambassador at Large for Burdensharing in which he ensured balanced security responsibility among NATO members, Japan, and other US allies. Following this he was nominated by President Clinton to be

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict or ASD(SO/LIC), is the principal civilian advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Defense on special operations and low-intensity conflict matters. Located within the Office o ...

. During this time his office generated a plan for the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

to launch new national counterterrorism strategy to respond to "the gauntlet the international terrorists have thrown at our feet," but as mentioned in the

9/11 report ''The 9/11 Commission Report'' (officially the ''Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States)'' is the official report into the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was prepa ...

, the paper never went beyond the Office of the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's

School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It is considered to be one of the world's leading international affairs schools, granting degrees at bot ...

and a member of

Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change (DMCC) was an ''ad hoc'' organization of 27 retired and United States military officers and Foreign Service Officers who supported Democratic U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts against incumbent ...

.Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change Official Statement

Family

H. Allen Holmes is married and has two children.

References

External links

*Princeton University, Memorial H. Allen Holmes ’5
U.S. policy on arms control
1986 Address to Council on Foreign Relations
Civil Affairs: Reflections of the Future
1997 address to Worldwide Civil Affairs Conference

1997 address to Intelligence in Partnership Conference {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, H. Allen 1933 births Living people St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni Princeton University alumni United States Marine Corps officers Sciences Po alumni United States Foreign Service personnel Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal United States Assistant Secretaries of State United States Assistant Secretaries of Defense Walsh School of Foreign Service faculty

Biography

Family

See also

References

External links