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Walter John Stoessel Jr.


7th United States Deputy Secretary of State
In office February 11, 1982 – September 22, 1982
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	William P. Clark Jr.
Succeeded by	Kenneth W. Dam
United States Secretary of State
Ad interim
In office July 5, 1982 – July 16, 1982
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Alexander Haig
Succeeded by	George P. Shultz
United States Ambassador to West Germany
In office October 27, 1976 – January 5, 1981
Nominated by	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Martin J. Hillenbrand
Succeeded by	Arthur F. Burns
United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union
In office March 4, 1974 – September 13, 1976
Nominated by	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Jacob D. Beam
Succeeded by	Malcolm Toon
9th Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs
In office August 9, 1972 – January 7, 1974
President	Richard Nixon
Secretary	William P. Rogers Henry Kissinger
Preceded by	Martin J. Hillenbrand
Succeeded by	Arthur A. Hartman
United States Ambassador to Poland
In office September 12, 1968 – August 5, 1972
Nominated by	Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	John A. Gronouski
Succeeded by	Richard T. Davies
11th Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
In office February 28, 1981 – January 26, 1982
Preceded by	David D. Newsom
Succeeded by	Lawrence Eagleburger

Personal details
Born	(1920-01-24)January 24, 1920 Manhattan, Kansas, U.S.
Died	December 9, 1986(1986-12-09) (aged 66) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma mater	Stanford University Columbia University
Profession	Diplomat

Walter John Stoessel Jr. (January 24, 1920 – December 9, 1986) was an American diplomat.

Life and career

Born in Manhattan, Kansas, Stoessel was the son of Katherine (Haston) and Walter John Stoessel Sr. and graduated from Beverly Hills High School in California. The paternal side of his family had migrated to the United States from western Germany in the middle of 19th century. He graduated from Stanford University in 1941 and later undertook graduate studies at Columbia University.

A career officer of the United States Foreign Service, Stoessel served as the U.S. ambassador to Poland from 1968 to 1972, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs from 1972 to 1974, the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union between 1974 and 1976, and the ambassador to West Germany from 1976 through 1980. During his term as ambassador to Poland, Stoessel initiated contact with China and hosted talks on behalf of the United States, directly opening the door for President Richard Nixon's famous visit to China. In 1981, while ambassador to West Germany, he joined the delegation, with Walter Mondale, greeting the U.S. hostages released by Iran when they deplaned.

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Stoessel as the United States Deputy Secretary of State. During his term he served briefly as acting Secretary of State between the tenures of Alexander M. Haig and George P. Shultz.

He died in Washington, D.C., of leukemia and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The U.S. Department of State awards a Walter J. Stoessel Award for Distinguished Diplomatic Service in his honor.

References

"Model of an Ambassador; Walter John Stoessel Jr". The New York Times. January 21, 1970. ProQuest 118688634.
John Vinocur (22 Jan 1981). "52 Former Hostages Start Readapting In U.S. Air Force Hospital in Germany". The New York Times. ProQuest 121512878.
"Walter J. Stoessel Jr. Dies at 66; A Former Ambassador to Moscow". The New York Times. 11 December 1986.

Government offices
Preceded byMartin J. Hillenbrand	Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs 1972–1974	Succeeded byArthur A. Hartman
Preceded byWilliam P. Clark Jr.	United States Deputy Secretary of State 1982	Succeeded byKenneth W. Dam
Diplomatic posts
Preceded byWilliam P. Clark Jr.	United States Ambassador to Poland 1968–1972	Succeeded byRichard T. Davies
Preceded byJacob D. Beam	United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union 1974–1976	Succeeded byMalcolm Toon
Preceded byMartin J. Hillenbrand	United States Ambassador to West Germany 1976–1981	Succeeded byArthur F. Burns
Political offices
Preceded by David Newsom	Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs 1981–1982	Succeeded byLawrence Eagleburger
Preceded byAlexander Haig	Acting United States Secretary of State 1982	Succeeded byGeorge P. Shultz

v t e United States deputy secretaries of state
John N. Irwin II Kenneth Rush Robert S. Ingersoll Charles W. Robinson Warren Christopher William P. Clark Jr. Walter J. Stoessel Jr. Kenneth W. Dam John C. Whitehead Lawrence Eagleburger Clifton R. Wharton Jr. Strobe Talbott Richard Armitage Robert Zoellick John Negroponte James Steinberg William J. Burns Antony Blinken John J. Sullivan Stephen Biegun Wendy Sherman Kurt M. Campbell

v t e Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs of the United States of America
Robert Daniel Murphy Livingston T. Merchant George C. McGhee W. Averell Harriman Eugene V. Rostow U. Alexis Johnson William J. Porter Joseph J. Sisco Philip Habib David D. Newsom Walter J. Stoessel Jr. Lawrence Eagleburger Michael Armacost Robert M. Kimmitt Arnold Kanter Peter Tarnoff Thomas R. Pickering Marc Grossman R. Nicholas Burns William J. Burns Wendy Sherman Thomas A. Shannon Jr. Stephen Mull (acting) David Hale Victoria Nuland John R. Bass (acting)

v t e United States ambassadors to Poland
Gibson Pearson Stetson Willys Belin Cudahy Biddle Lane Griffis Gallman Flack Jacobs Beam Cabot Gronouski Stoessel Davies Schaufele Meehan Davis Simons Rey Fried Hill Ashe Feinstein Mull Jones Mosbacher Brzezinski

v t e United States ambassadors to Russia
Russian Empire (1780–1917)	Dana Adams Pinkney Campbell Middleton Randolph Buchanan Wilkins J. Clay Dallas Cambreleng Todd Ingersoll Bagby Brown Seymour Pickens Appleton C. Clay Cameron C. Clay Curtin Orr Jewell Boker Stoughton Foster Hunt Taft Lothrop Tree C. Smith White Breckinridge Hitchcock Tower McCormick Meyer Riddle Rockhill Guild Marye Francis
Soviet Union (1933–1991)	Bullitt Davies Steinhardt Standley Harriman W. Smith Kirk Kennan Bohlen Thompson Kohler Thompson Beam Dubs Stoessel Toon Watson Hartman Matlock Strauss
Russian Federation (1991–present)	Strauss Pickering Collins Vershbow Burns Beyrle McFaul Tefft Huntsman Sullivan Tracy

v t e United States ambassadors to Germany
Germany–United States relations Embassy of the United States, Berlin
Minister Plenipotentiary	Adams
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary	Wheaton Donelson Hannegan Barnard Vroom Wright Judd Wright Bancroft Davis Taylor White Sargent Kasson Pendleton Phelps Runyon
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	Runyon Uhl White Tower Hill Leishman Gerard Dresel Houghton Schurman Sackett Dodd Wilson Kirk Morris Conant Bruce Dowling McGhee Lodge Rush Hillenbrand Stoessel Burns Burt Walters Kimmitt Holbrooke Redman Bindenagel Kornblum Coats Timken Koenig Murphy Emerson Logsdon Grenell Quinville Price Gutmann Price

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