Herbert S. Okun
Encyclopedia
Herbert Stuart Okun was a United States Ambassador to East Germany
(1980–1983) and the Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
(1985–1989). He was a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy
, and after his retirement from the State Department he played a key role in unsuccessful efforts to halt the Balkan wars in the early 1990s.
Born in Brooklyn
, Okun earned his A.B.
in history
from Stanford University
in 1951, and his Master of Public Administration
from Harvard University
's John F. Kennedy School of Government
in 1959. His father, a Jewish immigrant from Minsk, became a wholesale vegetable vendor in New York.
Okun decided to become a diplomat at 16 after reading 1947 Foreign Affairs
article in which scholar George F. Kennan
(writing under the pseudonym “X”) offered a strategy for Western resistance to Soviet expansionism. The policy was known as “containment
” and served as the intellectual blueprint for American foreign policy during the Cold War
. “I read it and said, ‘That’s what I want to do,’ ” Okun told the New York Times in 1993.
As a young foreign service officer, Okun translated the correspondence between President John F. Kennedy
and Nikita Khrushchev
during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Okun recalled that Khrushchev nicknamed him “ryzhyi” — redhead — because of his hair color.
Okun also was the chief State Department negotiator for the SALT
Treaty. While at the United Nations, Okun led a walkout of the U.S. delegation during a speech by Iranian President Ali Khamenei
. "The false accusations that he made against our country distort the facts and totally misrepresent our policy," Okun told reporters. "I do not intend to sit by passively when our country is insulted, our President is pilloried and the truth is trampled."
After retiring from the foreign service, he served as chief aide to former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance
and former British Foreign Secretary Lord David Owen
in the talks to end the slaughter resulting from the break-up of Yugoslavia
. Okun was “extraordinarily ready to listen to and to give credit to the opposing views,” recalled Owen. “He was a person who did manage to build a measure of trust from the Serbians, which is not easy to do.”
Okun testified against Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic
at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. In an interview, Okun recalled: "Observing how he talked and acted I could not come to any other conclusion than Milosevic being a common gangster. You know, those types from Mafia movies with cigars in their mouths, who try to express themselves very theatrically but in reality are selling fog."
While serving as Vance and Okun's aide, Okun warned Serb leader Radovan Karadzic
before the fighting started: "If you continue to talk about the mortal danger that Serbs are under in Bosnia, you will end up committing preemptive genocide." Karadzic later was charged with war crimes in the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica, where as many as 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed, and Okun also testified against him in The Hague.
"Diplomacy without force is like baseball without a bat," Okun famously said.
United States Ambassador to East Germany
The United States had diplomatic relations with the nation of East Germany from 1974 to 1990.Listed below are the head U.S. diplomatic agents to East Germany, their diplomatic rank, and the effective start and end of their service in East Germany.Listed on a separate Wikipedia page are the head U.S...
(1980–1983) and the Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is more formally known as the "Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador...
(1985–1989). He was a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy
American Academy of Diplomacy
The American Academy of Diplomacy is a private, non-profit, non-partisan, elected organization whose active membership is limited to men and women who have held positions of high responsibility in crafting and implementing American foreign policy...
, and after his retirement from the State Department he played a key role in unsuccessful efforts to halt the Balkan wars in the early 1990s.
Born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, Okun earned his A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1951, and his Master of Public Administration
Master of Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
in 1959. His father, a Jewish immigrant from Minsk, became a wholesale vegetable vendor in New York.
Okun decided to become a diplomat at 16 after reading 1947 Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
article in which scholar George F. Kennan
George F. Kennan
George Frost Kennan was an American adviser, diplomat, political scientist and historian, best known as "the father of containment" and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War...
(writing under the pseudonym “X”) offered a strategy for Western resistance to Soviet expansionism. The policy was known as “containment
Containment
Containment was a United States policy using military, economic, and diplomatic strategies to stall the spread of communism, enhance America’s security and influence abroad, and prevent a "domino effect". A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet...
” and served as the intellectual blueprint for American foreign policy during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. “I read it and said, ‘That’s what I want to do,’ ” Okun told the New York Times in 1993.
As a young foreign service officer, Okun translated the correspondence between President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Okun recalled that Khrushchev nicknamed him “ryzhyi” — redhead — because of his hair color.
Okun also was the chief State Department negotiator for the SALT
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
Treaty. While at the United Nations, Okun led a walkout of the U.S. delegation during a speech by Iranian President Ali Khamenei
Ali Khamenei
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i is the Supreme Leader of Iran and the figurative head of the Muslim conservative establishment in Iran and Twelver Shi'a marja...
. "The false accusations that he made against our country distort the facts and totally misrepresent our policy," Okun told reporters. "I do not intend to sit by passively when our country is insulted, our President is pilloried and the truth is trampled."
After retiring from the foreign service, he served as chief aide to former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance
Cyrus Vance
Cyrus Roberts Vance was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980...
and former British Foreign Secretary Lord David Owen
David Owen
David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen CH PC FRCP is a British politician.Owen served as British Foreign Secretary from 1977 to 1979, the youngest person in over forty years to hold the post; he co-authored the failed Vance-Owen and Owen-Stoltenberg peace plans offered during the Bosnian War...
in the talks to end the slaughter resulting from the break-up of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. Okun was “extraordinarily ready to listen to and to give credit to the opposing views,” recalled Owen. “He was a person who did manage to build a measure of trust from the Serbians, which is not easy to do.”
Okun testified against Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. In an interview, Okun recalled: "Observing how he talked and acted I could not come to any other conclusion than Milosevic being a common gangster. You know, those types from Mafia movies with cigars in their mouths, who try to express themselves very theatrically but in reality are selling fog."
While serving as Vance and Okun's aide, Okun warned Serb leader Radovan Karadzic
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
before the fighting started: "If you continue to talk about the mortal danger that Serbs are under in Bosnia, you will end up committing preemptive genocide." Karadzic later was charged with war crimes in the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica, where as many as 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed, and Okun also testified against him in The Hague.
"Diplomacy without force is like baseball without a bat," Okun famously said.