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{{Short description|American diplomat (1900–1990)}}
[[Image:Replace this image male.svg|right|140px]]
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Joseph C. Satterthwaite
| ambassador_from = United States
| country = South Africa
| order = 11th
| president = [[John F. Kennedy]] <br/> [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
| term_start = May 22, 1961
| term_end = November 17, 1965
| predecessor = [[Philip K. Crowe]]
| successor = [[William M. Rountree]]
| order1 = 1st
| ambassador_from5 = United States
| country5 = Ceylon
| president5 = [[Harry S. Truman]] <br> [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]
| term_start5 = November 19, 1949
| term_end5 = July 25, 1953
| predecessor5 = [[Felix Cole]]
| successor5 = [[Maxwell Henry Gluck]]
| order5 = 2nd
| office1 = Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
| term_start1 = September 2, 1958
| term_end1 = January 31, 1961
| predecessor1 = Position established
| successor1 = [[G. Mennen Williams]]
| president1 = [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]<br/>John F. Kennedy
| office4 = [[United States Ambassador to Morocco|United States Consul General to Morocco]]
| term_start4 = September 8, 1953
| term_end4 = May 1, 1955
| predecessor4 = [[John Carter Vincent]]
| successor4 = [[Julius C. Holmes]]
| president4 = Dwight D. Eisenhower
| birth_name = Joseph Charles Satterthwaite
| birth_date = {{birth date|1900|3|14}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1990|11|19|1900|3|14}}
| image = JosephSattherwaite.jpg
| death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]]
| birth_place = [[Tecumseh, Michigan]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Michigan]] (B.A., M.A.)
| occupation = Diplomat
| alt = Middle aged, clean-shaven man with tousled dark hair, round spectacles and a suit
}}


'''Joseph Charles Satterthwaite''' (March 14, 1900 – November 19, 1990) was an American [[career diplomat]].
'''Joseph C. Satterthwaite''' ([[March 14]], [[1900]] – [[November 19]], [[1990]]) of [[Michigan]] was a career diplomat who served as [[United States Ambassador to Morocco|Head of the U.S. Legation at Tangier]] from 1953 to 1955, and as [[United States Ambassador to Burma]] from April 1955 to April 1957. He then served as the first [[Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs]] in 1958. He was reappointed as an ambassador, this time to [[South Africa]], from 1961 to 1965.


== Biography ==
{{start box}}

=== Early life and positions ===
Sattherwaite was born in Tecumseh, Michigan on March 14, 1900. His family had first moved to that state in 1831.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Moss|first=William W.|date=March 2, 1971|title=Joseph C. Satterthwaite, recorded interview|url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/sites/default/files/archives/JFKOH/Satterthwaite,%20Joseph%20C/JFKOH-JCS-01/JFKOH-JCS-01-TR.pdf|access-date=2020-06-27|website=www.jfklibrary.org|publisher=John F. Kennedy Library Oral History Program}}</ref> He attended the [[University of Michigan]], earning a B.A. degree in 1923 and a M.A. degree in 1924. His first job with the [[United States Foreign Service|US Foreign Service]] was as a clerk in the [[Stuttgart]] consulate in 1926. From there, appointments followed in [[Guadalajara]], [[Mexico City]], [[Buenos Aires]], [[Baghdad]], [[Ankara]] and [[Damascus]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Satterthwaite|first=Joseph Charles|title=Joseph Charles Satterthwaite papers: Biography|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?cc=bhlead;c=bhlead;idno=umich-bhl-85365;didno=umich-bhl-85365;rgn=main;view=text|access-date=2020-06-27|website=Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan}}</ref> As part of a [[United States Department of State|State Department]] special diplomatic mission, Satterthwaite presented a letter from [[Harry S. Truman|President Harry S. Truman]] to [[Tribhuvan of Nepal|King Tribhuvan]], recognizing [[Nepal]]'s independence, on April 21 1947.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of the U.S. and Nepal|url=https://np.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/policy-history/io/|access-date=2020-06-27|website=U.S. Embassy in Nepal|language=en-US}}</ref> This task proved difficult, as foreigners could only enter with consent of the Prime Minister, and the group had to travel by rail, road, [[Packhorse|pack train]] and [[Litter (vehicle)|sedan chair]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Satterthwaite|first=Joseph C.|date=August 1947|title=Mission to Nepal|url=https://www.afsa.org/foreign-service-journal-august-1947|journal=American Foreign Service Journal|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|publisher=[[American Foreign Service Association]]|volume=24|issue=8|pages=7-10, 32-40|issn=0146-3543}}</ref>

=== Increasing seniority ===
Satterthwaite served as [[United States Ambassador]] to [[Sri Lanka]] from 1949 to 1952, [[United States Ambassador to Morocco|Head of the U.S. Legation at Tangier]] from 1953 to 1955, and as [[United States Ambassador to Burma]] from April 1955 to April 1957. For a brief period between May 6, 1957, and September 1, 1958, he was [[Director General of the Foreign Service]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Joseph Charles Satterthwaite - People - Department History - Office of the Historian|url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/satterthwaite-joseph-charles|access-date=2020-06-27|website=history.state.gov}}</ref> He then served as the first [[Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs]] between 1958 and 1961. One of his duties in that role was hosting an African Regional Conference from June 9{{En dash}}11, 1959 in Lourenco Marques (now [[Maputo]]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Africa, Volume XIV - Office of the Historian|url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1958-60v14/d16|access-date=2020-06-27|website=history.state.gov|at=16. Editorial Note}}</ref>

=== South Africa and later career ===
Sattherwaite was reappointed as an ambassador, this time to [[South Africa]], from 1961 to 1965.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Burma|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10404.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314214120/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10404.htm|archive-date=2008-03-14|website=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> Following the [[Sharpeville massacre]], President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s [[Administration of John F. Kennedy|administration]] was taking a renewed look at the country. Satterthwaite later recalled that Kennedy had told him "You can tell [[Hendrik Verwoerd|the prime minister]] of South Africa that I'm not sending you out there to point your finger at them, (the South Africans) but that they must realize the problems we have with [[Apartheid|their racial policy]]". While in South Africa, Satterthwaite learned of [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy's assassination]] from the [[Belgians|Belgian]] ambassador (who had been listenening to the [[BBC World Service]]). This forced him to break off a dinner party he was holding and announce the news, bringing some of the South African guests to tears. His embassy held a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] memorial service shortly after.<ref name=":0" />

He spoke highly of his time under the Truman, [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] and Kennedy administrations, saying in an interview that he "never had any pressure from the White House that was objectionable in the least. Obviously pressures were brought by [[United States Congress|Congress]] sometimes, but that's something else, that's just par for the course, you can expect that; but certainly not from the White House under either Truman or Eisenhower. I think this is true of Kennedy, too".<ref>{{Cite web|last=McKenzie|first=Richard D.|date=November 13, 1972|title=Joseph C. Satterthwaite Oral History Interview|url=https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/oral-histories/satterwt|access-date=2020-06-27|website=Truman Library}}</ref>

After South Africa he retired from the Foreign Service, becoming a consultant on foreign affairs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=SATTERTHWAITE|first=JOSEPH C.|date=May 1, 1972|title=The Truman Doctrine: Turkey|url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/67096/10.1177_000271627240100109.pdf?sequence=2|journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|volume=401|issue=1|pages=74–84|doi=10.1177/000271627240100109|issn=0002-7162|oclc=1479265|hdl=2027.42/67096|s2cid=155040866 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

He died in Washington, D.C., on November 19, 1990, at the age of 90, due to [[pneumonia]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=1990-11-28|title=Joseph C. Satterthwaite; Former Chief of Foreign Service|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-28-mn-4958-story.html|access-date=2020-06-27|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

{{s-start}}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-dip}}
{{succession box
{{succession box |title=[[United States Ambassador to Morocco|Head of the U.S. Legation at Tangier]] |before=[[John Carter Vincent]]|after=[[Julius C. Holmes]]|years=1953–1955}}
{{succession box |title=[[United States Ambassador to Burma|U.S. Ambassador to Burma]] |before=[[William J. Sebald]]|after=[[Walter P. McConaughy]]|years=1955–1957}}
| title = [[United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka|U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka]]
| before = [[Felix Cole]]
{{succession box |title=[[United States Ambassador to South Africa]] | before=[[Philip K. Crowe]] | after=[[William M. Rountree]] | years=1961-1965}}
| after = [[Philip K. Crowe]]
{{end box}}
| years = September 22, 1949 {{endash}} July 25, 1953
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[United States Ambassador to Morocco|Head of the U.S. Legation at Tangier]]
| before = [[John Carter Vincent]]
| after = [[Julius C. Holmes]]
| years = June 24, 1953 – May 1, 1955
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[United States Ambassador to Burma|U.S. Ambassador to Burma]]
| before = [[William J. Sebald]]
| after = [[Walter P. McConaughy]]
| years = April 4, 1955 – April 1, 1957
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[United States Ambassador to South Africa]]
| before = [[Philip K. Crowe]]
| after = [[William M. Rountree]]
| years = April 6, 1961 {{endash}} November 17, 1965
}}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Raymond A. Hare]]
| title = [[Director General of the Foreign Service]]
| after = [[Waldemar J. Gallman]]
| years = May 6, 1957 – September 1, 1958
}}
{{succession box
| before = New office
| title = [[Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs]]
| after = [[G. Mennen Williams]]
| years = September 2, 1958 – January 31, 1961
}}
{{s-end}}

== References ==
<references />


==External links==
== External links ==
*[http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/ARB33.PDF Letter from Joseph M Levy recalling Satterthwaite's involvement in "Action on Relief for the Jews in Syria" in 1949]
* http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10404.htm
*[https://www.jfklibrary.org/sites/default/files/archives/JFKOH/Satterthwaite,%20Joseph%20C/JFKOH-JCS-01/JFKOH-JCS-01-TR.pdf Account of his time as Ambassador to South Africa, given in oral history interview for the JFK Library]<!-- Could get quite a bit of article content from this interview -->


{{authority control}}
{{BD|1900|1990|Satterthwaite, Joseph C.}}
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States]]
[[Category:United States ambassadors to Burma]]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Satterthwaite, Joseph C.}}
{{US-diplomat-stub}}
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to South Africa]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Myanmar]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Assistant Secretaries of State for African Affairs]]
[[Category:Directors General of the United States Foreign Service]]
[[Category: University of Michigan alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American diplomats]]

Revision as of 18:56, 18 February 2024

Joseph C. Satterthwaite
Middle aged, clean-shaven man with tousled dark hair, round spectacles and a suit
11th United States Ambassador to South Africa
In office
May 22, 1961 – November 17, 1965
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded byPhilip K. Crowe
Succeeded byWilliam M. Rountree
1st Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
In office
September 2, 1958 – January 31, 1961
PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byG. Mennen Williams
United States Consul General to Morocco
In office
September 8, 1953 – May 1, 1955
PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byJohn Carter Vincent
Succeeded byJulius C. Holmes
2nd United States Ambassador to Ceylon
In office
November 19, 1949 – July 25, 1953
PresidentHarry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byFelix Cole
Succeeded byMaxwell Henry Gluck
Personal details
Born
Joseph Charles Satterthwaite

(1900-03-14)March 14, 1900
Tecumseh, Michigan
DiedNovember 19, 1990(1990-11-19) (aged 90)
Washington, D.C.
Alma materUniversity of Michigan (B.A., M.A.)
OccupationDiplomat

Joseph Charles Satterthwaite (March 14, 1900 – November 19, 1990) was an American career diplomat.

Biography

Early life and positions

Sattherwaite was born in Tecumseh, Michigan on March 14, 1900. His family had first moved to that state in 1831.[1] He attended the University of Michigan, earning a B.A. degree in 1923 and a M.A. degree in 1924. His first job with the US Foreign Service was as a clerk in the Stuttgart consulate in 1926. From there, appointments followed in Guadalajara, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Baghdad, Ankara and Damascus.[2] As part of a State Department special diplomatic mission, Satterthwaite presented a letter from President Harry S. Truman to King Tribhuvan, recognizing Nepal's independence, on April 21 1947.[3] This task proved difficult, as foreigners could only enter with consent of the Prime Minister, and the group had to travel by rail, road, pack train and sedan chair.[4]

Increasing seniority

Satterthwaite served as United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka from 1949 to 1952, Head of the U.S. Legation at Tangier from 1953 to 1955, and as United States Ambassador to Burma from April 1955 to April 1957. For a brief period between May 6, 1957, and September 1, 1958, he was Director General of the Foreign Service.[5] He then served as the first Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs between 1958 and 1961. One of his duties in that role was hosting an African Regional Conference from June 9–11, 1959 in Lourenco Marques (now Maputo).[6]

South Africa and later career

Sattherwaite was reappointed as an ambassador, this time to South Africa, from 1961 to 1965.[7] Following the Sharpeville massacre, President John F. Kennedy's administration was taking a renewed look at the country. Satterthwaite later recalled that Kennedy had told him "You can tell the prime minister of South Africa that I'm not sending you out there to point your finger at them, (the South Africans) but that they must realize the problems we have with their racial policy". While in South Africa, Satterthwaite learned of Kennedy's assassination from the Belgian ambassador (who had been listenening to the BBC World Service). This forced him to break off a dinner party he was holding and announce the news, bringing some of the South African guests to tears. His embassy held a Catholic memorial service shortly after.[1]

He spoke highly of his time under the Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, saying in an interview that he "never had any pressure from the White House that was objectionable in the least. Obviously pressures were brought by Congress sometimes, but that's something else, that's just par for the course, you can expect that; but certainly not from the White House under either Truman or Eisenhower. I think this is true of Kennedy, too".[8]

After South Africa he retired from the Foreign Service, becoming a consultant on foreign affairs.[9]

He died in Washington, D.C., on November 19, 1990, at the age of 90, due to pneumonia.[10]

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka
September 22, 1949 – July 25, 1953 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head of the U.S. Legation at Tangier
June 24, 1953 – May 1, 1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by U.S. Ambassador to Burma
April 4, 1955 – April 1, 1957 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to South Africa
April 6, 1961 – November 17, 1965 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Director General of the Foreign Service
May 6, 1957 – September 1, 1958 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
New office
 Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
September 2, 1958 – January 31, 1961 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ a b Moss, William W. (March 2, 1971). "Joseph C. Satterthwaite, recorded interview" (PDF). www.jfklibrary.org. John F. Kennedy Library Oral History Program. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  2. ^ Satterthwaite, Joseph Charles. "Joseph Charles Satterthwaite papers: Biography". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  3. ^ "History of the U.S. and Nepal". U.S. Embassy in Nepal. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  4. ^ Satterthwaite, Joseph C. (August 1947). "Mission to Nepal". American Foreign Service Journal. 24 (8). Washington, D.C.: American Foreign Service Association: 7–10, 32–40. ISSN 0146-3543.
  5. ^ "Joseph Charles Satterthwaite - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  6. ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Africa, Volume XIV - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. 16. Editorial Note. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  7. ^ "Burma". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 2008-03-14.
  8. ^ McKenzie, Richard D. (November 13, 1972). "Joseph C. Satterthwaite Oral History Interview". Truman Library. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  9. ^ SATTERTHWAITE, JOSEPH C. (May 1, 1972). "The Truman Doctrine: Turkey" (PDF). The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 401 (1): 74–84. doi:10.1177/000271627240100109. hdl:2027.42/67096. ISSN 0002-7162. OCLC 1479265. S2CID 155040866.
  10. ^ "Joseph C. Satterthwaite; Former Chief of Foreign Service". Los Angeles Times. 1990-11-28. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
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