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John A. Burroughs Jr.
Burroughs in 1981
United States Ambassador to Uganda
In office August 12, 1988 – August 28, 1991
President	Ronald Reagan George H.W. Bush
Preceded by	Robert Gordon Houdek
Succeeded by	Johnnie Carson
United States Ambassador to Malawi
In office May 7, 1981 – June 9, 1984
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Harold E. Horan
Succeeded by	Weston Adams
Personal details
Born	(1936-07-31)July 31, 1936 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	September 11, 2014(2014-09-11) (aged 78)
Alma mater	University of Iowa
Profession	Career Diplomat

John Andrew Burroughs Jr. (July 31, 1936 – September 11, 2014) was the United States Ambassador to Malawi from 1981 to 1984 and the United States Ambassador to Uganda from 1988 to 1991. He was a lineman for the University of Iowa football team before spending over three decades in government service.

College career

John Burroughs grew up in Washington, DC, before coming to the University of Iowa. He played football for Coach Forest Evashevski from 1956 to 1958. During that time, the Hawkeyes won two Big Ten championships and two Rose Bowl games. Burroughs graduated in 1959 with a degree in political science.

Political career

Burroughs began his career as a social science teacher in Washington, DC, in 1959. He served successively as passport examiner in 1960-63, Assistant Chief of Special Services Branch of the Passport Office in 1963-64, and administrative assistant in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs in 1964-66. He transferred to the Department of the Navy in 1966, where he traveled the world with the Secretary of the Navy and the Assistant Secretary of Defense and was awarded a Merrill Trust Fellowship to attend the Stanford University Executive Program.

Burroughs returned to the Department of State in 1977 as deputy assistant secretary for Equal Employment Opportunity. In 1980, he received the department's Superior Service Award from the under secretary of management for his efforts in increasing the number of minorities and women in the U.S. Foreign Service Officer Corps. Burroughs became United States ambassador to the Republic of Malawi in 1981 and served in that capacity for three years. He later served as United States ambassador to Uganda from 1988 to 1991. Burroughs retired from government service in 1994. He recorded an oral history and is featured in a "Moment in U.S. Diplomatic History" with the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.

References

1. "John A. Burroughs Jr". The Washington Post. September 26, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
2. ^ "Burroughs Distinguished Alumni Award". Iowalum.com. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
3. "Ambassador nomination". Presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
4. Lifetime Achievement Award(registration required)
5. "US Ambassadors to Uganda". Nndb.com. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
6. "John A. Burroughs – From Tackling with the Philadelphia Eagles to Tackling Equal Opportunity at the State Department – Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training". adst.org. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
7. "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR JOHN A. BURROUGHS" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. April 12, 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
8. Castillo, Diana. "John A. Burroughs – From Tackling with the Philadelphia Eagles to Tackling Equal Opportunity at the State Department". Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. Archived from the original on July 12, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2024.

• 1936 births
• 2014 deaths
• Iowa Hawkeyes football players
• Ambassadors of the United States to Malawi
• Ambassadors of the United States to Uganda
• African-American diplomats
• 21st-century African-American people
• 20th-century American diplomats
• 20th-century African-American people