Margaret Joy Tibbetts

Margaret Joy Tibbetts (August 26, 1919 – April 25, 2010) was an American diplomat. A career

Tibbetts was born in Bethel, Maine on August 26, 1919.^[4][5] She was the third child of Dr. Raymond Tibbets, a physician, and Pearl Ashby Tibbets. In the 1930s, Pearl Tibbetts published a novel, Land Under Heaven, based on her family's history in Arooostook County, Maine. Tibbetts reportedly enjoyed spending time outdoors, and was a good student. She attended Gould Academy, a private boarding school in Bethel, where she was valedictorian of her class.^[5]

After graduating from high school in 1937, Tibbetts attended

Tibbets then enrolled in a PhD program at Bryn Mawr College, where she specialized in British political history. She graduated from Bryn Mawr in 1944, having earned both a master's degree and a doctorate.^[5]

Career

Office of Strategic Services

Upon earning her doctorate in 1944, Tibbetts initially planned to become a history professor, but was recruited to work in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), an American intelligence agency, by an OSS historian who had heard about Tibbetts from faculty members at Bryn Mawr. The death of her older brother in World War II may have contributed to her desire to join the war effort.^[4][5] Tibbet worked in the research and development section of the OSS, specializing in English history and politics. During her time at the OSS, Tibbetts conducted research for Walt Rostow and Ralph Bunche.^[5]

After the end of the war, Tibbetts again considered becoming a professor. She was offered a teaching position at Smith College, but instead accepted a position at the State Department in the Office of British Commonwealth Affairs. In this position, she was primarily involved in briefing and debriefing employees at the U.S. consulates in Canda.^[5]

Diplomacy in the United Kingdom

After the end of the war, Tibbetts again considered becoming a professor. She was offered a teaching position at Smith College, but instead accepted a position at the State Department in the Office of British Commonwealth Affairs. In this position, she was primarily involved in briefing and debriefing employees at the U.S. consulates in Canda. In 1948, she attended the United Nations General Assembly in Paris.^[5]

Tibbetts was sworn into the Foreign Service in 1949, and her first assignment was in the Political Affairs section of the

After two years working in the State Department's office of European affairs, in 1959 Tibbetts joined the staff of the International Cooperation Administration and served a two-year stint. Then, in 1961, she was posted at the U.S. embassy in Belgium and labored for three years. After that tenure she was enrolled in the prestigious State Department senior seminar, and it was while she was participating in that seminar that news of her possible appointment as an ambassador became known.

On 28 March 1964 during a press conference at his ranch in Texas, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that "We have named, or planned to name, as Ambassador, Miss Margaret Tibbetts, who is a foreign service officer of the first class." He then added that "she has a Ph.D from Bryn Mawr. She was born in Maine." In her diary the next morning Tibbetts mentioned the president's announcement, and also the speculation that she might be posted to Finland. On 28 April Tibbetts, along with two other women diplomats, met with Johnson in the Oval Office. In her diary she described the meeting as "rather fabulous." On 20 July 1964 Johnson notified Tibbetts that she was being nominated as ambassador to Norway. Her hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations committee took place on 28 July and she was soon approved by the entire Senate. On 12 September 1964, Tibbetts again met briefly with Johnson in the Oval Office before her departure for Norway.^[7][8]

Tibbetts arrived in Oslo by ship and took over as ambassador. One of the highlights of her tenure took place in December 1964 when she hosted

Later life and death

In 1971, Tibbets retired and returned to her home town of Bethel, Maine to take care of her mother. She taught courses at Bowdoin College, and was an active member of the Bethel Historical Society. She also worked to support Gould Academy and the Bethel Public Library. For nearly 40 years she was a well-known figure in Bethel, and could often be seen walking briskly on Paradise Hill. She died in April 2010 at the age of 90.

References