Nicholas Platt
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Platt is an American
diplomat
who served as U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
to Pakistan
, Philippines
, Zambia
, and as a high level diplomat in Canada
, China
, Hong Kong
, and Japan
. He is the former president of the Asia Society
in New York City
.
Choate) and American Architect Geoffrey Platt, by whom he has remote Dutch American ancestry. He entered the Foreign Service
of the United States in 1959. Prior to that, he was a research assistant at the Washington Center for Foreign Policy Research. From 1959 to 1961, he served as vice consul in Windsor, Ontario
, Canada
, where his son, the actor Oliver Platt
was born. His older son is Adam Platt, New York Magazine restaurant critic, and his younger son is Nicholas Platt, Jr. His wife is Sheila Maynard, a clinical social worker who worked in Islamabad
, granddaughter of Arthur Scott Burden
and the Hon. Cynthia Burke Roche
.
, Harvard College
(B.A., 1957) and Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (M.A., 1959). At Harvard, he was a member of the Porcellian Club
. He is articulate in Chinese, German
, French
, and Japanese
.
, 1962–1963, at the Foreign Service Institute and in Taichung, Taiwan. In 1964 he was assigned as political officer at the American consulate general in Hong Kong
until 1968, when he became China desk officer in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
From 1969 to 1971, Platt was chief of the Asian Communist Areas Division of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. In 1971–1973, he served as Deputy Director, and then Director, of the Secretariat Staff in the Department of State.
As a young diplomat, Platt accompanied President Richard Nixon
on the historic trip to Beijing
in 1972 that signaled the resumption of relations between the U.S. and China.
Platt was assigned as chief of the political section, U.S. Liaison Office, Peking, China, 1973–1974, and then as deputy chief of the political section at the Embassy in Tokyo
, Japan, 1974–1977. He returned to Washington to serve as Director for Japanese Affairs in 1977 and then served as a staff member on the National Security Council at the White House, 1978–1980. From 1980 to 1981, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, International Security Affairs, Department of Defense, and then returned to the Department of State as Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Organization Affairs, 1981–1982.
Platt was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Zambia
in 1982, where he served until 1985, when he was named Special Assistant to the Secretary of State and Executive Secretary of the Department of State.
In 1987, he was appointed Ambassador to the Philippines
. In 1991, he was appointed Ambassador to Pakistan
where he remained until November 1992.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
who served as U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, and as a high level diplomat in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He is the former president of the Asia Society
Asia Society
The Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States and around the world Hong Kong, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, and Melbourne...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Early years
Platt was born in New York City, the son of Helen (néeMarried and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Choate) and American Architect Geoffrey Platt, by whom he has remote Dutch American ancestry. He entered the Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
of the United States in 1959. Prior to that, he was a research assistant at the Washington Center for Foreign Policy Research. From 1959 to 1961, he served as vice consul in Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where his son, the actor Oliver Platt
Oliver Platt
Oliver James Platt is a Canadian-American actor. He is currently starring in the Showtime original series, The Big C with Laura Linney.-Early life:...
was born. His older son is Adam Platt, New York Magazine restaurant critic, and his younger son is Nicholas Platt, Jr. His wife is Sheila Maynard, a clinical social worker who worked in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, granddaughter of Arthur Scott Burden
Arthur Scott Burden
-Biography:He was born on August 11, 1879. His brother was James A. Burden, who was the President of the Burden Iron Works of Troy, New York.He was married on June 11, 1906 to the Hon...
and the Hon. Cynthia Burke Roche
Cynthia Roche
Hon. Cynthia Burke Roche was a Newport, Rhode Island socialite and an art collector.-Life and work:She was born on April 10, 1884 in London to James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy and Frances Ellen Work. Her brothers were Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy, the maternal grandfather of Diana, Princess of...
.
Education
Platt graduated from the prep school St. Paul's SchoolSt. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)
St. Paul's School is a highly selective college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The school is one of only six remaining 100% residential boarding schools in the U.S. The New Hampshire campus currently serves 533 students,...
, Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
(B.A., 1957) and Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (M.A., 1959). At Harvard, he was a member of the Porcellian Club
Porcellian Club
The Porcellian Club is a men's-only final club at Harvard University, sometimes called the Porc or the P.C. The year of founding is usually given as 1791, when a group began meeting under the name "the Argonauts," or as 1794, the year of the roast pig dinner at which the club, known first as "the...
. He is articulate in Chinese, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
.
Embassy postings
He studied the Chinese languageChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, 1962–1963, at the Foreign Service Institute and in Taichung, Taiwan. In 1964 he was assigned as political officer at the American consulate general in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
until 1968, when he became China desk officer in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
From 1969 to 1971, Platt was chief of the Asian Communist Areas Division of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. In 1971–1973, he served as Deputy Director, and then Director, of the Secretariat Staff in the Department of State.
As a young diplomat, Platt accompanied President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
on the historic trip to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in 1972 that signaled the resumption of relations between the U.S. and China.
Platt was assigned as chief of the political section, U.S. Liaison Office, Peking, China, 1973–1974, and then as deputy chief of the political section at the Embassy in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan, 1974–1977. He returned to Washington to serve as Director for Japanese Affairs in 1977 and then served as a staff member on the National Security Council at the White House, 1978–1980. From 1980 to 1981, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, International Security Affairs, Department of Defense, and then returned to the Department of State as Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Organization Affairs, 1981–1982.
Platt was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
in 1982, where he served until 1985, when he was named Special Assistant to the Secretary of State and Executive Secretary of the Department of State.
In 1987, he was appointed Ambassador to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. In 1991, he was appointed Ambassador to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
where he remained until November 1992.
External links
- Video: Nicholas Platt discusses his book 'China Boys' Asia Society, New York, 4/13/2010