Frank G. Wisner | |
|---|---|
 Wisner in 2007 | |
| ActingUnited States Secretary of State | |
| In office January 20, 1993 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Arnold Kanter (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Warren Christopher |
| United States Ambassador to India | |
| In office June 9, 1994 – July 12, 1997 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Thomas R. Pickering |
| Succeeded by | Richard F. Celeste |
| Under Secretary of Defense for Policy | |
| In office 1993–1994 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Paul Wolfowitz |
| Succeeded by | Walter B. Slocombe |
| 10thUnder Secretary of State for International Security Affairs | |
| In office 1992–1993 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Reginald Bartholomew |
| Succeeded by | Lynn Etheridge Davis |
| United States Ambassador to the Philippines | |
| In office August 16, 1991 – June 10, 1992 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Nicholas Platt |
| Succeeded by | Richard H. Solomon |
| United States Ambassador to Egypt | |
| In office August 18, 1986 – June 6, 1991 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Nicholas A. Veliotes |
| Succeeded by | Robert Pelletreau |
| United States Ambassador to Zambia | |
| In office August 2, 1979 – April 19, 1982 | |
| President | Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Stephen Low |
| Succeeded by | Nicholas Platt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frank George Wisner II (1938-07-02)July 2, 1938 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | February 24, 2025(2025-02-24) (aged 86) Mill Neck, New York, U.S. |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4[2] |
| Alma mater | Bachelor of Arts,Princeton University (1961)[2] |
Frank George Wisner II (July 2, 1938 – February 24, 2025) was an American businessman and diplomat who served asUnited States Secretary of State following the resignation of the previous actingUnited States Secretary of StateArnold Kanter at noon on January 20, 1993 until the confirmation by theUnited States Senate and swearing in ofWarren Christopher asUnited States Secretary of State later that day.[3] On January 31, 2011, he was sent to Egypt by PresidentBarack Obama to negotiate a resolution to thepopular protests against the regime that had swept the country.[4] A White House spokesman said that Wisner had vast experience in the region as well as close relationships with many Egyptians in and out of government.The New York Times reported that he was a personal friend of former Egyptian presidentHosni Mubarak.[5]
Wisner worked as an international-affairs advisor at the firm ofSquire Patton Boggs in Washington, D.C.[6]
Wisner was born in New York City on July 2, 1938, the son of Mary Knowles Fritchey, a philanthropist, and CIA officialFrank Wisner (1909–1965).[2][7][8] He joined theUnited States Department of State as aForeign Service Officer in December 1961.[9]
He was assigned as a vice consul at the American Consulate General inTangier, Morocco. He served as third secretary at the U.S. Embassy inAlgiers, Algeria. In 1964 he became a rural development officer at theU.S. Embassy inSaigon,South Vietnam, for theAgency for International Development. He served in South Vietnam until 1969, when he returned to the State Department as officer in charge of Tunisian affairs. From 1971 to 1973, he was first secretary at the U.S. Embassy inTunis,Tunisia, and following that, from 1973 to 1974, he was first secretary at the U.S. Embassy inDacca, Bangladesh. From 1974 to 1975, he was Director of the Office of Plans and Management in the Bureau of Public Affairs and in late 1975 became Deputy Director of the President's Indo-China Task Force in the Department.[10]
In 1976, at the beginning of theCarter administration, he served underCyrus Vance as DeputyExecutive Secretary of the Department of State. Among his overseas assignments, Wisner served as the United States Ambassador toZambia (1979–82);Egypt (1986–91), thePhilippines (1991–92), andIndia, (1994–97).
During his tenure inLusaka, he played the role of point man for the Constructive Engagement policy of assistant secretary of state for African affairsChester Crocker. Wisner worked well with Zambian presidentKenneth Kaunda and helped to rebuild bilateral relations between Zambia and the USA after a 1980 spy scandal at the U.S. embassy in Lusaka. Crocker's efforts contributed to the organization and successful discussions at the February 1984 Lusaka Conference regarding conflicts inAngola andNamibia.[11]
After retiring from government service in 1997, Wisner joined the board at a subsidiary ofEnron, the former energy company and served on the board ofAmerican International Group (AIG).
In late 2002, Wisner co-chaired an independent working group that developed a model for the United States' post-conflict role in Iraq, should an invasion occur. Their published recommendations included: the establishment of law and order through the retraining of the Iraqi army, focusing on the distribution of humanitarian assistance and reestablishment of vital services, and the importance of avoiding the appointment of exiled Iraqi opposition leaders to dominant positions in the new government.[12]
Wisner was an advisory board member for thePartnership for a Secure America, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy. In 2012, he succeededPaul A. Volcker as chairman of the board of trustees ofInternational House, a cultural-exchange residence and program center in New York City. He also served on the advisory board of theNational Security Network, and on the board ofRefugees International.[13] He went on to become a member of the board for EOG Resources. In June 2013, Wisner joined the advisory board of Ergo, a global intelligence and advisory firm.[14] Wisner was chair of the board of directors ofThe Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.[15][16]
Frank Wisner was married to Christine de Ganay, the stepmother ofNicolas Sarkozy, the President of France from 2007 until 2012.
He was a member of theMetropolitan Club of Washington, D.C.
Wisner died from lung cancer inMill Neck, New York, on February 24, 2025, at the age of 86.[17]
In early 2011, President Obama, at the suggestion of Secretary of StateHillary Clinton, dispatched Wisner to deliver a face-to-face appeal to Hosni Mubarak that he should resign to allow for an orderly transition.[18]Wisner was unsuccessful in convincing Mubarak to do so. Four days later, after a day in which Mubarak allies took violent reprisal against democracy activists, Wisner spoke to a security conference in Europe and called it "crucial" that Mubarak stay on in the interest of "stability." The State Department immediately disavowed his comments and said Wisner had not been serving as an envoy but as a conduit for certain administration views.[19] Obama recalled his displeasure at Wisner's comments in his memoirs, stating that he directed Secretary Clinton to “tell Wisner I don’t give a damn about what capacity he’s speaking in—he needs to be quiet.”[20]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Zambia 1979–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Egypt 1986–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to the Philippines 1991–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to India 1994–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs 1972–1993 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs 1993–present | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
