Raymond A. Hare

Raymond Arthur Hare (April 3, 1901 – February 9, 1994) was a United States diplomat who was Director General of the United States Foreign Service from 1954 to 1956 and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs from 1965 to 1966.

Biography

Early years, 1901–1939 Raymond A. Hare was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia on April 3, 1901 and raised in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. He was educated at Grinnell College, receiving a B.A. in 1924.

In 1944, Hare was assigned to the U.S. Embassy, London, where he was responsible for coordinating British and American policy towards the Middle East. Ambassador Hare presented his credentials to the Saudi government on October 24, 1950. Hare was ambassador just as oil started to flow in Saudi Arabia. He was successful at negotiating an extended-stay agreement in 1952; as part of the deal to allow U.S. troops to remain in Dhahran, the U.S. provided Saudi Arabia with a number of planes that formed the foundation of what would become the Royal Saudi Air Force. Ambassador Hare arrived in Cairo shortly before the breakout of the Suez War, presenting his credentials to the Egyptian government on September 25, 1956. During his initial days in Egypt, Hare oversaw the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Egypt. He also established a relationship with Gamal Abdel Nasser, and met often and at great length with Nasser during the war. Hare opposed the U.S. military intervention in the 1958 Lebanon crisis, arguing that it caused irreparable damage to U.S. reputation in the region (the U.S. had previously had a good reputation). During this time, he was unable to prevent the gutting of the Public Law 480 program he had so ardently supported.

Retirement, 1966–1994 Hare was president of the Middle East Institute from 1966 to 1969. In retirement, he saw his son, Paul Julian Hare (b. 1937), also achieve success as a diplomat, serving as United States Ambassador to Zambia from 1985 to 1988.

He lived in Washington, D.C. until his death of pneumonia on February 9, 1994.