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Lawrence Eagleburger

American statesman and diplomat (1930-2011)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ210308 ↗
Source-derived summary

Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger (August 1, 1930 – June 4, 2011) was an American statesman and career diplomat who served briefly as the secretary of state under President George H. W. Bush from December 1992 to January 1993, one of the shortest terms in modern history. Previously, he had served in lesser capacities under Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, and as deputy secretary of state to James Baker under George H. W. Bush. Eagleburger is the only career Foreign Service officer to have served as secretary of state. He was also deputy assistant secretary of defense (for international security affairs) from January to May 1973. As a career member of the United States Senior Foreign Service, he attained the rank of career ambassador on April 12, 1984.

Early life and education

Eagleburger was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Helen Eagleburger (née Van Ornum), an elementary school teacher, and Leon Sidney Eagleburger, a medical doctor. He graduated from Jacobs High School in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, then attended Stevens Point State College (now the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point), before earning his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Wisconsin. During his time at Wisconsin, he joined Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.

He was also a member of the Board of Visitors at the College of William & Mary from 1996 to 2000 and from 2002 to 2006.

Eagleburger also served in the United States Army (1952–1954), attaining the rank of first lieutenant.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Lawrence Eagleburger” as american statesman and diplomat (1930-2011). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Lawrence, Eagleburger and American.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1930, 2011, 1992, 1993—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1930-08-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Lawrence, Eagleburger and American providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Lawrence Eagleburger”, the useful work is to connect “american statesman and diplomat (1930-2011)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q210308. VIAF identifies the subject as 57952421. The Library of Congress control number is n82022886. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1930, 2011, 1992 and 1993.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Lawrence Eagleburger”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Lawrence Eagleburger primary sources, Lawrence Eagleburger archive and Lawrence research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Lawrence Eagleburger” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.