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Martin J. Hillenbrand | |
|---|---|
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| 8thAssistant Secretary of State for European Affairs | |
| In office February 20, 1969 – April 30, 1972 | |
| Preceded by | John M. Leddy |
| Succeeded by | Walter John Stoessel Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1915-08-01)August 1, 1915 |
| Died | February 2, 2005(2005-02-02) (aged 89) |
| Education | Columbia University (PhD) |
Martin Joseph Hillenbrand (August 1, 1915 – February 2, 2005) was an American diplomat who served as theU.S. Ambassador toHungary from 1967 to 1969, and the Ambassador to theFederal Republic of Germany from 1972 to 1976.[1]
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Born inYoungstown, Ohio, to a family ofGerman descent, Hillenbrand attained a Ph.D. in 1948 fromColumbia University. He became a U.S. foreign service officer almost a decade earlier, entering theU.S. Foreign Service in 1939, and served in multiple positions before being named Assistant Secretary of State forEuropean andCanadian Affairs during theNixon Administration.
During his 37-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, he held assignments in Switzerland,Washington, D.C.,Burma, India,Portuguese East Africa (now:Mozambique), Germany, France, and Hungary. He served as U.S. ambassador to Hungary from 1967–1969 and later as the U.S. ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany from June 27, 1972, to October 18, 1976.
During his career, Ambassador Hillenbrand developed expertise on European affairs, and he devoted a significant portion of his career to topics related to Germany where he played an instrumental role as a diplomat during theBerlin Crisis from 1958 to 1962.[citation needed]
After retiring from the U.S. Foreign Service, the former ambassador Hillenbrand served as the Director-General of theAtlantic Institute for International Affairs inParis, France, from 1977-1982. In 1982, Dr. Hillenbrand was named Dean Rusk Professor of International Relations at theUniversity of Georgia and held this position until his retirement from this university in 1997.[2] In his retirement Hillenbrand published his memoirs, titledFragments of Our Time: Memoirs of a Diplomat.
In 2004, Ambassador Hillenbrand participated in an oral history project that focused on his role and understanding of significant world events during his career in the U.S. Foreign Service and also considered his outlook on the future. Audio and video recordings from this project are housed in theRichard B. Russell Library at the University of Georgia.[3]
Hillenbrand died inAthens, Georgia, on February 2, 2005, at the age of 89.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Hungary October 30, 1967 – February 15, 1969 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Germany June 27, 1972 – October 18, 1976 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs February 20, 1969 – April 30, 1972 | Succeeded by |
| Minister Plenipotentiary |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | ||
