Alfred Leroy (Roy) Atherton, Jr. (1921-2002)

By Hermann Fr. Eilts

The passing of Roy Atherton on Oct. 30, 2002 deeply saddened all who were privileged to know him and to work with him. We have lost a warm friend and a stalwart colleague. The nation, too, has lost one of the unsung heroes of the long, frustrating and still elusive Arab-Israeli peace process. Roy’s innumerable contributions to that process were seminal. For three decades, he was one of the primary architects of American policy in the Middle East. As widely diverse a cast of characters as Archbishop Makarios, Shah Ali Reza, Menachem Begin, Anwar Sadat, King Faisal and many others kept Roy busy, so to speak. He exemplified the very best in American professional diplomacy.

Born in Pittsburgh in November 1921, Roy received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1944. With World War II still underway, he joined the United States Army and served for two years as a first lieutenant in the field artillery in the European theater of operations. He was awarded the Silver Star for valor in combat. Following his military service, he returned to Harvard, where he received his M.A. in 1947. That same year, Roy joined the Foreign Service, commencing a 38-year career in American foreign relations and rising through sheer merit to the highest ranks of public service.

After serving almost five years in Germany, Roy became associated with U.S. policy in the Middle East, an area in which he would achieve enduring fame. From 1953 to 1956, he served as diplomatic secretary in the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, followed by a two-year stint as consul in Aleppo. Next came an assignment as international relations officer in the State Department’s Near East and Africa Bureau (NEA), and three years as consul in Calcutta.

Returning to Washington, Roy served for the next 13 years in various NEA functions: first as deputy director of its Near East Office (1965-1966), then as country director for Israel and Arab-Israeli Affairs (1967-1969), deputy assistant secretary for NEA (1970-1974), and finally as assistant Secretary for NEA (1974-1979). During those years, he was instrumental in guiding successive presidents and secretaries of state through the pitfalls of the turbulent Middle East political scene. On a separate and parallel front, his leadership of NEA ensured that clear and precise instructions were sent to our diplomatic posts abroad. In the field, one could always tell when Roy’s superb drafting skills had been involved.

Roy was one of a small group of senior advisers who gave structure to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s conceptual ideas on the Middle East after the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war. This eventually led to the Kissinger-brokered Sinai 1 and Sinai 2 and the Golan 1 disengagement agreements between Egypt and Israel and Syria and Israel.

From 1978 to 1979, Roy was ambassador-at-large for President Jimmy Carter and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. In that capacity, he logged many tedious hours shuttling between Egypt and Israel in an effort to nudge the leaders of those countries to pursue the peace process begun by President Anwar Sadat with his dramatic 1977 trip to Jerusalem. I recall vividly a particularly difficult session with Sadat in 1978 when Roy, with his customary tact and patience, pressed a by-then-frustrated Egyptian president to stay the course, despite the obstacles that had arisen. Roy’s persuasiveness and patent integrity and sincerity were significant factors in Sadat’s decision to continue.

Camp David I

That meeting and similar ones with Israeli Prime Minister Begin were critical factors in enabling President Carter to convene the Camp David summit in 1978, which resulted in two Egyptian-Israeli agreements—one on a future peace between the two countries and the other on Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza. In the months that followed, Roy was actively engaged in helping forge the subsequent Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, the first such treaty ever between Israel and an Arab state. His winning personality, diplomatic skills, and deft handling of the often mutually suspicious regional protagonists were constantly in evidence in those negotiations. He was respected even by those who disagreed with U.S. policy.

In 1979 Roy became ambassador to Egypt, a post he held for four years. During his tenure, he oversaw the enormous U.S. economic and military assistance programs mounted for Egypt in the aftermath of the peace treaty—second in size only to those for Israel. Tragically and unexpectedly, Roy also witnessed the assassination of President Sadat by Muslim militants in October 1981.

Roy’s last service to the nation was as director general of the Foreign Service from 1983 to 1985. He retired from U.S. government service in 1985 with the deserved rank of career ambassador.

Unsurprisingly, Roy’s “retirement” was nominal, as he remained active in the private sector. From 1985 to 1991, he was director of the Harkness Fellowship Program. During this period he also held distinguished visiting professorships at Hamilton College, Mount Holyoke College and Birmingham Southern College, as well as an adjunct professorship at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University. Several generations of college students could thus benefit from his knowledge and experience. He also served as trustee, chairman of the policy council and executive director of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation; president of the Egyptian-American Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the New York-Cairo sister city committee; and as a member of the board of the Harris Foundation.

Throughout his long government and private service, Roy was the model of unflappability, modesty and, indeed, self-effacement. Many a tense negotiation was eased by his infectious chortle, always deployed in timely fashion. Intellectually, Roy combined the ability to listen, to weigh opposing views and to formulate sound policy proposals. His agile mind regularly devised effective compromise solutions for difficult problems. Numerous honors were bestowed upon him, including the National Civil Service Career award (1975), the State Department’s Distinguished Service award (1995), the Wilbur Carr award (1995), the State Department’s Director General’s Cup (1988), and a Commendation for Service to the Nation included in a Sense of the Senate resolution (1979).

Throughout his long and distinguished career, Roy was always admirably assisted by his wife, Betty. Roy and Betty were a close-knit team who effectively complemented each other. They traveled together on most of his special missions and worked closely together at Roy’s assigned posts.

We mourn Roy’s passing, but are richer for having known him. His multiple achievements in Middle East policy are indelible. To Betty and the Atherton family, we send our heartfelt condolences and the assurance that our memory of Roy endures.

Hermann Fr. Eilts is former U.S. ambassador to Egypt.