Contributions by Arkansans in the Foreign Service

Raised in Little Rock, John J. “Jay” Taylor joined the Foreign Service in 1957. While he was chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana in the late 1980s, he helped coordinate restoration of the Mariel migration agreement, which ended a chaotic period of illegal migration from Cuba and allowed the United States to negotiate the release of Cuban political prisoners. Learn more of his story in ADST’s collection.

Larry C. Williamson was born and raised in Fort Smith and served with the Marine Corps in the Korean War before joining the Foreign Service in 1958. In the early 1980s, he negotiated landing rights for U.S. airlines around the world. Williamson went on to serve as Ambassador to Gabon. Read his full ADST oral history.

Born and raised in Little Rock, Herwald Morton joined the U.S. Information Agency in 1961, breaking barriers as a Black officer. As counselor for public affairs in Jamaica, he explained American politics and culture on local TV. Morton organized shipment of hundreds of thousands of books from the United States to Jamaica. Read his complete oral history to learn more.

Alan Eastham was born and raised in Dumas and attended Hendrix College before joining the Foreign Service in 1975. As Ambassador to Malawi from 2005 to 2008, he guided America’s efforts to address soaring rates of HIV infection in the country. His full story is available on ADST’s website.

Born and raised in Little Rock, Linda Jewell joined the U.S. Information Agency in 1976. As Ambassador to Ecuador in the mid-2000s, she worked to temper the government’s anti-American instincts, pursuing negotiations over nationalization of the petroleum industry and America’s military presence. Learn more in her oral history.

After growing up on a farm in the Arkansas Delta, Richard Aker joined the U.S. Information Agency in 1978. After narrowly escaping the Iran hostage crisis while in Tehran, Aker met with anti-Apartheid activists in South Africa, supporting their movement through international exchanges. He then helped ensure that new U.S. Embassies were staffed to tell America’s story to the public in countries that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Read his full oral history in ADST’s collection.

Raised in Bentonville, Mary Annette “Ann” Wright attended the University of Arkansas and served in the U.S. Women’s Army Corps before joining the Foreign Service in 1987. As advisor to United Nations Operations in Somalia in 1993, she warned against the kinds of raids that would ultimately lead to the “Blackhawk Down” tragedy. As Chargé d’Affaires in Sierra Leone, she organized the evacuation of 1,400 American citizens and our partners as rebel troops stormed Freetown. Wright resigned from the Foreign Service in 2003 in protest over the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Learn more in her full oral history.

Born in Ione in western Arkansas, William D. Smith III served with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He was killed while serving on a forward air control mission directing a flight of F-4B aircraft on July 23, 1966, when his O-1E observation aircraft collided with a Marine helicopter.

Garnett A. Zimmerly was a native of Hope and served with the U.S. Navy in WWII before joining USAID and eventually becoming mission director in the Philippines. On September 13, 1976, his plane crashed while returning from an inspection of the Bicol River basin project in Naga City, killing all eight aboard, including two other American diplomats.