Josiah H. Beeman V

Josiah Horton "Joe" Beeman V (October 8, 1935 – June 14, 2006) was an American political figure and ambassador. A longtime liberal and aide to Phillip Burton and Jerry Brown, Beeman's career included periods in trade unions, the church, government, and diplomacy.

Early life and education Beeman was born in San Francisco. and earned a master's degree in government from San Francisco State University in 1959.

Beeman remained Burton's advisor for four years, until 1967, when Mayor John Shelley appointed him to serve out the unexpired term of George Moscone (who had been elected to the state Senate) on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

During Beeman's five-year tenure, Clinton made the first international trip by a president to New Zealand in 32 years. He was, with Sir Edmund Hillary, the principal speaker at the 40th anniversary celebration of the establishment of New Zealand's Scott Base in Antarctica. They had two children, Olivia Louise Beeman and Josiah Horton Beeman VI. His daughter Olivia was born in New Zealand, the first baby to be born to a U.S. ambassador there; New Zealand Prime Minister Jenny Shipley sent the family a Buzzy Bee, an iconic New Zealand toy, after the birth.

Beeman was survived by his wife, his children, and a sister, Anne Lack of Pleasanton, California.

Beeman served as a Presbyterian lay minister from 1956 until his death. Beeman and his family were summer residents of Forest Place in Culver, Indiana.

Beeman died of renal failure at age 70 on June 14, 2006, at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington.