H. Allen Holmes

Henry Allen Holmes (born January 11, 1933) was the United States Ambassador to Portugal from 1982 to 1985 and a career diplomat.

Biography

Born in Bucharest, Romania to American parents, Holmes earned his A.B. in 1954 at Princeton University, where he was a classmate of Donald Rumsfeld. [Scarborough, Rowan. "Rumsfeld's War: The Untold Story of America's Anti-Terrorist Commander." Regnery Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0895260697 p. vi.] Holmes then joined the US Marine Corps, leaving as an infantry captain in 1957 to study at the University of Paris. He graduated with a certificate in 1958 and was hired as an intelligence research analyst for the US Department of State that same year. Holmes began his diplomatic career by joining the Foreign Service in 1959; his first posting was as a consular and political officer in Yaoundé, Cameroon. He continued to advance through various State Department positions for the next two decades, including posts in Rome and Paris, until his appointment as Ambassador to Portugal in 1982. From 1985 to 1989 Holmes served as US Assistant Secretary of State for Politico-Military Affairs. In 1989 he was appointed Ambassador at Large for Burdensharing in which he ensured balanced security responsibility among NATO members, Japan, and other US allies. Following this he was nominated by President Clinton to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. [ [http://www.clintonpresidentialcenter.org/legacy/083193-president-names-several-to-posts.htm Clinton Presidential Center] ] During this time his office generated a plan for the Department of Defense to launch new national counterterrorism strategy to respond to "the gauntlet the international terrorists have thrown at our feet," but as mentioned in the 9/11 report, the paper never went beyond the Office of the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. ["The 9/11 Commission Report." W. W. Norton & Company, 2004. ISBN 0393326713 p. 121.] He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service [ [http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/hah/ Georgetown profile] ] and a member of Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change. [ [http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2004/06/16_diplomats-military-commanders.htm Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change Official Statement] ]

H. Allen Holmes is married and has two children.

ee also

References

* [http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1985/121085b.htm Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Nomination & Appointments]
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/062/000119702/ NNDB Profile]

External links

* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1079/is_v86/ai_4517361 U.S. policy on arms control] , 1986 Address to Council on Foreign Relations
* [http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=736 Civil Affairs: Reflections of the Future] , 1997 address to Worldwide Civil Affairs Conference
* [http://www.specialoperations.com/Literature/Articles/Post_Cold_War.htm Military Operations in the Post-Cold War Era] , 1997 address to Intelligence in Partnership Conference