Walter John Stoessel Jr. (January 24, 1920 – December 9, 1986) was an American

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 ...

Life and career

Born in Manhattan, Kansas, Stoessel was the son of Katherine (Haston) and Walter John Stoessel Sr. and graduated from Beverly Hills High School in California. The paternal side of his family had migrated to the United States from western Germany in the middle of 19th century. He graduated from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1941 and later undertook graduate studies at Columbia University. A career officer of the United States Foreign Service, Stoessel served as the U.S. ambassador to Poland from 1968 to 1972, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs from 1972 to 1974, the

U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union The ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation is the ambassador, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Russian Federation. Since September 4, 2022, Elizabeth Rood is ser ...

between 1974 and 1976, and the ambassador to West Germany from 1976 through 1980. During his term as ambassador to Poland, Stoessel initiated contact with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and hosted talks on behalf of the United States, directly opening the door for President Richard Nixon's famous visit to China. In 1981, while ambassador to West Germany, he joined the delegation, with Walter Mondale, greeting the U.S. hostages released by Iran when they deplaned. In 1982, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

appointed Stoessel as the United States Deputy Secretary of State. During his term he served briefly as acting Secretary of State between the tenures of

Alexander M. Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these cabi ...

and George P. Shultz. He died in Washington, D.C., of leukemia and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The

U.S. Department of State 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 ...

awards a Walter J. Stoessel Award for Distinguished Diplomatic Service in his honor.

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoessel, Walter John Jr. 1920 births 1986 deaths United States Deputy Secretaries of State Ambassadors of the United States to Germany Ambassadors of the United States to the Soviet Union 20th-century American diplomats United States Career Ambassadors Reagan administration personnel American people of German descent Politicians from Manhattan, Kansas Columbia University alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Under Secretaries of State for Political Affairs United States Foreign Service personnel Acting United States Secretaries of State Beverly Hills High School alumni Stanford University alumni Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C.