U. Alexis Johnson
Encyclopedia
Background
Ural Alexis Johnson was born in Falun, KansasFalun, Kansas
Falun is an unincorporated community in southwestern Saline County, Kansas, United States. It lies southwest of the city of Salina, the county seat of Saline County. Its elevation is 1,348 feet , and it is located at . Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code...
into a family of Swedish descent. His mother named him for the mountain range, of which she learned from a geography book. He had a rural upbringing and schooling until 1923, when the family moved to Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
. He graduated Occidental College
Occidental College
Occidental College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast...
in 1931. had a
Career
Johnson entered 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 1935. After serving in Tokyo, Seoul, Mukden (now Shenyang, where he was interned at the start of World War II), and Rio de Janeiro, he was assigned as Consul and later Consul General at Yokohama, Japan from 1945 to 1949. From 1949 to 1953 he served in various positions in the Department of State's Far East Bureau, mainly concerned with Japan and Korea, rising to be Deputy Assistant Secretary of State with responsibilities for the entire bureau." He played a role in the armistice in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He was ambassador to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
from 1953 to 1958, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
from 1958 to 1961, and to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
from 1966 to 1969. While Ambassador to Czechoslovakia he represented the United States in a long series of meetings in Geneva with the Chinese Communists, in the absence of diplomatic relations these were the principal point of contact between the two governments.
He was Deputy Under Secretary for Political Affairs and in the Excomm from 1961 to 1964. From 1964 to 1965 he was Deputy Ambassador to the Republic of Vietnam. In 1965 he returned to the position of Deputy Under Secretary for Political Affairs from 1965 to 1966. He also served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs 1969 to 1973. He was chief United States delegate to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty refers to two rounds of bilateral talks and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union—the Cold War superpowers—on the issue of armament control. There were two rounds of talks and agreements: SALT I and SALT...
from 1973 until retirement in 1977. His memoir The Right Hand of Power was published in 1984.
As Under Secretary for Political Affairs
Under Secretary for Political Affairs
The Under Secretary for Political Affairs is the third ranking position in the United States Department of State, after the Secretary and the Deputy Secretaries...
at the U.S. 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...
, Johnson was involved in the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
lunar landing ceremonial activities. He suggested that a plaque be placed on the surface of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. After several changes in a high level committee it stated, "we came in peace for all mankind." Johnson was also sensitive to the idea of raising a U.S. flag
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
on the surface of the Moon, as it might symbolize territorial acquisition. Later, the Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
decided that a U.S. flag would be placed on the Moon by Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
and Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...
. He died in 1997 from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
Selected works
- Economic assistance and progress in Thailand (1960)
- The emerging nations of Asia (1962)
- The meaning of Vietnam (1965)
- Prospects for a more rational world: Reflections on international relations (1972)
- Arms Control and the Gray Area Weapons System (1978)
- The present and future role of the United States in Asia (1978)
- The Right Hand of Power, The Memoirs of an American Diplomat (1984) (with Jef McAllister)