Richard Felix Staar | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1923-01-10)January 10, 1923 |
| Died | March 27, 2018(2018-03-27) (aged 95) |
| Citizenship | USA |
| Occupations | political scientist andhistorian |
| Academic work | |
| Notable works | Yearbook on International Communist Affairs |
Richard Felix Staar (January 10, 1923 – March 27, 2018) was an Americanpolitical scientist andhistorian. He held a position of senior fellow atStanford University'sHoover Institution.[1] His areas of specialization includedRussia andEast-Central Europe (formerSoviet Union,post-Soviet states and theEastern Bloc),military strategy,national security,arms control, andpublic diplomacy. He was an author of numerous books and articles.
Staar was born inWarsaw, Poland, in 1923. He graduated fromDickinson College in 1948 and received a master's degree fromYale University in 1949. Following his master's degree, he joined theCentral Intelligence Agency as an intelligence officer, holding that position until 1950. In 1950 and 1951 he worked as a library assistant at the University of Michigan. Also in 1951, he joined theU.S. Department of State as an intelligence research specialist, a post he held until 1954, when he completed a Ph.D. in political science at theUniversity of Michigan.[2]
From 1954 to 1957, he served on the faculty ofHarding College, moving toArkansas State College for one year (1957–58). In 1958 he went toMunich, Germany, where he served for one year as chief of program analysis forRadio Free Europe. He returned to the United States in 1959 to become a member of the faculty ofEmory University, where he remained until 1969 when he joined the Hoover Institution.[2] There, he became the editor in chief of theYearbook on International Communist Affairs from 1969 until 1991.[3][4][5]
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the position of U.S.Ambassador to theMutual and Balanced Force Reductions (MBFR) negotiations inVienna, Austria, a position he held until resigning in 1983. He has also been a visiting professor at theNational War College, and was acolonel in theU.S. Marine Corps Reserve. In 1983, at the age of 60, he was awarded the presidentialLegion of Merit.[1]
TheSarmatian Review, in a review of his bookBorn Under A Lucky Star: Reminiscences, said of him: "As associate director of the Hoover Institution for a critical twelve years, he helped make that organization serve the Soviet-slaying purpose for which its founder had endowed it."[6]
He died on March 27, 2018.[7][8]
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