 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(January 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Charles Burke Elbrick | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Elbrick byAndrew Festing | |
| 37thUnited States Ambassador toBrazil | |
| In office July 14, 1969 – May 7, 1970 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | John W. Tuthill |
| Succeeded by | William M. Rountree |
| 14thUnited States Ambassador toYugoslavia | |
| In office March 17, 1964 – April 28, 1969 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | George F. Kennan |
| Succeeded by | William K. Leonhart |
| 53rdUnited States Ambassador toPortugal | |
| In office January 13, 1959 – August 31, 1963 | |
| President | Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy |
| Preceded by | James C. H. Bonbright |
| Succeeded by | George W. Anderson, Jr. |
| 3rdAssistant Secretary of State for European Affairs | |
| In office February 14, 1957 – November 16, 1958 | |
| Preceded by | Livingston T. Merchant |
| Succeeded by | Livingston T. Merchant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1908-03-25)March 25, 1908 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | April 12, 1983(1983-04-12) (aged 75) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Profession | Diplomat |
Charles Burke Elbrick (March 25, 1908 – April 12, 1983) was an Americandiplomat and careerforeign service officer. During his career, he served threeambassadorships: in Portugal, Yugoslavia and Brazil, in addition to numerous minor postings.
Elbrick spoke Portuguese, Spanish, French and German, and was regarded as an expert onIberia andEastern Europe after World War II.
Elbrick was born inLouisville, Kentucky, the son of Charles Elbrick and his Irish wife Lillian Burke, and raised as aRoman Catholic. Transferring after a first year at theUniversity of Notre Dame, he graduated with aBachelor of Arts degree fromWilliams College in 1929, narrowly missing selection for aRhodes Scholarship. He had aimed to begin a career in publishing in New York, but theWall Street crash of 1929 persuaded him to work instead for the US Government. He therefore studied languages to prepare for a career with theUnited States Department of State.
Commissioned into theUnited States Foreign Service in 1931, Elbrick was initially appointed Vice Consul inPanama, and then Southampton, England. He next served as Third Secretary at Port-au-Prince,Haiti, before transferring in that rank toWarsaw, Poland in 1937. In 1939, Elbrick followed the Polish government into exile after theinvasion by the German Nazi army. While leaving Warsaw in convoy, the diplomatic convoy was strafed by German planes, and Elbrick had to leap to cover in a roadside ditch. He joined the Polish government-in-exile at Angers, France. When the Germanblitzkrieg smashed into France in the spring of 1940, Elbrick had to flee again, this time to Spain. He spent most of World War II as an embassy official in Lisbon, and as consul in Tangier. During this time he added Portuguese to his other foreign languages, which were German, French and Spanish.
After the war, Elbrick returned to Poland in June 1945 to reopen the US Embassy, then went to theState Department as assistant chief of the Division of East European Affairs. He served as Counselor at the U.S. Embassy inHavana from 1949 to 1951. In 1951 and 1952, he served respectively as Counselor ofthe US Embassy in London andthen in Paris and as a delegate to theNorth Atlantic Council.
From 1953 to 1957 Elbrick was deputy assistant secretary of State for European affairs, and was promoted toAssistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs in 1957. Thereafter, Ambassador Elbrick was variously the representative of the United States toPortugal (1958),Yugoslavia (1964), andBrazil (1969).
In August 1968, when Soviet-led forcesinvaded Czechoslovakia, Elbrick, then Ambassador inBelgrade, was summoned byMarshal Tito and asked about United States policy toward Yugoslavia. "The same as always", Elbrick said. "To support Yugoslav independence and integrity. Do you need any help?" "Not now", said Tito, thanking Ambassador Elbrick for inquiring.[citation needed]
A year later, while stationed in Brazil,Elbrick was kidnapped from a road-block on September 4, 1969, and held for 78 hours by the8th October Revolutionary Movement (MR-8) inRio de Janeiro. The ambassador's driver was released unharmed with a note demanding the release of 15 unnamed political prisoners and the publication of a three-page manifesto from the 8th October Revolutionary Movement. If the demands were not met within 48 hours, MR-8 threatened to carry out 'revolutionary justice', by executing Elbrick. The ambassador was released in exchange for the government's release of fifteen political prisoners.[1] The kidnapping occurred as a means to bring media attention to the repression, imprisonment and torture of Brazilian citizens by the Brazilian military regime. Ambassador Elbrick remarked, "Being an ambassador is not always a bed of roses."
In 1969, Ambassador Elbrick was honored by thePresident of the United States with the rank ofCareer Ambassador, the highest in the Foreign Service, in recognition of especially distinguished service over a sustained period. Following his retirement in 1973, Elbrick was awarded the Foreign Service Cup by his fellow Foreign Service officers. He resided in Washington, DC, and Gilbertsville, New York. Ambassador Elbrick received an honorary doctorate fromHartwick College in Oneonta, New York.
Elbrick married Elvira Lindsay Johnson (1910–1990) atSt. Matthew's Cathedral, Washington DC, on July 27, 1932. Elvira was the daughter of Hannah Cox Harris (descendant of Thomas Harris, addressee of theRhode Island Royal Charter of 1663), andAlfred Wilkinson Johnson, later a Vice Admiral in the US Navy. Elvira's mother was a direct descendant ofAbijah Gilbert, the founder ofGilbertsville, New York (1787). Her father was the son of CommodorePhilip Carrigan Johnson, by her namesake Elvira Lindsay Acevedo ofTalcahuano (Chile),[2] and nephew of celebrated painter and co-founder of theMetropolitan Museum,Eastman Johnson.
Elbrick and Elvira had two children: Alfred (born 1938) and Valerie (born 1942). Elbrick was survived by his wife, children, and six grandchildren: Tristan, Sophie, Alexia, andXanthe, and brothers Burke and Nicholas Hanlon.
Elbrick was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Prince Henry. He was knighted in the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (Sovereign Military Order of Malta)[3] by the Prince and Grand Master,Fra' Angelo de Mojana di Cologna. He was also knighted in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Order of the Holy Sepulchre)[4] by the Grand Master Maximilian,Cardinal de Furstenberg.
Elbrick's honors and decorations included:
 | Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Prince Henry | (Portugal) |
 | Knight of the Order of Malta | Sovereign Military Order of Malta |
 | Knight of the Holy Sepulchre | Holy See |
Elbrick died April 15, 1983, aged 75, atGeorgetown University Hospital inWashington, D.C. His funeral was held at St. Matthew's Cathedral, Washington D.C. His obituary inThe New York Times described him as "a tall, slender man of suave demeanor in exquisite suits...[who]...showed dash and bravery in moments of crisis".[5]The Washington Post recorded that "He was tall, meticulously dressed and soft-spoken. Colleagues said he looked like a diplomat, but one of them, the late ambassador James W. Riddleberger, was quick to add, [Elbrick] has plenty of guts. He is a very sturdy fellow."[6]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs February 14, 1957 – November 16, 1958 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Portugal 1959–1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Brazil 1969–1970 | Succeeded by |
| Chargé d'Affaires |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | ||
| Minister Plenipotentiary | |
|---|---|
| Chargé d'Affaires | |
| Minister Resident |
|
| Minister Resident/Consul General | |
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | |
