Margaret Joy Tibbetts

Margaret Joy Tibbetts (August 26, 1919 – April 25, 2010) was an American diplomat. A career Foreign Service Officer, she was the United States Ambassador to Norway from 1964 to 1969 under President Lyndon Johnson. She attended Gould Academy, Wheaton College in Massachusetts and her Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College. She was awarded an honorary degree from Bates College in 1962 and Bowdoin College in 1973.

Early life and education Tibbetts was born in Bethel, Maine on August 26, 1919. She was the third child of Dr. Raymond Tibbets, a physician, and Pearl Ashby Tibbets. In the 1930s, Pearl Tibbetts published a novel, Land Under Heaven, based on her family's history in Arooostook County, Maine. Tibbetts reportedly enjoyed spending time outdoors, and was a good student. She attended Gould Academy, a private boarding school in Bethel, where she was valedictorian of her class.

Ambassador to Norway After two years working in the State Department's office of European affairs, in 1959 Tibbetts joined the staff of the International Cooperation Administration and served a two-year stint. Then, in 1961, she was posted at the U.S. embassy in Belgium and labored for three years. After that tenure she was enrolled in the prestigious State Department senior seminar, and it was while she was participating in that seminar that news of her possible appointment as an ambassador became known.

On 28 March 1964 during a press conference at his ranch in Texas, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that "We have named, or planned to name, as Ambassador, Miss Margaret Tibbetts, who is a foreign service officer of the first class." He then added that "she has a Ph.D from Bryn Mawr. She was born in Maine." In her diary the next morning Tibbetts mentioned the president's announcement, and also the speculation that she might be posted to Finland. On 28 April Tibbetts, along with two other women diplomats, met with Johnson in the Oval Office. In her diary she described the meeting as "rather fabulous." On 20 July 1964 Johnson notified Tibbetts that she was being nominated as ambassador to Norway. Her hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations committee took place on 28 July and she was soon approved by the entire Senate. On 12 September 1964, Tibbetts again met briefly with Johnson in the Oval Office before her departure for Norway.

Tibbetts arrived in Oslo by ship and took over as ambassador. One of the highlights of her tenure took place in December 1964 when she hosted Martin Luther King and his entourage, as King was receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. While ambassador to Norway she participated in negotiations regarding military bases and atomic weapons. She also helped with the diplomatic arrangements for the visit to Washington by King Olav V of Norway. She returned to the United States in 1968, and then served briefly as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs.

Later life and death In 1971, Tibbets retired and returned to her home town of Bethel, Maine to take care of her mother. She taught courses at Bowdoin College, and was an active member of the Bethel Historical Society. She also worked to support Gould Academy and the Bethel Public Library. For nearly 40 years she was a well-known figure in Bethel, and could often be seen walking briskly on Paradise Hill. She died in April 2010 at the age of 90.