Ronald I. Spiers
Encyclopedia
Ronald Ian “Ron” Spiers (born July 9, 1925) was a former career diplomat and United States
Ambassador
.
, New Jersey
July 9, 1925 but grew up in Peru
, London
, Paris
and Brussels
. During World War II
, he served as an Ensign
in the United States Navy
in the war's Pacific theater
. He later became the commanding officer of an amphibious landing craft.
Spiers graduated from Madison (NJ) High School in 1943, then attended Dartmouth College
, graduating in 1948 with a bachelor's degree
. He also attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
at Princeton University
, earning his Master of Public Affairs
degree in 1950.
, serving until 1955, when he began his career with the U.S. Foreign Service, in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs. During his AEC career he conceived the proposal for what became the International Atomic Energy Agency.
During his career with the State Department
, Spiers worked in a variety of assignments, often involving arms control
. He served at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations
(in Geneva
), as a negotiator for the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency
, and also was a U.S. negotiator in a series of arms negotiations with the Soviet Union
, including the Partial Test Ban Treaty
, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
, First Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
.
In 1964, Spiers became director of NATO Affairs, serving until 1966, when he was appointed as the Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy to the United Kingdom
. In 1969 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs by President Nixon, serving until 1973 when he was chosen by President Nixon to be the first U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas. In 1974 he returned to London as Charge d'affairs and Deputy Chief of Mission, holding this post until 1977 when he was appointed by President Carter as the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey
, In January 1980, he was selected to be Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research
by President Carter. He was selected by President Reagan to be ambassador to Pakistan
in 1981.
On August 4, 1983, President
Ronald Reagan
nominated Spiers to be Under Secretary of State for Management. He served through the Reagan Administration as Undersecretary of State. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush
recommended him for selection as Undersecretary General of the United Nations for Political Affairs. In this position Spiers became the highest-ranking American citizen in the United Nations Secretariat
.
Spiers retired in March 1992 with two Presidential Distinguished Executive Service Awards and the rank of Career Ambassador, an honorary rank he was accorded by the President and the US Senate in 1984. Equivalent to "four star" military rank it is reserved for a small number of career Foreign Service officers who have served with distinction in the highest positions of the Foreign Service.
, a group of former diplomats, ambassadors, and military leaders criticizing the foreign policy
of President George W. Bush
and supporting the election of John Kerry
in the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
Spiers now lives in Exeter, New Hampshire
. He is married and lives with his wife, Patience. He has four children, and nine grandchildren. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
, the American Academy of Diplomacy
, the National Academy of Public Administration
, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Ambassador
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....
.
Early life and military career
Spiers was born in OrangeOrange, New Jersey
The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
July 9, 1925 but grew up in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served as an Ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in the war's Pacific theater
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
. He later became the commanding officer of an amphibious landing craft.
Spiers graduated from Madison (NJ) High School in 1943, then attended Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, graduating in 1948 with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
. He also attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school has granted undergraduate A.B. degrees since 1930 and graduate degrees since 1948...
at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, earning his Master of Public Affairs
Master of Public Affairs
The Master of Public Affairs , one of several public affairs degrees, historically has been a master level professional degree offered in public policy schools that provides training in public policy and the operation of government. Courses required for this degree educate students in public and...
degree in 1950.
Government service
After graduating from Princeton, Spiers became a foreign affairs specialist with the U.S. Atomic Energy CommissionUnited States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
, serving until 1955, when he began his career with the U.S. Foreign Service, in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs. During his AEC career he conceived the proposal for what became the International Atomic Energy Agency.
During his career with the State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, Spiers worked in a variety of assignments, often involving arms control
Arms control
Arms control is an umbrella term for restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation, and usage of weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction...
. He served at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
(in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
), as a negotiator for the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
, and also was a U.S. negotiator in a series of arms negotiations with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, including the Partial Test Ban Treaty
Partial Test Ban Treaty
The treaty banning nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water, often abbreviated as the Partial Test Ban Treaty , Limited Test Ban Treaty , or Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is a treaty prohibiting all test detonations of nuclear weapons...
, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
, First Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty was a treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile systems used in defending areas against missile-delivered nuclear weapons....
.
In 1964, Spiers became director of NATO Affairs, serving until 1966, when he was appointed as the Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In 1969 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs by President Nixon, serving until 1973 when he was chosen by President Nixon to be the first U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas. In 1974 he returned to London as Charge d'affairs and Deputy Chief of Mission, holding this post until 1977 when he was appointed by President Carter as the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey
United States Ambassador to Turkey
The United States of America has maintained many high level contacts with Turkey since the nineteenth century.-Chargé d'Affaires:*George W. Erving *David Porter -Minister Resident:*David Porter *Dabney Smith Carr...
, In January 1980, he was selected to be Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research
Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research
The Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research is the head of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research within the United States Department of State. Before 1986, the head of INR was the Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research...
by President Carter. He was selected by President Reagan to be 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...
in 1981.
On August 4, 1983, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
nominated Spiers to be Under Secretary of State for Management. He served through the Reagan Administration as Undersecretary of State. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
recommended him for selection as Undersecretary General of the United Nations for Political Affairs. In this position Spiers became the highest-ranking American citizen in the United Nations Secretariat
United Nations Secretariat
The United Nations Secretariat is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and it is headed by the United Nations Secretary-General, assisted by a staff of international civil servants worldwide. It provides studies, information, and facilities needed by United Nations bodies for...
.
Spiers retired in March 1992 with two Presidential Distinguished Executive Service Awards and the rank of Career Ambassador, an honorary rank he was accorded by the President and the US Senate in 1984. Equivalent to "four star" military rank it is reserved for a small number of career Foreign Service officers who have served with distinction in the highest positions of the Foreign Service.
Life after government service
In 2004, Spiers again returned to the public eye when he joined Diplomats and Military Commanders for ChangeDiplomats and Military Commanders for Change
Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change 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 Republican George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election.The...
, a group of former diplomats, ambassadors, and military leaders criticizing the foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
of President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and supporting the election of John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
in the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
Spiers now lives in Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...
. He is married and lives with his wife, Patience. He has four children, and nine grandchildren. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
, the American Academy of Diplomacy
American Academy of Diplomacy
The American Academy of Diplomacy is a private, non-profit, non-partisan, elected organization whose active membership is limited to men and women who have held positions of high responsibility in crafting and implementing American foreign policy...
, the National Academy of Public Administration
National Academy of Public Administration (United States)
The National Academy of Public Administration was founded by James E. Webb, then-administrator of NASA, and other leading public administration practitioners in 1967 and chartered under Title 36 of the United States Code in 1984 under Public Law 98-257. The Academy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan...
, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies is a British research institute in the area of international affairs. It describes itself as "the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict"...
.
Works
- "The Anatomy of Terrorism" (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
). Foreign Service Journal. September 2004. pp. 43–47, 49-50. - "Where Are We Going From Here?" Overseas Democrat. August 21, 2003.
- "Terrorism: How Do You Know When You Win?" (PDF). Vermont Rutland Herald. March 24, 2004.
- "Map to Peace: Going Nowhere Fast" (PDF). Vermont Rutland Herald. September 2, 2003.