Robert Oakley
Encyclopedia
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...
. During his career as a Foreign Service Officer
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...
, Oakley served as United States Ambassador to Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, and later as a special envoy during the American involvement in Somalia in the early 1990s.
Department of State
Oakley joined the Foreign ServiceUnited States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
in 1957 and was assigned to Khartoum, Sudan, in 1958. He first served in the Office of United Nations Political Affairs, Department of State, and later served in American Embassies in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Saigon, Vietnam, Paris, France, and Beirut, Lebanon. He also served at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations
United States and the United Nations
The United States is a charter member of the United Nations and one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council.- U.S. role in establishing the UN :...
, and as Senior Director for Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
on the staff of the National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
.
In February 1977, he became Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
and Pacific Affairs. He later became U.S. Ambassador to Zaire in November 1979, and U.S. Ambassador to Somalia in August 1982. In September 1984, he was appointed Director of the State Department Office of Combating Terrorism. He again joined the National Security Council Staff on January 1, 1987, as Assistant to the President for Middle East and South Asia. He was named as U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan in August 1988, succeeding the late Arnold Lewis Raphel
Arnold Lewis Raphel
Arnold Lewis Raphel was the 18th U.S. ambassador in Pakistan. He was killed when a plane in which he was a passenger mysteriously crashed near Bhawalpur with then Pakistani President Zia ul-Haq and Brigadier General Herbert M. Wassom, chief of the U.S. military group in Pakistan on August 17,...
, who was killed in an airplane crash along with Pakistan's President, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988...
.
Oakley retired from the Foreign Service in September 1991, after 34 years. After retirement, he became associated with the United States Institute of Peace
United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace was created by Congress as a non-partisan, federal institution that works to prevent or end violent conflict around the world...
. In December 1992, he was named by 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...
as Special Envoy for Somalia, serving there with Operation Restore Hope until March 1993. In October 1993, he was again named as Special Envoy for Somalia by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, and served in this capacity until March 1994. In January 1995, he joined the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University
National Defense University
The National Defense University is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level training, education, and the development of national security strategy. It is chartered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Navy Vice Admiral...
. In 2000, prior to the September 11 attacks, Paul Bremer characterized the Clinton administration as "correctly focused on bin Laden", while Robert Oakley criticized their "obsession with Osama".
Recognitions
During his service with the State Department, Oakley received numerous State Department awardsAwards of the United States Department of State
The United States Department of State, like other agencies of the U.S. federal government, gives civilian decorations for outstanding service, sacrifice, or heroism...
, including: the State Department Meritorious Honor Award, four Presidential Meritorious Service Awards, and the State Department Distinguished Honor Award
Distinguished Honor Award
The Distinguished Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and USAID...
. For his service as Special Envoy to Somalia, he received a second State Department Distinguished Honor Award and the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
Medal for Distinguished Public Service. On June 18, 1993, he received the Diplomatic Award for Excellence 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...
. In October 2008, Oakley was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from Princeton in Africa.
Family
Oakley married another Foreign Service Officer, Phyllis Elliott, in Cairo, Egypt, in June 1958. Under then-prevailing rules, Phyllis Oakley was obliged to resign. The Oakleys have two children, Mary Kress, and Thomas Oakley (one married, one divorced) and five grandchildren, Robert Kress, Andrew Kress, Peter Kress, Graham Oakley, and Josephine Oakley. Phyllis E. OakleyPhyllis E. Oakley
Phyllis Elliott Oakley is a diplomat who served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration and Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research . She is married to former Ambassador Robert B. Oakley and is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy...
returned to the Foreign Service in 1974.