Donald McHenry

Donald McHenry   ( Diplomat)
Born	October 13, 1936  St. Louis,  Missouri,  USA
Nationality	United States
Ethnicity	Afro-American
Alma mater	•  Illinois State University •  Southern Illinois University Carbondale •  Georgetown University
Member of	Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations/Members 2, Eurasia Foundation/Board and Trustees, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, National Democratic Institute/Board and Staff
Attended 2 Bilderbergs as ex-US Permanent Representative to the UN  United States Ambassador to the United Nations In office September 1979 - January 1981 Appointed by Jimmy Carter Preceded by Andrew Young

Donald Franchot McHenru is a former American diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations from September 1979 until January 20, 1981. He attended the 1986 and 1996 Bilderberg meetings.

Education

McHenry was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up across the river in East St. Louis, Illinois. He attended Illinois State University, graduating with a BS in 1957. He then continued on to receive a master's degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1959 and began a doctoral program at Georgetown University.

Career

McHenry spent much of his career working in foreign diplomacy. He began working with the United States Department of State in 1963, and spent eight years there. From 1971 to 1976, he worked for a series of private think-tanks - the Brookings Institution, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - writing about foreign policy.

In 1976, McHenry became a member of President Carter's transition staff at the State Department before joining the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. In March 1977, he was appointed as the U.S. Deputy Representative to the United Nations Security Council.

In August 1979, McHenry was the principal negotiator for the United States when a Soviet airliner carrying Russian ballerina Lyudmila Vlasova was prevented from taking off by Port Authority Police. Acting Secretary of State Warren Christopher had ordered the interception because Vlasova's husband, Alexander Godunov, who had defected two days earlier, had expressed his belief that his wife was returning to the Soviet Union against her will. Vlasova steadily maintained that she was returning voluntarily, but the U.S. representation was unwilling to accept her statement unless they could speak with her in the absence of Soviet officials. This request was denied.

Eventually Soviet officials allowed Vlasova to speak with U.S. representatives in a mobile lounge that was brought up to the plane. She convinced them that she was not returning under coercion, and the plane took off with Vlasova on board.

The timing of the Vlasova incident drew attention to McHenry at a critical time. Earlier that year, Andrew Young had been made to resign his post as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. after meeting with a representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization, against U.S. policy, and making remarks on political prisoners in the U.S. In September 1979, McHenry was appointed Ambassador and U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N. by President Jimmy Carter.

Later activities

In 1986 McHenry received a L.H.D. from Bates College. He sat on the board of directors of several multi-national corporations and was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was Professor of Diplomacy and International Affairs at Georgetown University. He was also a director of The Coca-Cola Company since 1981, as well as a former director of AT&T Corporation and International Paper. McHenry was an Advisory Board member for the Partnership for a Secure America, a military-industrial complex think tank dedicated to "recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy". Donald McHenry is a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation.

In 2004, McHenry was among 27 retired diplomats and military commanders who publicly said the administration of President George W. Bush did not understand the world and was unable to handle "in either style or substance" the responsibilities of global leadership. On June 16, 2004 the Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change issued a statement against the Iraq War.

 

Events Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Bilderberg/1986	25 April 1986	27 April 1986	Scotland Gleneagles Hotel	The 34th Bilderberg, 109 participants
Bilderberg/1996	30 May 1996	2 June 1996	Canada Toronto	The 44th Bilderberg, held in Canada

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