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Walter Curley

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Walter Curley
Curley in 1973
57th United States Ambassador to France
In office
July 6, 1989 – February 11, 1993
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byJoe M. Rodgers
Succeeded byPamela Harriman
United States Ambassador to Ireland
In office
September 18, 1975 – May 2, 1977
PresidentGerald Ford
Preceded byJohn D. J. Moore
Succeeded byWilliam V. Shannon
Personal details
Born(1922-09-17)September 17, 1922
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJune 2, 2016(2016-06-02) (aged 93)
New York City, New York, U.S.
SpouseMary Taylor Walton
ChildrenMargaret C. Wiles
Patrick Curley
John Walton Curley
James Curley
Residence(s)New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materYale University
Harvard University
OccupationDiplomat, Businessman
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Marine Corps
Rank Captain
Battles/warsWorld War II

Walter Joseph Patrick Curley Jr. (September 17, 1922 – June 2, 2016) was the 57th United States Ambassador to France from 1989 to 1993, and the United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1975 to 1977.[1][2] Curley was New York City's Commissioner of Public Events and Chief of Protocol from 1973 to 1974, during the administrations of John Lindsay and Abraham Beame.[3]

Career

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He wrote two books on royalty, Vanishing Kingdoms, and Monarchs in Waiting, as well as two memoirs, Letters from the Pacific: 1943–1946, and Almost a Century: An American Life East and West of Suez. Curley was a graduate of Phillips Academy, Yale University and Harvard Business School. Curley was in the Marine Corps during World War II, serving from 1943 to 1946, seeing combat on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was a captain and was decorated with a Bronze star. Curley died in New York City.[4][5]

His nomination as United States Ambassador to France was controversial as he was one of several made by Bush of long-time financial backers and financial supporters including Peter F. Secchia (Ambassador of Italy), Joseph Zappala (Ambassador of Spain), Mel Sembler (Ambassador of Australia), Frederic Bush Morris (Ambassador of Luxembourg), and Joy Silverman (Ambassador of Barbados).[6]

Works

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  • Curley, Walter J. P. (1959). Letters from the Pacific: 1943–1946. privately printed. ASIN B00NZK2AXM.
  • Curley, Walter J. P. (1973). Monarchs-in-waiting. Dodd, Mead and Company. ISBN 978-0396068402.
  • Curley, Walter J. P. (2004). Vanishing Kingdoms: The Irish Chiefs and Their Families. The Lilliput Press. ISBN 978-1843510550.
  • Curley, Walter J. P. (2017). Almost a Century: An American Life East and West of Suez. Small Batch Books. ISBN 978-1937650674.

References

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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by U.S. Ambassador to France
1989–1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by U.S. Ambassador to Ireland
1975–1977
Succeeded by