Contributions by Georgians in the Foreign Service

People born, raised, or educated in Georgia have made important contributions to America’s prosperity and security as members of the Foreign Service community. Here are some examples from ADST’s oral history collection: 

• Born in Fort Valley, Georgia, Myles Greene entered the Foreign Service in 1956. He began in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, as a Consular Officer, before holding positions in Iran, Turkey, and the Pentagon. As political-military counselor in Tehran, he was detained by militants in the first takeover of the U.S. Embassy in early 1979. He then became an analyst in the State Department’s Intelligence Bureau, pointing out flaws in U.S. plans to rescue the hostages in 1980.  His oral history can be found on ADST’s website. 
• John H. Kelly was raised in Atlanta and educated at Emory University. He entered the Foreign Service in 1964. After service in Turkey, Thailand, and France, Kelly became Ambassador to Lebanon in 1986, where he dealt with kidnappings and shellings and oversaw the safe evacuation of all American personnel when local security forces abandoned their duty to protect the U.S. Embassy.  As Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs from 1989-91, he contributed to the first direct Israeli-Arab peace talks and helped build the multinational coalition that would drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991.  He finished his career as Ambassador to Finland. His oral history can be found on ADST’s website. 
• Born in Carrollton, Georgia, Edward W. Gnehm, Jr. entered the Foreign Service in 1969. He began his career in Vietnam and served across Asia and the Middle East, constantly working to protect American interests.  He was appointed Ambassador to Kuwait in 1991, reopening the U.S. Embassy after coalition forces liberated the country from Iraqi occupation. He went on to serve as Ambassador to Jordan. His oral history can be found on ADST’s website. 
• James Richard Cheek was born in Decatur, Georgia, and entered the Foreign Service in 1961 beginning his first tour in Chile. He held positions in Brazil, where he was Deputy Director of the Peace Corps, and Nicaragua, where he identified the patterns of corruption that would lead to the overthrow of President Anastasio Somoza Debayle by the Sandinistas. Cheek received the State Department’s heroism award for rescuing multiple members of the Embassy staff after the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake. He went on to serve as Ambassador to Sudan and to Argentina. His oral history can be found on ADST’s website. 
• Growing up in Pakistan as the son of missionaries from rural Georgia, Jonathan Addleton found himself called to international service, becoming a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development in 1984. He directed assistance programs ranging from combating AIDS in South Africa to rebuilding Pakistan after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. He became Ambassador to Mongolia in 2009. Addleton went on to became the Senior Civilian Representative in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and was walking with Foreign Service Officer Anne Smedinghoff when she was killed in a suicide bomb attack in Qalat in 2013. Read his full oral history here.