Lawrence Pezzulo

Lawrence Anthony Pezzullo (occasionally alternately spelled as Pezzulo ) (May 3, 1926 – July 26, 2017) was an American diplomat and Foreign Service officer. He served as the United States Ambassador to Nicaragua (1979–1981) and to Uruguay (1977–1979).

Early life and education Pezzullo was born in New York City, and attended high school in Levittown, New York, and Columbia College, from which he graduated in 1951 on a G.I. Bill as a history major.

He served for two years before being appointed as the United States Ambassador to Nicaragua by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. During his tenure as ambassador, Pezzullo negotiated the abdication of Anastasio Somoza DeBayle and paved way for Sandinista rule in the country.

In 1983, he was appointed as the first layman director of the international Catholic Relief Services and helped relocate the headquarters of the organization from New York City to Baltimore. Pezzulo died on July 26, 2017, at the age of 91. He was survived by his wife, three children, and seven grandchildren.