Winston Lord
American diplomat
Winston Lord (born August 14, 1937) is a retired American diplomat. As Special Assistant to the National Security Advisor and then as Director of Policy Planning at the United States Department of State, Lord was a close adviser to Henry Kissinger and was instrumental in bringing about the renormalization of U.S.-China relations in the 1970s.
He later served as President of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1977 to 1985, United States Ambassador to China from 1985 to 1989, and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1993 to 1997.
Early life and education
Lord was born in New York City on August 14, 1937, as the youngest of three sons born to Oswald Bates Lord, a textile executive for Galey and Lord, which later became a division of Burlington Industries, and Mary Pillsbury Lord, a granddaughter of the Pillsbury Company co-founder Charles Alfred Pillsbury.
His oldest brother, Charles Pillsbury Lord, was a graduate of Yale University, served in the U.S. Air Force, and had a career in business and education. His older brother, Richard, died three months after he was born in 1935 with severe deformities as a result of Mary Lord's exposure to icy waters while pregnant during the sinking of SS Mohawk on January 24th, 1935.
Winston Lord's mother, Mary Pillsbury Lord, was a civic leader, activist, and political ally of Dwight D. Eisenhower, having met him while visiting Europe as the chair of Civilian Advisory Committee of the Women's Army Corps. She later worked as a campaign leader for Eisenhower's bid for presidency in 1952, organizing women's votes for Eisenhower. After Eisenhower's victory in 1953, he named Lord as the United States representative to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, succeeding Eleanor Roosevelt. Winston Lord later credited his mother's career as one of the factors that steered him towards a career in public service and international affairs.
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