Richard Llewellyn Williams
| Richard Llewellyn Williams | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 1st United States Ambassador to Mongolia | |
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In office 1988–1990 |
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| Succeeded by | Joseph Edward Lake |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 28, 1929 Chicago |
| Alma mater |
University of Chicago Purdue University Harvard University |
Richard Llewellyn Williams, (born December 28, 1929) was a career member of the Senior Foreign Service who, over three decades as a career U.S. diplomat, opened the first American consulate in mainland China since the 1940s (in Guangzhou, 1979), served as the first U.S. Ambassador to the Mongolian People's Republic from 1988 to 1990 (Diplomatic relations were established with the Mongolian People's Republic in January 1987) and then was named Consul General in Hong Kong from 1990 to 1993. Williams was also director of Chinese affairs at the U.S. State Department during the Tiananmen crisis.
Richard L. Williams was born in Chicago, IL in 1929. As a child on the radio program Quiz Kids, he was "regarded by many as the best all around kid the Quiz Kids ever turned up," with particular emphasis on math and geography questions. From 1940 to 1945 in 38 cities across the United States, he and three others performed at bond rallies raising $120 million in support of the war effort; the group was featured on prominent radio shows of the day such as Jack Benny and Fred Allen, and was received by luminaries from Eleanor Roosevelt in the White House to Walt Disney in his studio.
Williams served in the United States Army, 1953 - 1955. He joined the Foreign Service in 1956. From 1965 to 1967 he was detailed to the White House correspondence staff. From 1968 to 1972 he was a political officer at the Consulate General of the United States, Hong Kong. Between 1972 and 1975 he served as an international relations officer for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He was a country officer for Fiji and Papua New Guinea at the Department of State from 1975 to 1977; and then a student at the National War College from 1977 to 1978. In addition he was Deputy Director of the Office of Micronesian Status Negotiations (1978–1979), Consul General in Guangzhou (Canton) (1979–1981) (recounted in his 2005 memoir At the Dawn of the New China ), and Deputy Consul General in Hong Kong (1981–1985).
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