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William Stoltzfus

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William Stoltzfus
A white woman seated at a desk and a white man leaning over the desk; both are wearing suits, and gazing at a Yemeni vessel resembling a teapot
Janet and William Stoltzfus, from a 1962 publication of the United States Department of State
2nd Ambassador of the United States to Bahrain
In office
February 17, 1972 – June 9, 1974
PresidentRichard Nixon
Preceded byJohn N. Gatch, Jr.
Succeeded byJoseph W. Twinam
1st Ambassador of the United States to Qatar
In office
March 19, 1972 – August 21, 1974
PresidentRichard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byRobert P. Paganelli
1st Ambassador of the United States to the United Arab Emirates
In office
March 20, 1972 – June 23, 1974
PresidentRichard Nixon
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byNorika Peng
1st Ambassador of the United States to Oman
In office
April 17, 1972 – July 16, 1974
PresidentRichard Nixon
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byWilliam D. Wolle
5th United States Ambassador to Kuwait
In office
1972–1976
PresidentRichard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Preceded byJohn P. Walsh
Succeeded byFrank E. Maestrone
Personal details
Born
William Alfrred Stoltzfus Jr.

November 3, 1924
Beirut, Lebanon
DiedSeptember 6, 2015(2015-09-06) (aged 90)
Princeton, New Jersey
Spouse
(m. 1954; died 2004)
Children5
EducationAmerican Community School
Deerfield Academy
Princeton University

William Alfred Stoltzfus Jr. (November 3, 1924 – September 6, 2015) was an American Foreign Service Officer and diplomat.[1]

Early life

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Stoltzfus was born in Beirut in 1924. His father was a Mennonite from Ohio and his mother a Presbyterian from Minneapolis. Stoltzfus' father was principal of a boys' school in Aleppo, Syria, and later president of the Beirut College for Women.

Stoltzfus was tutored in Aleppo before going to the American Community School in Beirut and learned to speak Arabic and French at an early age. At fifteen, he returned to the United States to attend Deerfield Academy and, later, Princeton University.

In 1943 Stoltzfus left Princeton to become a pilot in the United States Naval Air Corps. He returned to Princeton at the end of the war and attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs. After his graduation in 1949, Stoltzfus failed his first attempt at the Foreign Service exam; his childhood abroad left him without a strong knowledge of U.S. geography.[2]

Diplomatic career

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Stoltzfus joined the Foreign Service in 1949.[3] His first post was in Alexandria, Egypt, where he worked as an economic officer and reported on the production of flax and other natural resources. After doing economic reporting in Benghazi, Libya, Stoltzfus was assigned to Kuwait, where he did consular work with Palestinian refugees applying for visas to the United States. He then did political reporting in Jidda, Damascus, and Aden before being assigned as Ambassador to Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain in 1972. In 1974, he would return to Kuwait, his first posting, as the new ambassador. In 1976 Stoltzfus retired from the foreign service and went into banking.[2]

Service chronology

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Position Host country or organization Year
US Foreign Service Alexandria, Egypt 1950 to 1952
US Foreign Service Benghazi, Libya 1952 to 1954
US Foreign Service Kuwait City, Kuwait 1954 to 1956
US Foreign Service Damascus, Syria 1956 to 1957
US Foreign Service Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1957 to 1959
US Foreign Service Aden, Yemen 1959 to 1961
US Foreign Service Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1966 to 1968
U.S. Ambassador Muscat, Oman (concurrent accreditation to Bahrain, Qatar and United Arab Emirates) 1972 to 1974
U.S. Ambassador Kuwait City, Kuwait 1974 to 1976

Personal life

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Stoltzfus married educator Janet Sorg in 1954.[4] They had five children together. After he retired from the Foreign Service,[5] they lived in Princeton, New Jersey, and in London. His wife died in 2004, and Stoltzfus died in 2015, at the age of 90.

References

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  1. ^ "William Alfred Stoltzfus Jr". Idaho Mountain Express Newspaper. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Town Topics".
  3. ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR WILLIAM A. STOLTZFUS, JR" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 18 May 1994. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Miss Janet Sorg is Bride-Elect". The Item of Millburn and Short Hills. 1954-01-14. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-10-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Ambassadors to Kuwait and Liberia Give Notice". Arizona Republic. 1975-11-30. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-10-23 – via Newspapers.com.
[edit]
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Bahrain
1971–1974
Succeeded by
Preceded by
office established
United States Ambassador to Qatar
1971–1974
Succeeded by
Preceded by
office established
United States Ambassador to United Arab Emirates
1972–1974
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Kuwait
1972–1976
Succeeded by