Henry Serrano Villard (March 30, 1900 – January 21, 1996) was an Americanforeign service officer,ambassador and author. He served as United States Ambassador to Senegal and Mauritania from 1960-1961.[1]
Henry S. Villard was born inManhattan,New York City March 30, 1900.[2] He was the great-grandson ofWilliam Lloyd Garrison, the prominent Americanjournalist andabolitionist. He was the grandson ofHenry Villard, the American railroad tycoon who commissioned the construction of theVillard Houses in Manhattan.[3] His sisterMariquita Platov was a writer and pacifist.[4]
As a teenager he served as a volunteer ambulance driver in Italy duringWorld War I, becoming friends withErnest Hemingway when both were patients in a Red Cross hospital inMilan.[3] He graduated fromHarvard in 1921, having been inducted into thePhi Beta Kappa honor society. During his years at Harvard he served as editor ofThe Harvard Crimson, the university’sstudent newspaper.[3]
Henry Villard was married to Tamara Gringutes Villard (d. 1990) for 50 years. They had two children: Dimitri Villard and Alexandra Villard de Borchgrave, a writer and the wife of AmericanjournalistArnaud de Borchgrave.[3]
Villard died ofpneumonia on January 21, 1996 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 95.[3]
In 1928 Villard joined theUnited States Foreign Service and started his foreign service asvice consul inTehran, Iran in 1928.[3] In his capacity as an expert on Africa, he was a leader within theDepartment of State in the planning for theAllied invasion of North Africa duringWorld War II. After that successful operation he served as the U. S. liaison to theFree French Forces in Africa.[3]
In 1952President Truman appointed him as the firstUnited States Ambassador to Libya, where he served until 1954.[5]President Eisenhower sent him toGeneva in 1958 as theRepresentative of the United States to the European Office of the United Nations; he held that office 1958–60.[5][6] President Eisenhower again called upon Villard in 1960 to fill the ambassadorial postings to the newly independent nations ofSenegal andMauritania, a dual posting to both nations while resident inDakar, Senegal.[5] Upon the completion of those missions in 1961, he retired from the foreign service.[3]
Villard was the author of several books. He had a great interest in the early days of aviation and authored two books on the subject:[3]
Another book was inspired by his experience recuperating from combat wounds suffered while a volunteer ambulance driver in Italy duringWorld War I, observing firsthand the relationship of hospital roommateErnest Hemingway and their nurse,Agnes von Kurowsky:[3][7]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New office | United States Ambassador to Libya 1952–1954 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by New office | United States Ambassador to Senegal 1960–1961 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by New office | United States Ambassador to Mauritania 1960–1961 | Succeeded by |
