John Gunther Dean Papers

John Gunther Dean
 

John Gunther Dean was born February 24, 1926 in Breslau, Germany. His family immigrated to the United States in 1939, and he became a naturalized citizen in 1944. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a B.S. in 1947. He received a Doctor's Certificate in Law from the University of Paris in 1949 and an M.A. in International Relations from Harvard University in 1950. In 1950, Dean entered government service as an economic analyst with the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) in Paris, France. From 1951 to 1952, he was an industrial analyst at the American Embassy in Brussels, and from 1953 to 1956, he was an assistant economic commissioner with the International Cooperation Administration in Saigon.

He began working for the State Department in 1956, serving as political officer at the American Embassy in Laos from1956 to 1958. He opened the first American consulate in Lomé, Togo where he briefly stayed on as diplomatic adviser to the first President of Togo from 1959 to 1960. Dean also opened the first U.S. diplomatic establishment in Bamako, Mali and served as Chargé d'Affaires from 1960 to 1961. He was the officer in charge of Mali-Togo affairs at the State Department in Washington from1961 to 1965 and political officer at the American Embassy in Paris from 1965 to 1969. From 1969 to 1970, Dean was a fellow at the Harvard Center for International Affairs in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was detailed as Deputy for CORDS (Civilian Organization for Reconstruction and Development) to the U.S. Commander of the 24th Corps with headquarters in Danang, Vietnam. He served as the Deputy Chief of Mission and later Chargé d'Affaires in Vientiane, Laos from 1972 to 1974, and as U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia from 1974 to 1975. Dean served as U.S. Ambassador to Denmark from 1975 to 1978 and as U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon from 1978 to 1981. He was the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand from 1981 to 1985, and U.S. Ambassador to India from 1985 to 1988. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1989.