Joseph Owen Zurhellen Jr. (July 8, 1920 New York City[1] – November 5, 1990) was an American Career Foreign Service Officer who was the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Suriname (1976-1978) when it gained independence in 1975.[2] He had been the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs,[3] Deputy Chief of Mission Israel, Foreign Service Officer, Professor at Manhattanville College; Arms Control Negotiator; and deputy director at the U.N.[4]

He graduated from Columbia University in 1943,[5] and after serving in the Marines, he entered the Foreign Service in 1946.[3][6][7] He taught political science at Manhattanville College after retiring from the Foreign Service in 1978. Zurhellen, a resident of Putnam Valley, New York, died of cancer at Montefiore Hospital in The Bronx.[3]

Early life

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Joseph Owen Zurhellen was born on July 8, 1920, in New York City, NY to Joseph Owen and Dorrial Bernadette (née Levy) Zurhellen.[1]

Marriage

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Zurhellen married Helen Audrey Millar on December 19, 1942.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "J. Owen Zurhellen Jr. Collection". Special Collections and Archives. University of Colorado Boulder Libraries. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Joseph Owen Zurhellen Jr". Office of the Historian. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "J. O. Zurhellen Jr., 70, A State Dept. Official". The New York Times. November 9, 1990. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  4. ^ "HELEN A. ZURHELLEN". The Journal News. March 11, 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  5. ^ Columbia College (Columbia University). Office of Alumni Affairs and Development; Columbia College (Columbia University) (1959). Columbia College today. Columbia University Libraries. New York, N.Y. : Columbia College, Office of Alumni Affairs and Development.
  6. ^ "Son of Consul Wins A Times Scholarship". The New York Times. 1964-04-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  7. ^ "Columbia Daily Spectator 10 October 1940 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by U.S. Ambassador to Suriname
1976-1978
Succeeded by