Douglas Brian "Pete" Peterson (born June 26, 1935) is an American politician and diplomat. He served as a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

pilot during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and spent over six years as a prisoner of the

North Vietnamese army The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed win ...

after his plane was shot down. He returned to

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

when he became the first

United States Ambassador to Vietnam The United States ambassador to Vietnam (Vietnamese: ''Đại sứ Hoa Kỳ tại Việt Nam'') is the chief American diplomat to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. After the First Indochina War and the defeat of the French domination over Vietnam ...

in 1997. He was an ambassador until July 2001, after which he devoted himself to philanthropic work.

Early life and education

Peterson grew up in

Milton, Iowa Milton is a city in Van Buren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 380 at the time of the 2020 census. History Milton was laid out in 1851. In 1872, Milton experienced growth when the Burlington and Southwestern Railway was built thr ...

and attended college at the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...

. He joined the U.S. Air Force and served in the Vietnam War, where his

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...

fighter was shot down on September 10, 1966. He spent six years in prison, a period he described as "hours and hours of boredom, spliced with moments of stark terror." He was released on March 4, 1973.

Career

After the Vietnam War, Peterson remained in the U.S. Air Force and retired in 1981 as a colonel with 26 years of service. After retirement he established a general contracting firm in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

and later a small computer company in

Marianna, Florida Marianna is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Florida, United States, and it is home to Chipola College. The population was 6,102 at the 2010 census. In 2018 the estimated population was 7,091. The official nickname of Marianna is ...

called CRT Computers. He served for 5 years on the faculty of

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

. In 1990, Peterson ran as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

for a seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Florida's 2nd congressional district Florida's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. The district consists of the eastern part of the Florida Panhandle along with much of the Big Bend region along the Emerald Coast. It straddles both ...

. He defeated

James W. Grant James William "Bill" Grant (born September 21, 1943) is an American banker and former politician from Madison, Florida. From 1987 to 1991, he served two terms in the United States House of Representatives. Biography A graduate of Florida Sta ...

, a politician who grew unpopular after switching from the Democratic Party to the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

in the middle of his second term. He declined to run for a fourth term (he was succeeded by

Allen Boyd Frederick Allen Boyd Jr. (born June 6, 1945) is an American politician and the former United States Representative for from 1997 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He currently works for a lobbying firm, the Twenty-First Century Gr ...

) and in 1997 was asked by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

to become the United States's first post-war ambassador to Vietnam. One of his goals was securing an account of those still listed as missing in action from the war and so helping to resolve the

Vietnam War POW/MIA issue The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue concerns the fate of United States servicemen who were reported as missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War and associated theaters of operation in Southeast Asia. The term also refers to issues related to the tre ...

. On November 17, 2000, he was presented with the

Presidential Citizens Medal The Presidential Citizens Medal is an award bestowed by the President of the United States. It is the second-highest civilian award in the United States and is second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Established by executive order on Nov ...

by President Clinton.

Philanthropy and business

Since retiring as ambassador, Peterson founded

The Alliance for Safe Children The Alliance for Safe Children (TASC) is a non-profit organization formed in 2002 to address the issue of child injury in the developing world.

, TASC, which aims to lower preventable injuries to children worldwide, and focuses specifically on such issues as drowning in Asia. With his wife he started a company whose aim it is to promote American business in Southeast Asia. Peterson is a senior advisor for

Albright Stonebridge Group Dentons Global Advisors ASG, formerly Albright Stonebridge Group, is a global business strategy firm based in Washington, D.C., United States. It was created in 2009 through the merger of international consulting firms The Albright Group, founde ...

, an international strategic consulting firm.

Personal life

Peterson's first wife died in 1995. Two weeks after his installation in

, he met Vi Le,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's senior trade commissioner, born in Vietnam, whom he married. In 2002, he moved to

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

, so they could be closer to her family. In 2009, Peterson acquired Australian citizenship.

References

External links