Robert G. Neumann

Robert Gerhard Neumann (January 2, 1916 – June 18, 1999) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia.

Biography

Born in

In 1966 he was named by President Lyndon B. Johnson as ambassador to Afghanistan. At the time, the position was not necessarily a permanent one, and Neumann was granted a leave of absence from UCLA. However, by 1970, Neumann felt compelled to remain at work at the Embassy, and resigned his professorship at the school.

After serving in Afghanistan, Neumann became the ambassador to Morocco in 1973. Upon his return to Washington, D.C. in 1976, he began teaching again at Georgetown University, while taking the director's helm of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.

In 1981, Neumann was once again called into the diplomatic community, this time as Ronald Reagan's ambassador to Saudi Arabia. However, he abruptly resigned that same year due to a personal conflict with then-Secretary of State Alexander Haig. He remained a fellow at Georgetown University until his retirement in the early 1990s.

Personal life and death

Neumann died in Bethesda, Maryland on June 18, 1999, at the age of 83.

His son, Ronald E. Neumann, also became an American ambassador and a deputy assistant secretary of state.

References

External links

• Selections from Neumann's 1957 Los Angeles Times series on the Middle East