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Morton I. Abramowitz

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Morton I. Abramowitz
Abramowitz in 1978
United States Ambassador to Turkey
In office
1989–1991
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byRobert Strausz-Hupe
Succeeded byRichard Clark Barkley
United States Ambassador to Thailand
In office
June 27, 1978 – July 31, 1981
PresidentJimmy Carter
Preceded byCharles S. Whitehouse
Succeeded byJohn Gunther Dean
10th Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research
In office
February 1, 1985 – May 19, 1989
Preceded byHugh Montgomery
Succeeded byDouglas P. Mulholland
Personal details
Born(1933-01-20)January 20, 1933
Lakewood Township, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedNovember 29, 2024(2024-11-29) (aged 91)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Spouse
Sheppie Glass
​
​
(m. 1959; died 2024)​
Children2
ProfessionDiplomat
Other namesAi Mo-huei (艾莫惠)[1]

Morton Isaac Abramowitz (January 20, 1933 – November 29, 2024) was an American diplomat and U.S. State Department official. Starting his overseas career in Taipei, Taiwan, after joining the foreign service, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Thailand and Turkey and as the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. He retired from the State Department with the rank of Career Ambassador. In his later life, he acted as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, served as co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Turkey Initiative,[2] and founded the International Crisis Group.

Early life

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Morton Isaac Abramowitz was born in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, on January 20, 1933, the son of Mendel and Dora (Smith) Abramowitz.[3] His parents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania.[4] He received his B.A. from Stanford University (in history and economics[5]) in 1953.[6] He then attended Harvard University, earning an M.A. in 1955.[6]

Abramowitz served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserves from 1958 to 1961.

In 1956, Abramowitz joined the United States Department of Labor as a management intern and, then, as a labor economist from 1957–58, while waiting for an appointment at the Department of State.

Career in the Foreign Service

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In 1959, he joined the United States Department of State. His first two assignments were as a consular-economic officer in Taipei (1960–1962) and an economic officer in Hong Kong (1963–1966). He was known as Ai Mo-huei (艾莫惠), his Mandarin name during his tour in Taiwan.[1]

Abramowitz returned to Washington D.C. in 1966, spending the next seven years there in various capacities, including serving as special assistant to Under Secretary Elliot Richardson.

From 1973 to 1978, Abramowitz was political adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Command (1973–1974) and then deputy assistant secretary of Defense for international affairs (1974–1978).

In 1978, President of the United States Jimmy Carter named Abramowitz United States Ambassador to Thailand, and he held this post from August 9, 1978, until July 31, 1981.[7]

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan named Abramowitz as the U.S. representative to the Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction Negotiations in Vienna, with ambassadorial rank.[6]

In 1985, President Reagan nominated Abramowitz as Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and Abramowitz held this office from February 1, 1985, through May 19, 1989 (with the name of the office changing to Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research in 1986).

In 1989, President George H. W. Bush named Abramowitz United States Ambassador to Turkey, a post he held until 1991.

In 1990, Abramowitz was awarded the rank of Career Ambassador.[8]

Post-Government career

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Abramowitz retired from government service in 1991 and took over as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1995.[9] He retired from that position in 1997. Subsequently, he was a Senior Fellow of The Century Foundation[10] and a director of the National Endowment for Democracy.

Abramowitz was a long-time board member of the International Rescue Committee.[11]

Abramowitz played a leading role in the foundation of the International Crisis Group, and was a board member from its inception in 1995.[12]

Abramowitz served for nine years on the board of the National Endowment for Democracy, and upon his retirement in 2007 was awarded its Democracy Service Medal.[13]

Personal life and death

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In 1959, Abramowitz married Sheppie Glass, the older sister of composer Philip Glass.[4][14] Sheppie Abramowitz spent her career advocating on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers for the International Rescue Committee and KIND (Kids in Need of Defense). The couple were married until her death in April 2024, and had two children.[14] Their son, Michael, worked as a journalist at The Washington Post before becoming president of Freedom House in 2017, and has headed the Committee on Conscience of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum;[15] their daughter, Rachel, had a successful career as an entertainment reporter for the Los Angeles Times before embarking on a second career in screenwriting with her husband, Joshua Goldin (Wonderful World).

Abramowitz died at his home in Washington, D.C., on November 29, 2024, at the age of 91.[4]

Awards

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Writing

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  • Americans Are Ignoring Syria's Humanitarian Crisis, Washington Post, December 5, 2013
  • With Richard Harris Moorsteen, Remaking China Policy. Harvard University Press. 1971. ISBN 9780674759817.
  • Moving the Glacier: The Two Koreas and the Powers International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1971
  • East Asian Actors and Issues (1991)
  • China: Can We Have A Policy? Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1997, ISBN 9780870031526
  • ed. Turkey's Transformation and American Policy, Century Foundation Press, 2000, ISBN 9780870784545
  • with James T. Laney, Testing North Korea: The Next Stage in U.S. and Rok Policy. Council on Foreign Relations. 2001. ISBN 9780876092811.
  • ed. The United States and Turkey: allies in need, Century Foundation Press, 2003, ISBN 9780870784798
  • with Stephen W. Bosworth, Chasing the Sun: Rethinking East Asian Policy Since 1992 Century Foundation, 2006, ISBN 9780870785009

References

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  1. ^ a b 臺灣省通志 卷3 政事志 外事篇 [General Gazetteer of Taiwan Province, Volume III: Political History: On Foreign Affairs], Taipei: Historical Records Committee of Taiwan Province, June 30, 1971, p. 282
  2. ^ "Bipartisan Policy Center's Turkey Initiative Co-Chairs and Former U.S. Ambassadors Mort Abramowitz and Eric Edelman to Release Recommendations on Building Greater U.S.-Turkish Cooperation Amid Unstable Middle East". Bipartisan Policy Center. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  3. ^ "Obiturary of Dora Abramowitz," Boston Globe, May 5, 1972, p. 35.
  4. ^ a b c Murphy, Brian (November 29, 2024). "Morton Abramowitz, diplomat galvanized by war and famine, dies at 91". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  5. ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR MORTON I. ABRAMOWITZ" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. April 10, 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c ""Nomination of Morton Isaac Abramowitz To Be United States Ambassador to Turkey"". American Presidency Project. April 19, 1989. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2011. Ambassador Abramowitz was born January 20, 1933, in Lakewood, NJ. He graduated from Stanford University (B.A., 1953) and Harvard University (M.A., 1955)
  7. ^ "Conscience and Catastrophe". New Republic. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  8. ^ Ann Devroy; John E. Yang; Kenneth J. Cooper (May 15, 1990). "Two Named Career Ambassadors". Washington Post. p. a.21. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  9. ^ "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  10. ^ The Century Foundation, Morton Abramowitz – Senior Fellow
  11. ^ International Rescue Committee, Board and Overseers
  12. ^ "The Lost American - A Hero Of Our Time | FRONTLINE | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  13. ^ a b National Endowment for Democracy, June 18, 2007, 2007 Democracy Service Medal
  14. ^ a b Nossiter, Adam (April 26, 2024). "Sheppie Abramowitz, 88, Who Advocated Relief for Refugees, Dies". The New York Times. p. B11. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  15. ^ "Michael J. Abramowitz Named President of Freedom House". freedomhouse.org. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  16. ^ a b c "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
[edit]
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Thailand
August 9, 1978 – July 31, 1981 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research
February 1, 1985 – May 19, 1989 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Turkey
1989–1991 		Succeeded by
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