Nicholas Platt | |
|---|---|
 Nicholas Platt, center, with his wife Sheila andPresident Reagan, 1982 | |
| United States Ambassador toPakistan | |
| In office 1991–1992 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Robert B. Oakley |
| Succeeded by | John Cameron Monjo |
| United States Ambassador tothe Philippines | |
| In office 1987–1991 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Stephen W. Bosworth |
| Succeeded by | Frank G. Wisner |
| United States Ambassador toZambia | |
| In office 1982–1984 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Frank G. Wisner |
| Succeeded by | Paul J. Hare |
| 11thExecutive Secretary of the United States Department of State | |
| In office 1985–1987 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Hill |
| Succeeded by | Melvyn Levitsky |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1936-03-10)March 10, 1936 (age 89) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Spouse | Sheila Maynard (after 1957) |
| Children | 3, includingOliver andAdam |
| Alma mater | Harvard College Johns Hopkins SAIS |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
Nicholas Platt (born March 10, 1936) is an Americandiplomat who served as U.S.Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary toPakistan,Philippines,Zambia, and as a high level diplomat inCanada,China,Hong Kong, andJapan. He is the former president of theAsia Society inNew York City.[1]
Platt was born in New York City on March 10, 1936. He is the son of Helen (née Choate) Platt and architect Geoffrey Platt.[2]
His maternal grandfather wasJoseph H. Choate Jr.,[3] and his great-grandfather was diplomat and lawyerJoseph Hodges Choate, who was appointedU.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1899 by PresidentWilliam Mckinley. Joseph's brother,William Gardner Choate, establishedChoate Rosemary Hall. Notable Choate alumni include, "John F. Kennedy, Ivanka Trump, Michael Douglas and Jamie Lee Curtis". Among his family members cousin,Ben Bradlee, who was also a Choate and best friend's with PresidentJohn F. Kennedy who was Choate alumni. Bradlee oversaw the Watergate investigation story while working at the Washington Post. This ultimately led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Platt graduated from the prep schoolSt. Paul's School,Harvard College (B.A., 1957) andJohns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (M.A., 1959). At Harvard, he was a member of theHasty Pudding Club and thePorcellian Club.[4] He is articulate in the Chinese, German, French, and Japanese languages.[2]
Platt began his career as a research assistant at the Washington Center for Foreign Policy Research before entering theForeign Service of the United States in 1959. Reportedly, he was inspired to join the Foreign Service by his great-grandfather, Ambassador Joseph Hodges Choate. From 1959 to 1961, he served as vice consul inWindsor, Ontario,Canada. From 1962 to 1963, he studied theChinese language at the Foreign Service Institute and inTaichung, Taiwan. In 1964, he was assigned as political officer at the Americanconsulate general inHong Kong until 1968, when he became China desk officer in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.[2]
From 1969 to 1971, Platt was chief of the Asian Communist Areas Division of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. In 1971–1973, he served as Deputy Director, and then Director, of the Secretariat Staff in theDepartment of State. As a young diplomat, Platt accompanied PresidentRichard Nixon on the historic trip toBeijing in 1972 that signaled the resumption of relations between the U.S. and China.[2]
Platt was assigned as chief of the political section, U.S. Liaison Office,Peking, China, 1973–1974, and then as deputy chief of the political section at the Embassy inTokyo, Japan, 1974–1977. He returned to Washington to serve as Director for Japanese Affairs in 1977 and then served as a staff member on the National Security Council at the White House from 1978 to 1980. From 1980 to 1981, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, International Security Affairs in theU.S. Department of Defense. From 1981 to 1982, he returned to the Department of State as Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Organization Affairs.[2]
Ambassador Platt shared his career experiences through several oral histories that he shared with theAssociation for Diplomatic Studies and Training and are now available as part of Frontline Diplomacy: The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection, first in1994 and again in2005.[5]
On July 22, 1982, President Reagan appointed Platt to succeedFrank G. Wisner as theU.S. Ambassador to Zambia. He presented his credentials on August 31, 1982 and served until he left his post on December 17, 1984 to become the Special Assistant to the Secretary of State and Executive Secretary of theU.S. Department of State. Platt stayed as Executive Secretary until February 13, 1987.[6]
On August 10, 1987, he was again appointed by Reagan as theU.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, succeedingStephen W. Bosworth.[7] Platt presented his credentials on August 27, 1987 and served in this role throughGeorge H. W. Bush's election as president until he left his post on July 20, 1991, after receiving his subsequent appointment by President Bush, when he was replaced by Wisner.[6]
On July 2, 1991, President Bush appointed Platt to succeedRobert B. Oakley as theU.S. Ambassador to Pakistan inIslamabad,[8] where he remained until he left his post on November 3, 1992.[6] He was succeeded as Ambassador byJohn Cameron Monjo.
Following his retirement from the State Department, in 1992 Platt began serving as the fifth president ofAsia Society, anon-profit organization that focuses on educating the world aboutAsia.[9] He also was a member of theCouncil on Foreign Relations in New York and was a member of the International Advisory Board of theFinancial Times.[9]
On June 28, 1957,[4] he married Sheila Maynard at the Protestant Episcopal Church inRhinebeck, New York.[10] Sheila was a clinicalsocial worker who worked inIslamabad.[11] She was the daughter of Eileen (née Burden) and investment banker Walter Maynard (son ofWalter E. Maynard), and the maternal-granddaughter of banker and equestrianArthur Scott Burden, and theHon. Cynthia Burke Roche.[2][12]
He frequently spends his summers inNorth Haven, Maine.[14]
Joseph H. Choate Jr., a distinguished lawyer who was chairman of the Federal Alcohol Control Administration from 1933 to 1935, died today in his home on ...
| Diplomatic posts | ||
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| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Zambia 1982–1984 | Succeeded by Paul J. Hare |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to the Philippines 1987–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Pakistan 1991–1992 | Succeeded by |
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