Richard W. Murphy

Richard William Murphy (July 29, 1929 – November 22, 2024) was an American diplomat and career member of the foreign service. He served as the 14th Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs from 1983 to 1989 during the Ronald Reagan administration.

Early life Richard William Murphy was born on July 29, 1929, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Murphy is often credited with brokering the Taif Agreement in 1990, which led to the end of the 15-year Lebanon war. Starting in the 1993, and until 2004, he served as senior fellow for the Middle East Council for Foreign Relations, and as chairman of the Foreign Student Service Council, the Middle East Institute, and Chatham House Foundation.

He served on the board of directors of UNRWA USA, a Washington–DC based 501c3 nonprofit which aims to educate the general American public about the situation of Palestine refugees and generate support for UNRWA's work.

He was a two-time recipient of the State Department's Superior Honor Award, and a three-time recipient of the President's Distinguished Service Award.

From 2003 to 2005 he was a Director of Middle East International, a London based bi-monthly magazine providing news and analysis of events in the Middle East.

Personal life Murphy married to Anne Cook in 1955.