Michael Armacost

Michael Hayden Armacost (born April 15, 1937)^[1] is a fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute. He previously was the president of the Brookings Institution from 1995-2002.

Diplomatic career

In January 1977 Armacost was selected as a member of the National Security Council to handle East Asian and Chinese affairs under the Carter administration until July 1978, when he was replaced by Nicholas Platt. Years later he was appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 1989–1993, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 1984–1989, and Ambassador to the Philippines from 1982–1984, during a critical period of political upheaval during the Ferdinand Marcos presidency.^[2]

On January 20, 1989, he was the designated survivor at President Bush's inauguration.^[3] He also served as Acting Secretary of State from January 20-January 25, 1989. In the interval between 1995 and 2002, Armacost served as president of Washington D.C's Brookings Institution, the nation's oldest think tank and a leader in research on politics, government, international affairs, economics, and public policy.

He has received the President's Distinguished Service Award, the Defense Department's Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and the Secretary of State's Distinguished Services Award.

Armacost is the author of three books, the most recent of which, Friends or Rivals? was published in 1996 and draws on his tenure as ambassador. He also co-edited, with Daniel Okimoto, The Future of America's Alliances in Northeast Asia, published in 2004 by Shorenstein APARC. Armacost has served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards, including TRW, AFLAC, Applied Materials, USEC, Inc., Cargill, Inc, Carleton College, and The Asia Foundation.

Armacost received a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Carleton College in 1958, an honorary degree [2] in 1989, where he was chairman of the board of trustees from 2004 to 2008, and earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Honors

• Order of the Rising Sun, Grand Cordon, 2007 (Japan).^[4]

External links

• The Mismatch between Northeast Asian Change and American Distractions, by Michael H. Armacost, NBR Analysis, January 2007

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ "Inside the Manila Embassy". Kai Bird. http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF_Stories/Bird/Bird02/Bird.html. Retrieved 12 Nov 2009. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Who Reigns in Succession Crisis? Confusion, Perhaps: Some Find Flaws in Laws on Who Assumes Power if Multiple Members of Government Become Incapacitated; President Armacost?, Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2008, p. A14.
4. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA): 2007 Autumn Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals, p. 1.

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Mike Mansfield	U.S. Ambassador to Japan 1989–1993	Succeeded by Walter Mondale
Preceded by Richard W. Murphy	U.S. Ambassador to Philippines 1982–1984	Succeeded by Stephen W. Bosworth
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by Bruce MacLaury	President of the Brookings Institution 1995 – 2002	Succeeded by Strobe Talbott

Persondata
Name	Armacost, Michael H
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