Llewellyn E. Thompson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Ambassador tothe Soviet Union | |
| In office January 23, 1967 – January 14, 1969 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | Foy D. Kohler |
| Succeeded by | Jacob D. Beam |
| In office July 16, 1957 – July 27, 1962 | |
| President | Dwight David Eisenhower John F. Kennedy |
| Preceded by | Charles E. Bohlen |
| Succeeded by | Foy D. Kohler |
| United States Ambassador toAustria | |
| In office September 4, 1952 – July 9, 1957 | |
| President | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | Walter J. Donnelly |
| Succeeded by | H. Freeman Matthews |
| United States Ambassador At Large for Soviet Affairs | |
| In office October 3, 1962 – December 26, 1966 | |
| President | John F. Kennedy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1904-08-24)August 24, 1904 Las Animas, Colorado |
| Died | February 6, 1972(1972-02-06) (aged 67) Bethesda, Maryland |
| Spouse | Jane Monroe Goelet |
| Alma mater | University of Colorado at Boulder |
| Profession | Artist |
| Awards |  President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service (1962) |
Llewellyn E. "Tommy" Thompson Jr. (August 24, 1904 – February 6, 1972) was an Americandiplomat. He served inSri Lanka,[1]Austria, and for a lengthy period in theSoviet Union, where his tenure saw some of the most significant events of theCold War. He was a key advisor to PresidentJohn F. Kennedy during theCuban Missile Crisis.[2] A 2019 assessment described him as "arguably the most influential figure who ever advised U.S. presidents about policy toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War."[3]
Thompson was born inLas Animas, Colorado,[1] the son of a rancher.[4]He was possibly of Welsh descent.He studied economics at theUniversity of Colorado at Boulder.[5]
In 1928, he joined the foreign service. He was the first US representative to theInternational Labour Organization of theLeague of Nations. He was the second secretary at the US embassy to the Soviet Union from 1941 and remained inMoscow with a skeleton staff afterGermany invaded the Soviet Union, which forced the US embassy to withdraw toKuybyshev in October 1941.[4] He was present at the first conference of theUnited Nations and participated in the discussions that resulted in theTruman Doctrine.
Thompson was the High Commissioner or U.S. Ambassador toAustria from 1952 to 1957. There, he negotiated the settlement of theFree Territory of Trieste betweenYugoslavia andItaly. In 1955, he represented the United States in the final negotiations for anAustrian State Treaty, which returned Austria's sovereignty after the country's occupation.
He served as ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1962 and again from 1967 until 1969. In his first term there, he developed a unique relationship withNikita Khrushchev, which helped to contain theBerlin Crisis. He was the first American to give an address on Soviet television.
Gary Powers'sill-fated U-2 high-altitude spy flight took place during his tenure, as did the American exhibition and the famous "kitchen debate" withRichard Nixon. He participated in both the Camp David summit betweenDwight Eisenhower and Khrushchev and the Vienna summit between Kennedy and Khrushchev.
During theCuban Missile Crisis, Thompson served onKennedy's ExComm (Executive Committee of the National Security Council) when the US received two messages from Khrushchev, one quite conciliatory and the other much more hawkish. Thompson advised Kennedy to react to the first message and said that the second had probably been written with Politburo input. Thompson's belief was that Khrushchev would be willing to withdraw the Soviet missiles from Cuba if he could portray the avoidance of a US invasion of the island as a strategic success.[6] Thompson also testified before theWarren Commission, which investigated the Kennedy assassination.
On August 7, 1962, he was awarded thePresident's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service by President John F. Kennedy.[7]
He held a number of other positions throughout his foreign service career, including Ambassador-at-Large for Soviet Affairs[8] and Deputy Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs. In his second term in Moscow under President Lyndon Johnson, Thompson was present at theGlassboro Summit Conference between Johnson andAlexei Kosygin to discussUS-Soviet relations with the Soviets. Thompson was a pivotal participant in the formulation ofLyndon Johnson administration's non-proliferation policy on nuclear weapons and was instrumental in beginning theStrategic Arms Limitation Talks process. After Thompson's retirement, he was recruited by PresidentRichard Nixon to participate in the SALT I negotiations.
Thompson's wife, Jane Monroe Goelet, an artist, brought art from the US State Department's Art in Embassies Program to the ambassador's residence atSpaso House,Moscow. The program exhibits original works by US citizens in the public areas of ambassador’s residences all over the world.[4]
His daughters have written a biography published in March 2018 by Johns Hopkins University Press: "The Kremlinologist: Llewellyn E Thompson, America's Man in Cold War Moscow" (ISBN 978-1421424095).
Thompson died of cancer in 1972 and is buried in his hometown of Las Animas.[1]
U.S. Route 50 through Las Animas was renamed to Ambassador Thompson Boulevard.[1]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
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| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Austria 1952 – 1957 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union 1957 – 1962 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union 1967 – 1969 | Succeeded by |
 Austrian Empire(1838–1867) |  | |
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 Austro-Hungarian Empire(1867–1917) | ||
 Republic of Austria(1921–1938, 1946–present) | ||
 Russian Empire(1780–1917) | |
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 Soviet Union(1933–1991) | |
| Russian Federation (1991–present) | |
| International | |
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| People | |
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