Difference between revisions of "Sheldon Vance"

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|birth_date=January 18, 1917
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|death_date=November 12, 1995
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|description=US diplomat who propped up President [[Mobutu]] of [[Zaire]] during his tenure as ambassador.
 
|constitutes=diplomat
 
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|spouses=Jean Chambers
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|alma_mater=Carleton College, Harvard Law School
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|birth_place=Crookston, United States
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|death_place=Bethesda, United States
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|children=Robert Vance Stephen Vance
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|employment={{job
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|title=US/Ambassador to Zaire
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|start=1969
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|end=1974
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|next=June 20, 1974
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|title=US/Ambassador to Chad
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|start=1967
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'''Sheldon Baird Vance''' was a US diplomat. As Ambassador to [[Zaire]], he propped up President [[Mobutu]].
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==Background==
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He was born in [[Crookston, Minnesota|Crookston]], [[Minnesota]]. He studied at [[Carleton College]] from 1935-39, and [[Harvard Law School]].<ref>https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/mss/mfdip/2004/2004van06/2004van06.pdf</ref>
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==Career==
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Vance worked in the  African Bureau of the [[Department of State]]. He was deputy chief of mission in [[Ethiopia]] from 1962 to 1966, and ambassador to [[Chad]] 1967-1969.
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He was the [[United States Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo|U.S. Ambassador]] to [[Zaire]] from May 27, 1969, through March 26, 1974. During his tenure, he developed a close relationship with [[President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|President]] [[Mobutu Sese Seko]], and became an ardent and vocal supporter of the President; he also supported Mobutu's aspirations for regional leadership and advocated foreign investment in Zaire<ref>Young, Crawford and Thomas Turner, ''The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State''. University of Wisconsin Press. {{ISBN|0-299-10110-X}} p. 372</ref> and "strongly recommended" that the U.S. sell [[M16 rifle|M-16]]s to Mobutu.<ref>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/e6/67147.htm Foreign Relations, 1969-1976, Volume E-6, Documents on Africa, 1973-1976]</ref>
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According to diplomats stationed in Zaire at the time, Vance "would not permit negative analyses of the Mobutu regime to be transmitted to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]."<ref name="Sean Kelly">Kelly, Sean. ''America's Tyrant: The CIA and Mobutu of Zaire''. American University Press. {{ISBN|1-879383-17-9}} p. 200</ref> Vance's support of Mobutu continued even after he left Zaire; shortly after retiring from the [[United States Department of State|State Department]], he joined a law firm representing the Zairian government.<ref name="Sean Kelly"/>
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He was also briefly sent back to Zaire in 1975, after his successor, [[Deane Hinton]] (who did not get along with Mobutu) was declared ''[[persona non grata]]'', to patch up the [[Mobutu Sese Seko#Relations with the United States|American-Zairian relationship]], which had soured considerably during Hinton's tenure.<ref>Young and Turner, p. 373</ref> Mobutu accused the [[CIA]] of being behind an assassination plot against him, by organizing tribal dissidents and preparing black Americans equipped with sophisticated weapons for a coup.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/22/archives/envoy-denies-us-plotted-in-zaire-expelled-ambassador-says-mobutu.html</ref>
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==Life after Zaire==
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Vance was a senior adviser to the secretary of state, coordinator for international [[narcotics]] matters, and executive director of the President's Cabinet Committee on International Narcotics Control (1974–1977). After retiring from the Foreign Service in [[1977]], he practiced international law in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Vance, Joyce, Carbaugh and Fields (1977–1989). In later years, the Vances lived in [[Chevy Chase, Maryland|Chevy Chase]], [[Maryland]]. Vance died in [[Bethesda, Maryland]] in 1995 at the age of 78.
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Latest revision as of 04:55, 8 March 2024

Person.png Sheldon Vance  Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(diplomat)
Sheldon B. Vance.jpg
BornJanuary 18, 1917
Crookston, United States
DiedNovember 12, 1995 (Age 78)
Bethesda, United States
Alma materCarleton College, Harvard Law School
ChildrenRobert Vance Stephen Vance
SpouseJean Chambers
US diplomat who propped up President Mobutu of Zaire during his tenure as ambassador.

Employment.png US/Ambassador to Zaire

In office
1969 - 1974
Succeeded byDeane Hinton

Sheldon Baird Vance was a US diplomat. As Ambassador to Zaire, he propped up President Mobutu.

Background

He was born in Crookston, Minnesota. He studied at Carleton College from 1935-39, and Harvard Law School.[1]

Career

Vance worked in the African Bureau of the Department of State. He was deputy chief of mission in Ethiopia from 1962 to 1966, and ambassador to Chad 1967-1969.

He was the U.S. Ambassador to Zaire from May 27, 1969, through March 26, 1974. During his tenure, he developed a close relationship with President Mobutu Sese Seko, and became an ardent and vocal supporter of the President; he also supported Mobutu's aspirations for regional leadership and advocated foreign investment in Zaire[2] and "strongly recommended" that the U.S. sell M-16s to Mobutu.[3]

According to diplomats stationed in Zaire at the time, Vance "would not permit negative analyses of the Mobutu regime to be transmitted to Washington."[4] Vance's support of Mobutu continued even after he left Zaire; shortly after retiring from the State Department, he joined a law firm representing the Zairian government.[4]

He was also briefly sent back to Zaire in 1975, after his successor, Deane Hinton (who did not get along with Mobutu) was declared persona non grata, to patch up the American-Zairian relationship, which had soured considerably during Hinton's tenure.[5] Mobutu accused the CIA of being behind an assassination plot against him, by organizing tribal dissidents and preparing black Americans equipped with sophisticated weapons for a coup.[6]

Life after Zaire

Vance was a senior adviser to the secretary of state, coordinator for international narcotics matters, and executive director of the President's Cabinet Committee on International Narcotics Control (1974–1977). After retiring from the Foreign Service in 1977, he practiced international law in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Vance, Joyce, Carbaugh and Fields (1977–1989). In later years, the Vances lived in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Vance died in Bethesda, Maryland in 1995 at the age of 78.


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References

  1. ↑ https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/mss/mfdip/2004/2004van06/2004van06.pdf
  2. ↑ Young, Crawford and Thomas Turner, The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0-299-10110-X p. 372
  3. ↑ Foreign Relations, 1969-1976, Volume E-6, Documents on Africa, 1973-1976
  4. ↑ a b Kelly, Sean. America's Tyrant: The CIA and Mobutu of Zaire. American University Press. ISBN 1-879383-17-9 p. 200
  5. ↑ Young and Turner, p. 373
  6. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/22/archives/envoy-denies-us-plotted-in-zaire-expelled-ambassador-says-mobutu.html
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