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Samuel David Berger
6th United States Ambassador to Korea
In office
June 27, 1961 – July 10, 1964
President John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by Walter P. McConaughy
Succeeded by Winthrop G. Brown
Personal details
Born(1911-12-06)December 6, 1911
Gloversville, New York
DiedFebruary 12, 1980(1980-02-12) (aged 68)
Washington, D.C.
Cause of deathCancer
Resting place Arlington National Cemetery
Spouse(s)
Margaret Fowler
​
​
( m. 1937; died 1967)​

Betty Lee Pressey
​
​
( m. 1969; died 2002)​
Relatives Graenum Berger, brother
Education University of Wisconsin
London School of Economics
ProfessionDiplomat
Military service
Branch/service  United States Army
Rank Captain
Battles/wars World War II

Samuel David Berger (December 11, 1911 – February 12, 1980) was an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Korea from 1961 to 1964.

Early life

The brother of Graenum Berger, Samuel David Berger was born on December 6, 1911, in an Orthodox Jewish family. At the University of Wisconsin, where he studied economics and philosophy under Selig Perlman, he met his future wife, Margaret Fowler. [1] In 1938 and 1939, he also studied at the London School of Economics, [2] with a particular focus on the British trade union movement. [3]

Foreign Service career

During World War II, he worked in lend-lease matters, [2] and served in the United States Army, ending the war as a captain. After the war, he proceeded to join the Foreign Service. [4]

A career Foreign Service officer, he was posted to London, Tokyo, and New Zealand; [2] during his service as a political advisor in Tokyo, his assessment of the Japanese Communist Party was opposite to that of Vice President Richard Nixon, who reassigned him to New Zealand. [3]

Ambassador

At the time of his nomination as United States Ambassador to Korea, in April 1961, he was serving in Greece. [5] Confirmed by the Senate on June 12, [6] he arrived in Seoul on June 24, in the immediate aftermath of May 16 coup, noting that the relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea remained strong; [7] a theme that he echoed when he presented his diplomatic credentials to Yun Posun, referring only to a "period of transition". [8] Though he would try to prevail upon Park Chung-hee to hold elections, the efforts came to naught. [3]

Whilst ambassador, he was promoted to the rank of career minister in July 1962. [9] As ambassador, Berger cultivated a reticent attitude toward the media, as evinced by his moniker, "Silent Sam." [3] All the same, he contributed to a rapprochement between Korea and Japan, and laid the groundwork for the future prosperity of Korea. [2] In 1964, he was replaced by Winthrop G. Brown. [10]

Later career

After his service as ambassador, Berger (like his predecessor as ambassador, William S. B. Lacy) served as a deputy commandant of the National War College, before returning to the State Department as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs. [11]

In February 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Berger Deputy Ambassador to South Vietnam, [12] where he arrived on March 24; [13] during his time there, he sometimes stood in for the ambassador, Ellsworth Bunker. [2]

In January 1969, he married the widow of Admiral George Pressey in Hong Kong. [14]

In 1972, he left South Vietnam, believing the Communists would not win, [15] and returned to the United States, [2] where he worked at the Foreign Service Institute before he retired in 1974. [3]

After his death from cancer in 1980, [3] his brother, Graenum Berger, wrote a book about his service. [16]

References

  1. ^ "Decisive Envoy; Samuel David Berger First Tour of Duty". The New York Times. April 8, 1963. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Waggoner, Walter H. (February 13, 1980). "Samuel Berger, Was U.S. Envoy In Seoul and High Aide in Saigon; Aided Economic Reconstruction Held High Post in Athens". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Pearson, Richard (February 13, 1980). "Samuel Berger, Former Ambassador To S. Korea, Deputy in Saigon, Dies". The Washington Post. ISSN  0190-8286. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  4. ^ "U.A.R. POST GIVEN TO A NEW YORKER; Choice of Burma Envoy Also By-Passes De Sapio and State Party Chairman". The New York Times. April 12, 1961. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  5. ^ "NEW KOREAN ENVOY NAMED BY KENNEDY". The New York Times. April 13, 1961. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  6. ^ "SENATE BACKS LEMAY; He Is to Succeed White as Air Force Chief of Staff". The New York Times. June 13, 1961. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  7. ^ "MERGER BY FORCE OPPOSED IN SEOUL; Junta Official Says Korean Unification Can Come by Peaceful Means Only Junta Foreign Minister Opposes Unification of Korea by Force". The New York Times. June 25, 1961. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  8. ^ "ENVOY REPORTS IN SEOUL; New U.S. Ambassador Gives Papers to President". The New York Times. June 28, 1961. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  9. ^ "Senate Confirms 3 Envoys And State Department Aide". The New York Times. July 3, 1962. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  10. ^ "Brown Expected to Get Post as Korean Envoy". The New York Times. June 28, 1964. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  11. ^ "State Department Names Far Eastern Affairs Aide". The New York Times. July 1, 1965. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  12. ^ "PRESIDENT APPOINTS A TOP SAIGON AIDE". The New York Times. February 23, 1968. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  13. ^ "Bunker's Deputy Arrives". The New York Times. March 24, 1968. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  14. ^ "U.S. Aide Wed in Hong Kong". The New York Times. January 15, 1969. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  15. ^ Daum, Paul S.; Rogers, B. J. (2011). Tucker, Spencer C. (ed.). The encyclopedia of the Vietnam War : a political, social, and military history (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 102. ISBN  9781851099603. OCLC  729629958.
  16. ^ Bundy, William (Summer 1993). "A Not So Silent Envoy: A Biography of Ambassador Samuel David Berger". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved June 23, 2018.

External links

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by U.S. Ambassador to South Korea
1961–1964 		Succeeded by
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