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Joseph Verner Reed Jr.

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Joseph Verner Reed Jr.
Reed, c. 1987
24th Chief of Protocol of the United States
In office
May 21, 1989 – October 21, 1991
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded bySelwa Roosevelt
Succeeded byJohn Giffen Weinmann
United States Ambassador to Morocco
In office
1981–1985
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byAngier Biddle Duke
Succeeded byThomas Anthony Nassif
Personal details
Born(1937-12-17)December 17, 1937
New York City, U.S.
DiedSeptember 29, 2016(2016-09-29) (aged 78)
Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMarie Maude Byers
Children2
RelativesNathaniel Reed (brother)
Verner Z. Reed (grandfather)
Edward Doty (ancestor)
EducationDeerfield Academy
Alma materYale University
OccupationBanker, diplomat

Joseph Verner Reed Jr. (December 17, 1937 – September 29, 2016) was an American banker and diplomat. He served as United States Ambassador to Morocco from 1981 to 1985, and as Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1989 to 1991.

Early life

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Joseph Verner Reed Jr. was born on December 17, 1937, in New York City.[1][2][3][4] He was named after his father, Joseph Verner Reed (1902 - 1973).[5][4][6][7] His paternal grandfather was Verner Zevola Reed (1863-1919).[7] His mother was Permelia Pryor.[4][6] He had a brother, Nathaniel Reed.[4] and another brother Samuel Pryor Reed (1934-2005), manager at Engelhard Industries.[8] He is also a descendant of Edward Doty (1599-1655), who emigrated to the United States on the Mayflower.[7]

He grew up at Denbigh Farm in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Corsair in Hobe Sound, Florida.[6][7] He was educated at the Deerfield Academy, a private boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from Yale University, a private university in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1961.[1][2][3][4][6]

Career

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He started his career as private secretary to the president of the World Bank, Eugene "Gene" Robert Black, Sr. (1898-1992).[1][3][9] He then was vice president and assistant to the chairman of the Chase Manhattan Bank, David Rockefeller, from 1963 to 1981.[2][3][9]

In 1980 he ran "Project Alpha", a secret operation backed by David Rockefeller intended to give sanctuary in the US to the exiled Shah of Iran, and later to discouraging the new Iranian regime from releasing the American hostages before the 1980 election to help Ronald Reagan's chances of defeating President Carter. After the election Reed wrote to family that “I had given my all” to thwarting Carter’s efforts “to pull off the long-suspected ‘October Surprise,’” a reference to his activities in discouraging the Iranians from turning over the hostages to Carter.[10]

In 1985, he became United States Deputy Permanent Representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.[3] Two years later, in 1987, he became Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political and General Assembly Affairs.[3]

He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve as United States Ambassador to Morocco from 1981 to 1985.[2][3][11] He was then appointed by President George H. W. Bush to serve as the Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1989 to 1991.[3][7][9][11]

He returned to the UN, serving as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Special Representative for Public Affairs from 1992 to 1997.[3] From 1997 to 2004, he served as President of the Staff-Management Coordination Committee of the UN.[3] In January 2005, he was appointed as Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser.[3] He was re-appointed as such in 2009.[3] He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[2]

He was the recipient of the Legion of Honour.[3] He also received The Yale Medal from his alma mater, Yale University.[3]

Personal life

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He married Marie Maude Byers, daughter of J. Frederic Byers (1939–1977) of Philadelphia, with whom they had two daughters, Serena (Reed) Kusserow and Electra Reed.[4][9]

Reed died at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut, on September 29, 2016.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Yale University Library
  2. ^ a b c d e "The American Presidency Project". Archived from the original on 2014-03-23. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Official website biography Archived 2013-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Joseph Verner Reed". www.nndb.com.
  5. ^ Weisman, Steven R. (November 26, 1973). "Joseph Verner Reed, Patron of the Stage, Is Dead". The New York Times.
  6. ^ a b c d Marie Maude Byers To Wed Joseph Verner Reed, Jr.[permanent dead link‍], The Palm Beach Post, July 5, 1955
  7. ^ a b c d e Elaine Sciolino, Washington at Work; Making a President's Planes, Trains (and Diplomatic Matters) Run on Time, The New York Times, October 30, 1989
  8. ^ Gordon, Meryl (22 October 2009). MRS. Astor Regrets: The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780547348278.
  9. ^ a b c d William Plummer, Linda Kramer, On the Eve of Another Summit, Joseph Reed Is the Man of Every Hour, People, 06/04/1990
  10. ^ Jonathan Alter, Gary Sick, Kai Bird, Stuart Eizenstat, It’s All but Settled: The Reagan Campaign Delayed the Release of the Iranian Hostages, New Republic (magazine), 05/03/2023
  11. ^ a b Brittany Lyte, More than 20 years later, remembering a brief walk with a giant, The Advocate, July 12, 2013
  12. ^ Lederer, Edith M. (September 30, 2016). "Joseph Verner Reed, Jr., UN official and ex-US envoy dies". Washington Post. ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016. Alt URL
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