Cyrus R. Vance

Cyrus Roberts Vance (deceased 2002) “American lawyer and public official who was secretary of state from 1977 to 1980 during the administration of President Jimmy Carter.

“Vance received his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1939. Following graduation from the Yale law school in 1942, he enlisted in the navy and served until 1946, after which he joined a Wall Street law firm. “Vance was appointed general counsel for the Department of Defense in 1960. In 1962 he became secretary of the army, and in 1963 President Lyndon B. Johnson named him deputy secretary of defense. Vance was initially a vigorous advocate of U.S. prosecution of the Vietnam War. After he resigned his Pentagon post in mid-1967, however, his views changed, and by 1968 he was urging Johnson to stop the bombing of North Vietnam. In May 1968 Johnson chose Vance as deputy chief delegate to the Vietnam peace talks in Paris. Vance served under Averell Harriman, handling many negotiations himself. In 1969 he returned to private law practice.

“Vance reentered public service when Jimmy Carter selected him to head the State Department. Vance sought to continue the policy of détente with the Soviet Union, and he worked to procure the SALT II arms-control treaty of 1979. He played a crucial role in the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel in 1978. Vance worked vigorously during 1979-80 to secure the release of captive U.S. diplomats in Iran but resigned from the cabinet over opposition to Carter's abortive rescue mission in the spring of 1980. He returned to private law practice.”


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 * Former Trustee, Rockefeller Foundation
 * Founder, Public Agenda Foundation
 * Charter member, American Academy of Diplomacy
 * In 1994 was on the senior advisory board for the International Monetary Fund Assessment Project
 * Co-Chair, Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict
 * Former Director, Center for National Policy
 * Former Commissioner, International Commission on Missing Persons
 * Advisory Board, Andrei Sakharov Foundation