Arthur T. Tienken
Arthur T. Tienken | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 7th US Ambassador to Gabon | |
| In office February 3, 1978 – July 19, 1981 | |
| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Andrew L. Steigman |
| Succeeded by | Francis Terry McNamara |
| 2nd US Ambassador to São Tomé and Príncipe | |
| In office February 2, 1978 – July 19, 1981 | |
| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Andrew L. Steigman |
| Succeeded by | Francis Terry McNamara |
Arthur Thomas Tienken (August 5, 1922 Yonkers, New York – May 7, 2006, Arlington, Virginia) was an American career Foreign Service Officer who held concurrent ambassadorships to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe (1978–1981).[1][2]
Tienken graduated from Princeton University, earning a bachelor's in 1946 (political science) and a master's in international relations at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1950.[1] Tienken entered with the Class of ‘44 but took time off from his studies, serving as a first lieutenant in the 3094th Quartermaster Company of the Western Pacific in the Philippines during World War II.[3]
His first position in the Foreign Service, in 1950, was as a Kreis resident officer, or district governor, in Germany. He served in various the Belgian Congo, Mozambique, Zambia, Tuniasia and Ethiopia. He then spent four years at the embassy in Brussels. São Tomé and Príncipe achieved independence from Portugal on July 12, 1975, during Tienken's predecessor's time as ambassador. However, the ambassador of São Tomé and Príncipe served concurrently as the ambassador to Gabon until 2020.
Upon his return stateside, he attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and was a diplomat-in-residence at Marquette University. He retired in 1987.[3]
Tienken died of stomach cancer at his home.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Arthur T. Tienken '44 *50". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ "Arthur Tienken". Office of the Historian. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Obituaries". The Washington Post. May 13, 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- Ambassadors of the United States to Gabon
- Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni
- Deaths from cancer in Virginia
- People from Arlington County, Virginia
- Ambassadors of the United States to São Tomé and Príncipe
- 1922 births
- 2006 deaths
- United States Army personnel of World War II
- American expatriates in the Philippines
- American expatriates in Germany
- American expatriates in Belgium
- Marquette University people
- American expatriates in the Belgian Congo
- American expatriates in Mozambique
- American expatriates in Zambia
- American expatriates in Tunisia
- American expatriates in Ethiopia
- 20th-century American diplomats