Lawrence Eagleburger

Lawrence Eagleburger
Born	Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger 1 8, 1930
Birthplace	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Diplomat, statesman
Known for	Only career Foreign Service Officer to serve as United States Secretary of State
Education	University of Wisconsin–Madison (BA, MA)
Children	3
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom, Distinguished Service Award

Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger (August 1, 1930 – June 4, 2011) was an American statesman, career diplomat, and the 62nd United States Secretary of State, serving under President George H. W. Bush from December 1992 to January 1993. His tenure as secretary was among the shortest in modern American history, yet it capped a career in public service that spanned more than four decades and touched some of the most consequential episodes of Cold War and post-Cold War diplomacy. Eagleburger holds the singular distinction of being the only career Foreign Service Officer ever to rise to the position of secretary of state. Before reaching that pinnacle, he served in a succession of senior diplomatic and national security positions under Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, including as United States Ambassador to Yugoslavia, Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and Deputy Secretary of State. Known within the Foreign Service for his blunt manner, sharp analytical mind, and unorthodox personal style, Eagleburger was described by colleagues and observers as one of the ablest and least conventional of American diplomats.

Early Life

Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger was born on August 1, 1930, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Details about his family background and upbringing in Wisconsin are limited in the public record, but he grew up during the Great Depression and came of age during the early years of the Cold War, a period that shaped the worldview he would carry into a lifetime of diplomatic service.

Following his education, Eagleburger served in the United States Army from 1952 to 1954, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. His military service coincided with the Korean War era and provided an early exposure to the international security environment that would define his professional career. After completing his military obligations, Eagleburger entered the United States Foreign Service, beginning what would become an extraordinary ascent through the ranks of American diplomacy.

Education

Eagleburger attended the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point before transferring to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree. His academic background at the University of Wisconsin system provided a foundation in political science and international affairs that informed his subsequent career in diplomacy and foreign policy.

Career

Early Foreign Service and the Nixon Administration

Eagleburger joined the United States Foreign Service after completing his military service and began a long career within the State Department bureaucracy. He rose through the ranks during the 1960s, gaining experience in various postings and policy positions. His abilities attracted the attention of Henry A. Kissinger, who served as National Security Advisor and later Secretary of State under President Richard Nixon.

Eagleburger served as executive assistant to Kissinger, a role that placed him at the center of American foreign policy during one of its most active and controversial periods. The Nixon-Kissinger era encompassed the opening to China, détente with the Soviet Union, the Vietnam War negotiations, and various Cold War crises. Working closely with Kissinger gave Eagleburger a firsthand education in high-stakes diplomacy and the interplay between foreign policy and domestic politics.

In January 1973, Eagleburger was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, a position he held until May 1973. This brief stint at the Pentagon gave him experience at the intersection of defense and diplomatic policy, broadening his understanding of the national security establishment.

Ambassador to Yugoslavia

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Eagleburger as the United States Ambassador to Yugoslavia, a post he assumed on June 21, 1977, succeeding Laurence Silberman. Yugoslavia, under the aging leadership of Josip Broz Tito, occupied a unique position in Cold War geopolitics as a communist state that had broken with the Soviet Union and pursued a policy of non-alignment. The country's strategic importance and the question of what would happen after Tito's death made the ambassadorship a significant assignment.

Eagleburger served in Belgrade until January 24, 1981, a period that encompassed Tito's death in May 1980 and the initial post-Tito transition. His time in Yugoslavia gave him an intimate understanding of the ethnic, religious, and political tensions within the country — knowledge that would prove relevant in later years as Yugoslavia disintegrated into civil war in the 1990s.

Eagleburger's service in Yugoslavia was remembered by colleagues as exemplary. A tribute published in the Washington Diplomat after his death described him as "a larger-than-life figure" within the Foreign Service and recalled his time as ambassador with particular admiration. His deep knowledge of Yugoslav affairs and his personal relationships with leaders in the region made him a valuable resource on Balkan issues for years afterward.

Reagan Administration: Assistant Secretary and Under Secretary

With the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, Eagleburger returned to Washington to assume a series of increasingly senior positions in the State Department. On May 14, 1981, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, succeeding George S. Vest. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing American diplomatic relations with European nations during a period of heightened Cold War tensions, including the debate over the deployment of intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe and the rise of the Solidarity movement in Poland.

Eagleburger served as Assistant Secretary until January 26, 1982, when he was elevated to the position of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the third-highest-ranking position in the State Department. He succeeded Walter Stoessel in this role and held it until May 1, 1984, when he was succeeded by Michael Armacost. As Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Eagleburger was involved in a broad range of diplomatic issues, including U.S.-Soviet relations, Middle East policy, and transatlantic alliance management during the final years of the Cold War's most intense period under the Reagan administration.

On April 12, 1984, Eagleburger was granted the rank of Career Ambassador, the highest rank in the United States Senior Foreign Service. This distinction recognized his decades of service and his exceptional contributions to American diplomacy.

Private Sector Interlude

After leaving the Under Secretary position in 1984, Eagleburger departed government service for a period and entered the private sector. He became president of Kissinger Associates, the consulting firm founded by his former mentor Henry Kissinger. The firm advised multinational corporations on geopolitical risk and international business strategy, drawing on the extensive contacts and expertise of its principals. Eagleburger's role at Kissinger Associates later attracted scrutiny regarding potential conflicts of interest when he returned to government service, particularly given the firm's client relationships with foreign governments and corporations, including entities in Yugoslavia.

Deputy Secretary of State

When George H. W. Bush assumed the presidency in January 1989, he appointed James Baker as Secretary of State. Baker in turn selected Eagleburger as his Deputy Secretary of State, a position Eagleburger assumed on March 20, 1989. The timing was momentous: within months, the Berlin Wall fell, and the Cold War order that had defined Eagleburger's entire career began to dissolve.

As Deputy Secretary, Eagleburger played a central role in managing American foreign policy during one of the most transformative periods in modern history. The Bush administration navigated the peaceful reunification of Germany, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the liberation of Eastern Europe, the Gulf War following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and the beginning of Yugoslavia's violent disintegration.

Eagleburger's expertise on European and particularly Yugoslav affairs made him a key figure in the administration's deliberations over how to respond to the breakup of Yugoslavia. The administration's approach to the Yugoslav crisis — which initially emphasized maintaining Yugoslav unity and later adopted a cautious posture toward the unfolding wars — generated significant debate and criticism both at the time and subsequently.

Secretary of State

In August 1992, when James Baker left the State Department to become White House Chief of Staff to help manage President Bush's reelection campaign, Eagleburger was named Acting Secretary of State on August 23, 1992. After Bush lost the November 1992 presidential election to Bill Clinton, Eagleburger was formally nominated and confirmed as the 62nd Secretary of State, assuming the office on December 8, 1992.

Eagleburger's tenure as secretary lasted only until January 20, 1993, when the Clinton administration took office and Warren Christopher succeeded him. Despite its brevity, Eagleburger's appointment was historically significant: he became the only career Foreign Service Officer ever to hold the position of Secretary of State. Every other secretary of state in American history had come from outside the professional diplomatic corps — from politics, law, business, or the military.

During his time as Acting Secretary and then Secretary, Eagleburger confronted several pressing issues, including the ongoing conflict in the former Yugoslavia, the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, and the transition of American foreign policy in the post-Cold War environment. In December 1992, Eagleburger publicly named Serbian President Slobodan Milošević and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić among those who should be held accountable for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, a notable statement that foreshadowed later international criminal proceedings.

Post-Government Career

After leaving office in January 1993, Eagleburger remained active in foreign policy discussions and took on several advisory and organizational roles. He served as chairman of the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC), an organization established to resolve the claims of Holocaust survivors and their heirs against European insurance companies that had failed to honor policies held by victims of the Nazi regime. His leadership of ICHEIC was a significant aspect of his post-government career, involving complex negotiations with European insurance companies and governments.

Eagleburger also served on the board of directors of the International Republican Institute (IRI), a nonprofit organization associated with the Republican Party that supports democratic governance abroad.

He continued to comment on foreign policy matters in the media. In August 2002, as the George W. Bush administration was building the case for war against Iraq, Eagleburger expressed reservations about unilateral American military action, arguing in a CNN interview that the United States should seek broad international support before taking action against Saddam Hussein's regime.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Eagleburger was a supporter of Republican nominee John McCain. In October 2008, he made headlines when he appeared to question the readiness of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin during a media interview, comments he subsequently sought to clarify and walk back.

Personal Life

Eagleburger was known for his unconventional personal style, which set him apart from the typically buttoned-down world of American diplomacy. He was a heavy smoker and was frequently described as overweight and rumpled in appearance, qualities that contrasted with the polished image associated with senior State Department officials but which endeared him to many colleagues who valued substance over style. His health was a recurring concern; he suffered from a variety of ailments throughout his later years that sometimes affected his ability to carry out his duties.

Eagleburger had three children. He was a member of the Republican Party.

He was affiliated with the University of Virginia Health System's advisory board in his later years, reflecting his connection to the Charlottesville, Virginia area where he resided after leaving government service.

Lawrence Eagleburger died on June 4, 2011, in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the age of 80. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, a burial ground reserved for American veterans and distinguished public servants.

Following his death, tributes came from across the political spectrum. President Barack Obama and former President George H. W. Bush both paid tribute to Eagleburger's decades of public service.

Recognition

Eagleburger's career in the Foreign Service brought him a number of distinctions and honors. The most significant professional recognition was his attainment of the rank of Career Ambassador on April 12, 1984, the highest rank achievable in the United States Senior Foreign Service. This rank is conferred only on career diplomats who have demonstrated sustained exceptional performance and who occupy positions of the highest responsibility.

His appointment as the 62nd Secretary of State in December 1992 was itself a form of recognition, marking the culmination of a career that had begun decades earlier in the lower ranks of the Foreign Service. As the only career Foreign Service Officer to have served as Secretary of State, Eagleburger's appointment was viewed within the diplomatic community as a validation of the professional Foreign Service and its role in American governance.

Eagleburger was a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, an organization that recognizes distinguished practitioners of the diplomatic arts.

His oral history is preserved in the Library of Congress as part of its collection on American diplomacy, reflecting the historical significance of his career and contributions.

Legacy

Lawrence Eagleburger's legacy within American foreign policy is tied to several dimensions of his career. His rise from the ranks of the professional Foreign Service to the highest diplomatic office in the country remains unique in American history and serves as a symbol of the potential for career public servants to reach the pinnacle of government leadership.

His deep knowledge of European affairs, particularly the Balkans, shaped American policy during critical periods. As ambassador to Yugoslavia, he developed an understanding of the country's complex ethnic dynamics that informed his later work as Deputy Secretary and Secretary of State. However, the Bush administration's response to the Yugoslav wars — which some critics viewed as insufficiently assertive in the face of ethnic cleansing and atrocities — remains a subject of historical debate. The timing of Eagleburger's death in June 2011, the same week that Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladić appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, underscored the enduring connection between his career and the Yugoslav tragedy.

His role as chairman of the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims represented a significant contribution to the resolution of historical injustices related to the Holocaust. The ICHEIC worked to ensure that insurance companies honored policies that had been held by victims of the Nazi regime, and Eagleburger's leadership of the commission was recognized by organizations including the World Jewish Congress.

Within the Foreign Service itself, Eagleburger was remembered as an inspirational figure. The tribute in the Washington Diplomat described the impact he had on younger diplomats who served under him, particularly during his time as ambassador to Yugoslavia, and characterized his approach to diplomacy as larger-than-life. His blunt, unpretentious manner and his willingness to speak candidly — even when his views diverged from political orthodoxy — distinguished him from many of his contemporaries in the world of American diplomacy and statecraft.

The Guardian obituary summarized Eagleburger as "one of the ablest and least conventional of American diplomats," a characterization that captured both his professional accomplishments and the personal qualities that made him a distinctive figure in the history of American foreign policy.