Ambassador to Cambodia
What was the position of John Gunther Dean from Aug 1985 to Nov 1988?
John Gunther Dean John Gunther Dean ( February 24 , 1926 – June 6 , 2019 ) was an American diplomat . From 1974–1988 , he served as the United States ambassador to five nations under four American presidents . Early years . Dean was born as Gunther Dienstfertig in Breslau , Germany , into a Jewish family , the son of Lucy ( Askenazy ) and Joseph Dienstfertig . As a child , he attended the exclusive Von Zawatzki Schule in Breslau . Escaping the rise of Nazism , the family left Germany in December 1938 and arrived in the United States in February . In March 1939 the family changed its name from Dienstfertig to Dean before the City Court of New York . They eventually arrived in Kansas City , Missouri , where his father briefly lectured at the University of Kansas . Graduating from high school in Kansas City at the age of 16 , he went on to Harvard University . In 1944 Dean became a naturalized United States citizen . He interrupted his education and served in the United States Army from 1944–1946 , utilizing his language skills with the Office of Military Intelligence . He then returned to Harvard and obtained his undergraduate degree ( B.S . Magna Cum Laude , 1947 ) . He received his doctorate in law from the Sorbonne ( 1949 ) , and returned to Harvard again to obtain a graduate degree in international relations ( M.A. , 1950 ) . In 1950 Dean worked in government service as an economic analyst with the European Headquarters of the Economic Cooperation Administration in Paris , France . From 1951–1953 he was an industrial analyst with ECA in Brussels , Belgium . From 1953–1956 he was assistant economic commissioner with the International Cooperation Administration in French Indo-China with accreditation in Saigon , Phnom Penh , and Vientiane . Foreign Service career . Dean passed the Foreign Service Examination in 1954 . He formally began his service as an officer with the U.S . Department of State in the spring of 1956 . From 1956–1958 he served as a political officer in Vientiane , Laos , and then from 1959–1960 he opened the first American consulate in Lomé , Togo . From 1960–1961 he was Chargé daffaires in Bamako , Mali , and then became the officer in charge of Mali-Togo affairs in the Department of State from 1961–1963 . In 1963 Dean was an adviser to the U.S . delegation to the 18th Session of the United Nations General Assembly , and during 1964–1965 he was an international relations officer in the NATO section of the Department of State . Dean went to Paris in 1965 as a political officer and served there until 1969 . From 1969–1970 he was a fellow at Harvards Center for International Affairs in Cambridge , Massachusetts . He was then detailed to the U.S . military as Deputy to the Commander of Military Region 1 in South Vietnam where he served as Regional Director for Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support ( CORDS ) until 1972 . While in Da Nang , South Vietnam , he helped to protect the Cham Museum for which he was officially thanked in 2005 by the Vietnamese and French authorities . From 1972–1974 he was the deputy chief of mission/Chargé daffaires in Vientiane , Laos . He is credited for having helped the establishment of a coalition government which saved thousands of lives after the Fall of Saigon in 1975 . Dean was appointed Ambassador to Cambodia in March 1974 and he served in that posting until the Embassy was closed and all American personnel were evacuated on 12 April 1975 , five days before the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh . Dean retired from the U.S . Foreign Service in 1989 . Deans freelancing efforts to get the Reagan Administration to reverse its policies on Afghanistan , Pakistan , and India angered high administration officials , and he left government service soon thereafter . Dean and Israel . In August 1980 , while serving as ambassador to Lebanon , where he had opened links to the PLO , Dean was the target of an assassination attempt , which he believed was directed by Israel . According to him : Deans suspicions that Israeli agents may have also been involved in the mysterious plane crash in 1988 that killed President of Pakistan , General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , led finally to a decision in Washington to declare him mentally unfit , which forced his resignation from the foreign service after a thirty-year career . Later he was rehabilitated by the State Department , given a distinguished service medal and the insanity charge was confirmed to be phony by a former head of the departments medical service . Personal life . Dean spoke four languages : English , French , German , and Danish . He was the first U.S . Ambassador to Denmark who learned and spoke Danish , thus gaining significant respect from its people . He was married to the French-born Martine Duphenieux , and they had three grown children . He lived in Switzerland and France but remained active on foreign affairs issues and went to the United States often . He died in June 2019 at the age of 93 . While stationed in Paris ( 1965–69 ) , Dean played a major role in bringing the U.S.-North Vietnam peace talks to Paris in 1968 . In Lebanon , Dean was helpful in obtaining the release of the first American hostages in Teheran . In India , Dean helped bring about the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan according to an agreed time table . In the film The Killing Fields , Dean is portrayed by Ira Wheeler . The evacuation of Phnom Penh scene was filmed near Bangkok in 1983 and Wheeler met Dean , who was then the U.S . Ambassador to Thailand . Bibliography . Book published 2009 DANGER ZONES : A Diplomats Fight for Americas Interests , published by the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training . External links . - John Gunther Deans Oral History - John Gunther Deans Inventory . 11 linear feet of documents he donated to the U.S . National Archives in 2004 and 2005 are partially available to the public at the Jimmy Carter Library . - List of U.S . Ambassadors to Thailand , 1882 to present