Morton I. Abramowitz
Encyclopedia
Morton Isaac Abramowitz (born 1933) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

 and former State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

 official.

Biography

Abramowitz was born in Lakewood Township, New Jersey
Lakewood Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 60,352 people, 19,876 households, and 13,356 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,431.8 people per square mile . There were 21,214 housing units at an average density of 854.8 per square mile...

 on January 20, 1933. He was educated at 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...

, receiving a B.A.
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 1953. He then attended 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...

, earning an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in 1955. He spent the next year studying at American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...

.

In 1956, Abramowitz joined the United States Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...

, first as a management intern, then as a labor economist from 1957-58. In 1959, he joined the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

 as a program analyst posted in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

. From 1960 to 1962, he was Consular-Economic Officer in Taipei. He was then posted as a political officer in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 from 1963 to 1966. He returned to the United States in 1966, becoming a State Department international economist. From 1968 to 1971, he served as a Special Assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of State
Under Secretary of State
The Under Secretary of State, from 1919 to 1972, was the second-ranking official at the United States Department of State , serving as the Secretary's principal deputy, chief assistant, and Acting Secretary in the event of the Secretary's absence...

. He was a State Department foreign affairs analyst 1971-73. From 1974 to 1968, he was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.

In 1978, President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

 named Abramowitz United States Ambassador to Thailand
United States Ambassador to Thailand
This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Thailand.Thailand has had continuous bilateral relations with the United States since 1882. Relations were interrupted during World War II when Bangkok was occupied by Japanese forces. Normal relations were resumed after the war in 1945.The...

, and he held this post from August 9, 1978 until July 31, 1981.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 named Abramowitz U.S. Ambassador to the Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions
Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions
The Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions talks were a series of negotiations held in Vienna between NATO and Warsaw Pact countries between 1973 and 1989.-Origins:...

 talks in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

.

President Reagan nominated Abramowitz as Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research in 1985, and Abramowitz held this office from February 1, 1985 through May 19, 1989 (with the name of the office changing to Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research
Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research
The Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research is the head of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research within the United States Department of State. Before 1986, the head of INR was the Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research...

 in 1986).

In 1989, President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

 named Abramowitz United States Ambassador to Turkey
United States Ambassador to Turkey
The United States of America has maintained many high level contacts with Turkey since the nineteenth century.-Chargé d'Affaires:*George W. Erving *David Porter -Minister Resident:*David Porter *Dabney Smith Carr...

, a post he held until 1991. In 1990, he was awarded the rank of Career Ambassador.

Abramowitz retired from government service in 1991, becoming president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a foreign-policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. The organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States...

. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1995. He retired from that position in 1997. Since then, he has been a Senior Fellow of The Century Foundation
The Century Foundation
The Century Foundation is an US progressive think tank. It was founded as a nonprofit public policy research institution on the belief that the prosperity and security of the United States depends on a mix of effective government, open democracy, and free markets. The Foundation is headquartered...

 and a director of the National Endowment for Democracy
National Endowment for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is a U.S. non-profit organization that was founded in 1983 to promote US-friendly democracy by providing cash grants funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress...

.

Books by Morton I. Abramowitz

  • Remaking China Policy (1972)
  • Moving the Glacier: The Two Koreas and the Powers (1972)
  • East Asian Actors and Issues (1991)
  • China: Can We Have A Policy? (1997)
  • Turkey's Transformation and American Policy (2000, essays, ed.)
  • with James T. Laney, Testing North Korea: The Next Stage in U.S. and Rok Policy (2001)
  • with Stephen W. Bosworth
    Stephen W. Bosworth
    Stephen Warren Bosworth is Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University and serves as United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy. He has served three times as a U.S. Ambassador, to South Korea , to the Philippines , and to Tunisia...

    , Chasing the Sun: Rethinking East Asian Policy Since 1992 (2006)

External Links

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