Nicholas Platt

Nicholas Platt, "the fifth president of the Asia Society, has spent most of his life working on relations between the US and Asia. He assumed the presidency of Asia Society in 1992 after a 34-year career as an American diplomat in Asia which culminated in service as US Ambassador to the Philippines (1987-1991) and Pakistan (1991-1992).

"Ambassador Platt will be retiring this summer after twelve years as President of the Asia Society and will be succeeded by Vishakha N. Desai." 2007 Interview

"Mr. Platt entered the Foreign Service of the United States in 1959. Prior to that, he was a research assistant at the Washington Center for Foreign Policy Research. From 1959 to 1961, he served as vice consul in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He studied the Chinese language, 1962 - 1963, at the Foreign Service Institute and in Taichung, Taiwan. In 1964 he was assigned as political officer at the American consulate general in Hong Kong until 1968, when he became China desk officer in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. From 1969 to 1971, Mr. Platt was chief of the Asian Communist Areas Division of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. In 1971 - 1973, he served as Deputy Director, and then Director, of the Secretariat Staff in the Department of State. Mr. Platt was assigned as chief of the political section, U.S. Liaison Office, Peking, China, 1973 - 1974, and then as deputy chief of the political section at the Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, 1974 - 1977. He returned to Washington to serve as Director for Japanese Affairs in 1977 and then served as a staff member on the National Security Council at the White House, 1978 - 1980. From 1980 to 1981, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, International Security Affairs, Department of Defense, and then returned to the Department of State as Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Organization Affairs, 1981 - 1982. Mr. Platt was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Zambia in 1982, where he served until 1985, when he was named Special Assistant to the Secretary of State and Executive Secretary of the Department of State.

"Mr. Platt graduated from Harvard College (B.A., 1957) and Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (M.A., 1959). He is articulate in Chinese, German, French, and Japanese. Mr. Platt was born March 10, 1936, in New York, NY. He resides in Arlington, VA, with his wife and three sons." also see

"After being educated at Harvard College and the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Ambassador Platt began his thirty-four year Foreign Service career with assignments in Hong Kong (1964-68), Beijing (1973-74) and Tokyo (1974-77), and culminated with service as the US Ambassador to the Philippines (1987-1991) and Pakistan (1991-92). In 1972 he accompanied President Nixon on the historic trip to Beijing that signaled the resumption of relations between the United States and China. In addition to these foreign assignments, Platt also served in Washington as a China analyst, Director of Japanese Affairs, National Security Council Staff Member for Asian Affairs, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (responsible for politico-military relations with Japan, Korea, China and Southeast Asia), Acting Assistant Secretary of State for UN Affairs (1981-82), and Executive Secretary of the Department of State (1985-87).

"In 1992, Platt assumed the presidency of the Asia Society, a position he held until this past summer. He is a member of the New York Council on Foreign Relations and a director of Fiduciary Trust Company International." 

"After a 34 year Foreign Service career, Ambassador Nicholas Platt served for twelve years at the helm of the Asia Society before becoming President Emeritus on July 1, 2004. Trained in Chinese (Mandarin) at the State Department Language School 1962-63, he began his career in Asia as a China Analyst at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong from 1964-68. In 1972 he accompanied President Nixon on the historic trip to Beijing that signaled the resumption of relations between the United States and China. He was one of the first members of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing when the United States established a mission there in 1973. He served in Canada and Japan, and as U.S. Ambassador to Zambia (1982-1984), the Philippines (1987-91) and Pakistan (1991-92). Educated at Harvard College and Johns Hopkins SAIS, he is a member of the New York Council on Foreign Relations, a director of Fiduciary Trust Company International, a board member of Scenic Hudson and of the Friends of China Heritage Fund Limited, as well as Chair of the US-China Education Trust Advisory Board. He is also a member of the World Fuel Council, Fuelcor LLC. Ambassador Platt and his wife Sheila have three grown sons: Adam, a writer; Oliver, an actor and Nicholas Jr., a financial advisor; and eight grandchildren."


 * Member, National Coalition on Asia and International Education in the Schools
 * Director, Scenic Hudson
 * Director, American Pakistan Foundation
 * International Advisory Council, Asia House