Ralph Earle

Ralph Earle II (September 26, 1928 - January 13, 2020) was an American diplomat and arms control negotiator. He was a key architect of several major international arms control accords. He served as the United States' chief negotiator at the SALT II round of talks on nuclear disarmament from 1978 to 1979, as director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) between 1980 and 1981 and as deputy director at the ACDA from 1994 to 1999.

Early life and education Earle was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, on September 26, 1928. He was the son of the former Governor of Pennsylvania, George H. Earle III and Huberta Potter Earle Sheaffer. He attended Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania and graduated from Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts He graduated with a Bachelors degree in history from Harvard College in 1950

Career Following law school and a clerkship with Federal Judge Bailey Aldrich, he worked for the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and became a partner.

In 1968, he was appointed to be Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs and was a protege of Paul Nitze. Earle served as the Defense Advisor to the US Mission to NATO from 1969 to 1972. He joined the U.S.-Soviet SALT II negotiations as an alternate to chief negotiator Paul Warnke. Soviet diplomat Vladimir Semyonov was initially frustrated to meet often with the second in command negotiator, but their relationship strengthened through a mutual appreciation of classical music and shared experiences of both having teenage daughters. He served as Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) from 1980 to 1981. Earle received the Distinguished Honor Award from the ACDA for his role in the SALT II negotiations. He re-joined ACDA from 1994 to 1999 as its deputy director.

He was a member of the American Law Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. In 2009, Ambassador Earle was awarded Deerfield Academy's Heritage Award —which recognizes "an alumnus/a whose professional and personal achievements represent a special contribution to the betterment of society."

Personal life Earle was married first to Eleanor Forbes Owens Earle and then to Julie von Sternberg Earle. He had five children: Eleanor Earle Mascheroni, Ralph Earle III, Duncan Owens Earle, Amanda Earle Ciccarelli, and Caroline Earle Walsh. and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery on August 25, 2021.