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{{Short description|American diplomat}}
{{expand|date=March 2008}}
{{Infobox Officeholder
{{Infobox Officeholder
|name=Lucius D. Battle
| name = Lucius Battle
|image= Battle Truman Library.jpg
| image = Lucius Durham Battle.jpg
|imagesize=200px
| imagesize = 200px
|caption=
| caption =
|order=
| order = 8th
| office = Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs
|office=
|term_start=
| term_start = April 5, 1967
| term_end = September 30, 1968<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lucius Durham Battle (1918–2008) |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/battle-lucius-durham |access-date=February 28, 2023 |website=United States Department of State - Office of The Historian}}</ref>
|term_end=
|lieutenant=
| lieutenant =
| predecessor = [[Raymond A. Hare]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Assistant Secretaries of State for Near Eastern Affairs |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/principalofficers/assistant-secretary-for-near-eastern-affairs |access-date=February 28, 2024 |website=United States Department of State - Office of the Historian}}</ref>
|predecessor=
| successor = [[Parker T. Hart]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Assistant Secretaries of State for Near Eastern Affairs |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/principalofficers/assistant-secretary-for-near-eastern-affairs |access-date=February 28, 2024 |website=United States Department of State - Office of the Historian}}</ref>
|successor=
|office2= [[United States Ambassador]]<br>to [[Egypt]]
| office2 = [[United States Ambassador to Egypt]]
|order2=
| order2 =
|term_start2 = [[1964]]
| term_start2 = September 22, 1964
|term_end2 = [[1967]]
| term_end2 = March 5, 1967
| president2 = Lyndon B. Johnson
|predecessor2=
| predecessor2 = [[John S. Badeau]]
|successor2=
|birth_date= [[June 1, 1918]]
| successor2 = [[Richard H. Nolte]]
| birth_name = Lucius Durham Battle
|birth_place= [[Dawson, Georgia|Dawson]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|death_date = {{death date and age|2008|5|13|1918|6|18}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1918|6|1}}
| birth_place = [[Dawson, Georgia|Dawson]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], U.S.
|death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2008|5|13|1918|6|1}}
|religion=
| death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
|profession= Diplomat
| profession = Diplomat
|party=
| party =
|footnotes=
| footnotes =
|spouse= Betty Davis Battle
| spouse = Betty Davis Battle
|website=
| education = [[University of Florida]]
| website =
| president = [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
| office3 = Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
| term_start3 = June 5, 1962
| term_end4 = May 2, 1962<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lucius Durham Battle (1918–2008) |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/battle-lucius-durham |access-date=February 28, 2023 |website=United States Department of State - Office of The Historian}}</ref>
| term_end3 = August 20, 1964<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lucius Durham Battle (1918–2008) |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/battle-lucius-durham |access-date=February 28, 2023 |website=United States Department of State - Office of The Historian}}</ref>
| term_start4 = March 16, 1961
| office4 = Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State
| order1 =
| order4 = 1st
| successor4 = William H. Brubeck<ref>{{Cite web |title=Executive Secretaries |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/principalofficers/executive-secretary |access-date=February 28, 2024 |website=United States Department of State - Office of the Historian}}</ref>
| order3 = 2nd
| successor3 = [[Harry McPherson]]
| predecessor3 = [[Philip H. Coombs]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Assistant Secretaries of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/principalofficers/assistant-secretary-for-educational-cultural-affairs |access-date=February 28, 2024 |website=United States Department of State: Office of The Historian}}</ref>
}}
}}

'''Lucius Durham Battle''' ([[1918]]-[[2008]]), known as Luke Battle, was a career Foreign Service officer who served with distinction in Washington, Europe and the Middle East.
'''Lucius Durham Battle''' (June 1, 1918 &ndash; May 13, 2008) was a career [[Foreign Service officer]] who served with distinction in Washington, Europe and Southwest Asia.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Battle was born on June 1, 1918, in [[Dawson, Georgia]], and his family later moved to [[Bradenton, Florida]] when he 8 years old<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=February 23, 2004 |title=Lucius D. Battle became a known political figure |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2004/02/23/lucius-d-battle-became-a-known-political-figure/28789860007/ |access-date=February 27, 2024 |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune}}</ref> being one of six children in the family with one dying.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Interview with Lucius D. Battle |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/mss/mfdip/2004/2004bat03/2004bat03.pdf |website=Library of Congress}}</ref> He attended [[Manatee High School|Bradenton High School]] being the sophomore class president, Macohi yearbook editor, playing tennis, swim along with being active in drama playing the violin. He received his undergraduate A.B. (1939) and law (1946) degrees from the [[University of Florida]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Battle, Lucius D., 1918- |url=https://discoverlbj.org/item/battlel |access-date=February 28, 2024 |website=DISCOVERLBJ}}</ref>
Battle was born on June 1st, 1918 in [[Dawson, Georgia]] and his family later moved to [[Bradenton, Florida|Bradenton, Florida]]. He received his undergraduate (1939) and law (1946) degrees from the [[University of Florida]], and spent [[World War II]] in the [[U.S. Navy|Navy]] serving in the Pacific theatre.


[[World War II]] would interrupt his education and initially served at the [[United States Department of War|War Department]]'s civilian personnel office for a year.<ref name=":3" /> He spent World War II in the [[U.S. Navy|Navy]]<ref name=":0" /> starting in 1943<ref name=":3" /> serving as an associate administrative analyst from 1942-43<ref name=":0" /> being in the Pacific Theatre serving on the staff of COMSERONSOPAC and [[CINCPAC]]. Lucius said in an interview while serving in World War II he became interested in international affairs and said he became concerned about the possibility of another world war.<ref name=":3" /> Lucius continued to serve in the Navy until being discharged in 1946.<ref name=":1" />
==State Department Career==
After the war, Battle moved to Washington with the goal of joining the foreign service. He had no prior connections and no Ivy league credentials, but with persistence he was finally hired to the Canada desk of the [[United States Department of State]] in 1946, during the administration of [[President Harry S. Truman]. A chance encounter with [[Dean Acheson]] led to his being elevated to the position of Special Assistant to the Secretary of State. He traveled with Acheson, served as his right-hand man, attended meetingsand saw every piece of paper that entered or left the Secretary’s office. Acheson grew quite fond of his “indispensible aide,” once noting with a nod toward Battle, that a successful diplomat needs “an assistant with nerves of steel, a sense of purpose, and a Southern accent.” The two men would remain close friends for the rest of Acheson’s life.


==State Department career==
As Acheson’s tenure was coming to a close, Battle moved overseas to serve as First Secretary in the American Embassy, Copenhagen from 1953 to 1955. Then he moved to Paris for one year at [[NATO]] headquarters in Paris, under Lord Ismay before returning to the States in 1956 to work with the Rockefeller Family as Vice President of [[Colonial Williamsburg]].
After the war, Battle moved to Washington with the goal of joining the foreign service. He had no prior connections and no Ivy league credentials, but with persistence he was finally hired to the Canada desk of the [[United States Department of State]] in 1946, during the administration of President [[Harry S. Truman]]. A chance encounter with [[Dean Acheson]] led to his being elevated to the position of Special Assistant to the Secretary of State. He traveled with Acheson, served as his right-hand man, attended meetings, and saw every piece of paper that entered or left the Secretary's office. Acheson grew quite fond of his "indispensable aide," once noting with a nod toward Battle, that a successful diplomat needs "an assistant with nerves of steel, a sense of purpose, and a Southern accent." The two men would remain close friends for the rest of Acheson's life.<ref name=":3" />
After the election of [[President John F. Kennedy]] in 1960, Battle returned to Washington to rejoin the State Department as Executive Secretary (until May 1962). He next served as Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture (June 5, 1962 to August 20, 1964), helping to coordinate cultural events in Washington and working with Senator [[J. William Fulbright]] on the Fulbright Scholars program.


As Acheson's tenure was coming to a close, Battle moved overseas to serve as First Secretary from 1953 to 1955 at the American Embassy in Copenhagen.<ref name=":1" /> He would be the embassy's Chief of the Political Section along with being a member of the US Education Foundation which oversaw the [[Fulbright Program]] for Denmark starting in 1953.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=azSZHZDRHSMC |title=The Impact of the October Middle East War Hearings Before the Subcommittee on the Near East and South Asia..., 93-1, Oct. 3, 23, 24, and November 29, 1973 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |year=1973 |pages=103 |chapter=APPENDIXES - I. BIOGRAPHIES OF WITNESSES |via=Google Books}}</ref> From 1955 to 1956 he would be the Deputy Executive Secretary of the [[NATO|North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] serving under Secretary General, [[Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay|Lord Ismay]] before he resigned in 1956 from the Foreign Service<ref name=":2" /> to serve as the Vice President of [[Colonial Williamsburg]] which he did until 1964.<ref name=":1" />
In September 1964, [[President Lyndon B. Johnson]] appointed him as U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Republic (Egypt). In Cairo, he faced a number of challenges, including the Thanksgiving Day attack on the U.S. Embassy Library, which was burned to the ground by a group of African students protesting U.S. policies. Battle was an effective and well-regarded by his Egyptian counterparts, despite increasing tensions between Gamal Abdel Nasser and U.S. officials.
On March 5, 1967, Battle left Egypt to return to Washington to take up the position of Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East and North Africa. (He has the rare distinction among Foreign Service officers of having held the position of Assistant Secretary twice.) Within weeks, Israel attacked Egypt and the Six Day War began.


After the election of President [[John F. Kennedy]] in 1960, Battle returned to Washington to rejoin the State Department as its first<ref>{{Cite web |title=Executive Secretaries |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/principalofficers/executive-secretary |access-date=March 24, 2024 |website=United States Department of State: Office of the Historian}}</ref> [[Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State|Executive Secretary]] being appointed on March 16, 1961 serving until May 2, 1962).<ref name=":6" />
In 1968, Battle resigned from the Foreign Service to work as Vice President of Communications Satellite Corporation ([[Comsat]]).


He would also be a member of the United States delegation to the [[Treaty of San Francisco]], to the [[Council of Foreign Ministers|Council on Foreign Ministers]] in 1949, several sessions of the [[United Nations General Assembly]], [[North Atlantic Council]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=United States Department of States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFwrAQAAMAAJ |title=Department of State News Letter |publisher=Bureau of Administration |year=1961 |pages=38 |via=Google Books}}</ref> and chaired the United States delegation for UNESCO during one year.<ref name=":3" />
In 1968 he was offered the post of Ambassador to [[Vietnam]] but turned it down because he could not support the war in Vietnam. In 1977 [[President Jimmy Carter]] offered him the Ambassadorship to Iran; he also turned this post down, thereby avoiding captivity during the Iran hostage crisis.


=== Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture ===
He became president of the [[Middle East Institute]], from 1973 to 1975 before returning to Comsat until 1980. Next he started the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1980, and finished his career as president of the Middle East Institute from 1986 until his retirement in 1990.
After serving as the Executive Secretary, he would be appointed on May 29, 1962 as the [[Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs|United States Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture]] beginning his service on June 5. He would leave his position on August 20, 1964.<ref name=":6" /> One of the first decisions done by Battle would be to carry out a planned reorganization of the [[Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs]] abolishing the director position putting the Assistant Secretary in charge.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CIVNAQAAMAAJ |title=Department of State News Letter |publisher=United States Department of State |year=1962 |edition=15 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=19 |via=Google Books}}</ref> He would help to coordinate cultural events in Washington and worked with Senator [[J. William Fulbright]] on the Fulbright Scholars program.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}


=== Ambassador to Egypt ===
His wife, Betty Davis Battle (1924-2004), was a [[Stanford]]-educated political scientist, attorney, and arts foundation official at the Woodward Foundation, which placed works by American artists in embassies around the world.
Battle would be appointed as the United States Ambassador to Egypt on July 31, 1964 and presented his credentials on September 22.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Lucius Durham Battle (1918–2008) |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/battle-lucius-durham |access-date= |website=United States Department of State Office of the Historian}}</ref> During an interview Battle said that he did not have any interest in serving abroad when he was approached about being an ambassador to Egypt but did end up taking it anyways.<ref name=":3" /> Prior to being appointed he did not have any previous experience in the Middle East but while serving as the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs he did try to secure approval from Congress for projects such as [[Abu Simbel]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glickman |first=Gabriel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XIPEAAAQBAJ |title=US-Egypt Diplomacy Under Johnson: Nasser, Komer, and the Limits of Personal Diplomacy |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2021 |isbn=9780755634040 |pages=79 & 80 |chapter=Starting Over with/in Cairo |access-date=March 24, 2024 |via=Google Books}}</ref>


In Cairo, he faced a number of challenges. One was including an attack on the recently dedicated JFK Library, which was burned to the ground by a group of students protesting U.S. policies in the Congo on Thanksgiving Day in 1964,<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Orkaby |first=Asher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oZTJDgAAQBAJ |title=Beyond the Arab Cold War: The International History of the Yemen Civil War, 1962-68 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2017 |isbn=9780190618469 |pages=125 |chapter=Nasser's Cage |via=Google Books}}</ref> specifically about American support of [[Moïse Tshombe]] who was leading Katangan rebels with the Egyptian police standing by and not intervening with the library being burned down. Battle would ask Nassar for an apology.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Shelby |first=Alexander M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d7EjEAAAQBAJ |title=Lyndon Johnson and the Postwar Order in the Middle East, 1962–1967 |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2021 |isbn=9781793643582 |pages=110 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
===Affiliations===

Later on December 18 that year, a Texas oilman named [[John W. Mecom Sr.|John Mecom]] who was friends with President Johnson and one of his biggest financial backers had his plane shot down which the Egyptians said was by accident. Battle responded to Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] saying that "because first you burn his libraries, then you kill his friends." that the country would not be receiving aid in response.<ref name=":4" /> At the time of the incident Battle was watching a play at Cairo's American University and learned about it learned about it only when he got to his home in Cairo.<ref name=":3" /> As President Nassar was worried food aid may not come as he sent the Minister of Supply, Ramsey Stino to meet with which took place a few hours after he had returned from the site of the wreckage. Battle was angry and distraught over the crash with Stino offering him orange juice followed by coffee to calm him down he refused saying he did not feel he could talk about it but thought the food program would make it.<ref name=":5" /> Battle was effective and well regarded by his Egyptian counterparts, despite increasing tensions between Gamal Abdel Nasser and U.S. officials.

=== Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East and North Africa ===
On March 5, 1967, Battle left Egypt to return to Washington to take up the position of [[Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East and North Africa]]. (He has the rare distinction among Foreign Service officers of having held the position of Assistant Secretary twice.) Within weeks, Israel attacked Egypt and the [[Six-Day War]] began. During the Six-Day War, Israeli aerial and naval forces [[USS Liberty incident|attacked the USS ''Liberty'']] as she was in international waters.<ref> {{Cite web |date=February 10, 2010 |title=Israel attacks USS Liberty |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/israel-attacks-uss-liberty |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=HISTORY |language=en}} </ref> The Israeli government claimed the attack was a case of mistaken identity. Survivors of the attack were ordered to not discuss the attack with anyone, including their families. Battle described the attack as “incomprehensible” and observed that “We failed to let it all come out publicly at the time. We really ignored it for all practical purposes, and we shouldn’t have…Most of us knew that they were guilty of a deliberate attack.”<ref> {{Cite news |last=Scott |first=James M. |date=June 2017 |title=The Spy Ship Left Out in the Cold |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2017/june/spy-ship-left-out-cold |access-date=October 22, 2024 |work=Naval History}} </ref> These comments have lent credibility to the theory that the attack was deliberate.

==Later career==
In 1968, Battle resigned from the Foreign Service to work as Vice President of Communications Satellite Corporation ([[COMSAT]]).<ref name=":2" />

Battle turned down two Ambassadorial posts: to Vietnam in the Johnson administration and to Iran in 1977, thereby avoiding captivity during the Iran hostage crisis.

He became president of the [[Middle East Institute]], from June 1973<ref name=":2" /> to 1975 before returning to Comsat until 1980. Next he started the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1980, and finished his career as president of the Middle East Institute from 1986 until his retirement in 1990.

In 1984, Ambassador Battle was awarded the Foreign Service Cup, an award given annually to a retired Foreign Service officer by Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired.

== Personal life ==
Lucius was known to enjoy reading.<ref name=":3" />

His wife, Betty Davis Battle (1924–2004), was a [[Stanford]]-educated political scientist, attorney, and arts foundation official at the Woodward Foundation, which placed works by American artists in embassies around the world.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

==Affiliations==
Battle served on the board of directors of a number of institutions, including:
Battle served on the board of directors of a number of institutions, including:
* Trustee of the [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts]]
* Trustee of the [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts]]
* Trustee, Washington Gallery of Modern Art
* Trustee, Washington Gallery of Modern Art
* President of the American Foreign Service Association
* President of the American Foreign Service Association
* Vice Chairman of Meridian House International
* Vice Chairman of Meridian House International
* Chairman of [[St. Albans School]]
* Chairman of Governing Board at [[St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.)|St. Albans School]]
* Member of the Chapter of the [[Washington National Cathedral]]
* Member of the Chapter of the [[Washington National Cathedral]]
* President of Bacon House Foundation
* President of Bacon House Foundation
* Trustee of the [[http://www.marshallfoundation.org/ George C. Marshall Foundation]]
* Trustee of the George C. Marshall Foundation
* Director of the Foreign Policy Association and the World Affairs Council
* Director of the Foreign Policy Association and the World Affairs Council
* National Board of the Smithsonian Associates
* National Board of the Smithsonian Associates
* Board of Governors of the Metropolitan Club
* Board of Governors of the Metropolitan Club
* American Academy of Diplomacy
* American Academy of Diplomacy
* First chairman of the [[http://www.sais-jhu.edu/centers/fpi/ Johns Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute]]
* First chairman of the Johns Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute
* Trustee of the [[American University in Cairo]]
* Trustee of the [[American University in Cairo]]
* Chairman of the Visiting Committee for the Center for Middle Eastern Studies of Harvard College
* Chairman of the Visiting Committee for the Center for Middle Eastern Studies of Harvard College
* Member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies of Georgetown University
* Member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies of Georgetown University
* Advisory Committee, American Near East Refugee Aid
* Advisory Committee, [[American Near East Refugee Aid]]


===Writings===
==Writings==
* ''Communications and the Economy: Communications and Peace'', by Lucius D. Battle, 1975
* ''Communications and the Economy: Communications and Peace'', by Lucius D. Battle, 1975
* "Peace: Inshallah", article in ''Foreign Policy'', No. 14, Spring 1974.
* "Peace: Inshallah", article in ''Foreign Policy'', No. 14, Spring 1974.
* ''Reminiscences of Lucius D. Battle'', Oral History. 51 pp., 1974 [http://www.inthefirstperson.com/firp/firp.detail.documents.aspx?documentcode=OHI0016471-11914]
* ''[https://archive.today/20130127065642/http://www.inthefirstperson.com/firp/firp.detail.documents.aspx?documentcode=OHI0016471-11914 Reminiscences of Lucius D. Battle]'', Oral History. 51 pp., 1974


==References==
{{reflist}}


===External links===
==External links==

* Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum: [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/battle.htm Lucius D. Battle papers and oral history]
* Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum: [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/battle.htm Lucius D. Battle papers and oral history]
* John F. Kennedy Presidential Library: [https://web.archive.org/web/20080602034344/http://www.cs.umb.edu/~serl/jfk/oralhist.htm oral history]

* John F. Kennedy Presidential Library: [http://www.cs.umb.edu/~serl/jfk/oralhist.htm oral history]
* Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library: [http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011120232224/http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/oralhistory.hom/com_ohlist.asp oral history]

* Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library: [http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/oralhistory.hom/com_ohlist.asp oral history]

* The Library of Congress: Two interviews in the Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training: [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mfdip.2004bat03 July 10, 1991] and [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mfdip.2004bat02 November 14, 1968]
* The Library of Congress: Two interviews in the Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training: [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mfdip.2004bat03 July 10, 1991] and [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mfdip.2004bat02 November 14, 1968]
* U.S. Department of State: [https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/battle-lucius-durham Lucius D. Battle official biography]

* U.S. Department of State: [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/11393.htm Lucius D. Battle official biography]

* [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/guides/about.series/interviews/ CNN Cold War series]
* [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/guides/about.series/interviews/ CNN Cold War series]
* Columbia University International Negotiations Project: [http://www.alexanderstreet6.com/firp/firp.detail.collections.aspx?collectioncode=OHC0000852 oral history about Cyprus crisis 1968]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

* Columbia University International Negotiations Project: [http://www.alexanderstreet6.com/firp/firp.detail.collections.aspx?collectioncode=OHC0000852 oral history about Cyprus crisis 1968]

* [http://www.ncusar.org/publications/pubs1/5yrlead.html National Council on US Arab Relations]
* [http://www.ncusar.org/publications/pubs1/5yrlead.html National Council on US Arab Relations]
* The First Resort of Kings: American Cultural Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century by Richard T. Arndt, Chapter on Battle's tenure in cultural affairs in '61 and his work to bolster the Peace Corps: [https://books.google.com/books?id=qqaB_Of9kwQC&dq=%22Luke+Battle%22+-poncho+-jedi&pg=PA338]
* University of Virginia archives: [http://webstorage4.mcpa.virginia.edu/lbj/oralhistory/battle_lucius_1968_1114.pdf transcript of interview with Paige Mulholland about the Johnson administration]{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* Cairo Ambassador's Residence photo, website showing the [https://web.archive.org/web/20080922022952/http://www.egy.com/people/00-07-18.shtml home of the American chiefs of mission to Egypt]
* Lucius D. Battle [https://web.archive.org/web/20080313181941/http://www.sais-jhu.edu/studentservices/financial_aid/fellowship_and_scholarship_opportunities.html scholarship] at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
*{{C-SPAN|10843}}
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/us/18battle.html?ref=us Obituary] at [[The New York Times]]


{{s-start}}
* The First Resort of Kings: American Cultural Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century by Richard T. Arndt, Chapter on Battle’s tenure in cultural affairs in ’61 and his work to bolster the Peace Corps: [http://books.google.com/books?id=qqaB_Of9kwQC&pg=PA338&lpg=PA338&dq=%22Luke+Battle%22+-poncho+-jedi&source=web&ots=TKvLBVKenW&sig=IszI2C4vf5yph2zhRdf4zlxiBAk&hl=en]
{{s-gov}}

{{succession box|
* University of Virginia archives: [http://webstorage4.mcpa.virginia.edu/lbj/oralhistory/battle_lucius_1968_1114.pdf transcript of interview with Paige Mulholland about the Johnson administration]
before=[[Philip Hall Coombs]]|

title=[[Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs]]|
* Cairo Ambassador’s Residence photo, website showing the [http://www.egy.com/people/00-07-18.shtml home of the American chiefs of mission to Egypt]
after=[[Harry McPherson]]|
years=June 5, 1962 – August 20, 1964
}}
{{succession box|
before=[[Raymond A. Hare]]|
title=[[Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs]]|
after=[[Parker T. Hart]]|
years=April 5, 1967 – September 30, 1968
}}
{{succession box|title=[[United States Ambassador to Egypt]]|before=[[John S. Badeau]]|after=[[Richard H. Nolte]]|years=September 22, 1964 – March 5, 1967}}
{{s-end}}


{{Authority control}}
* Lucius D. Battle [http://www.sais-jhu.edu/studentservices/financial_aid/fellowship_and_scholarship_opportunities.html scholarship] at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies


{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle, Lucius D.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle, Lucius D.}}
[[Category:Assistant Secretaries of State for the Near East and North Africa]]
[[Category:Assistant Secretaries of State for the Near East and North Africa]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Egypt]]
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[[Category:United States Foreign Service personnel]]
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Latest revision as of 23:07, 22 October 2024

Lucius Battle
8th Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs
In office
April 5, 1967 – September 30, 1968[1]
PresidentLyndon B. Johnson
Preceded byRaymond A. Hare[2]
Succeeded byParker T. Hart[3]
United States Ambassador to Egypt
In office
September 22, 1964 – March 5, 1967
PresidentLyndon B. Johnson
Preceded byJohn S. Badeau
Succeeded byRichard H. Nolte
2nd Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
In office
June 5, 1962 – August 20, 1964[4]
Preceded byPhilip H. Coombs[5]
Succeeded byHarry McPherson
1st Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State
In office
March 16, 1961 – May 2, 1962[6]
Succeeded byWilliam H. Brubeck[7]
Personal details
Born
Lucius Durham Battle

(1918-06-01)June 1, 1918
Dawson, Georgia, U.S.
DiedMay 13, 2008(2008-05-13) (aged 89)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
SpouseBetty Davis Battle
EducationUniversity of Florida
ProfessionDiplomat

Lucius Durham Battle (June 1, 1918 – May 13, 2008) was a career Foreign Service officer who served with distinction in Washington, Europe and Southwest Asia.

Early life

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Battle was born on June 1, 1918, in Dawson, Georgia, and his family later moved to Bradenton, Florida when he 8 years old[8] being one of six children in the family with one dying.[9] He attended Bradenton High School being the sophomore class president, Macohi yearbook editor, playing tennis, swim along with being active in drama playing the violin. He received his undergraduate A.B. (1939) and law (1946) degrees from the University of Florida.[10]

World War II would interrupt his education and initially served at the War Department's civilian personnel office for a year.[9] He spent World War II in the Navy[8] starting in 1943[9] serving as an associate administrative analyst from 1942-43[8] being in the Pacific Theatre serving on the staff of COMSERONSOPAC and CINCPAC. Lucius said in an interview while serving in World War II he became interested in international affairs and said he became concerned about the possibility of another world war.[9] Lucius continued to serve in the Navy until being discharged in 1946.[10]

State Department career

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After the war, Battle moved to Washington with the goal of joining the foreign service. He had no prior connections and no Ivy league credentials, but with persistence he was finally hired to the Canada desk of the United States Department of State in 1946, during the administration of President Harry S. Truman. A chance encounter with Dean Acheson led to his being elevated to the position of Special Assistant to the Secretary of State. He traveled with Acheson, served as his right-hand man, attended meetings, and saw every piece of paper that entered or left the Secretary's office. Acheson grew quite fond of his "indispensable aide," once noting with a nod toward Battle, that a successful diplomat needs "an assistant with nerves of steel, a sense of purpose, and a Southern accent." The two men would remain close friends for the rest of Acheson's life.[9]

As Acheson's tenure was coming to a close, Battle moved overseas to serve as First Secretary from 1953 to 1955 at the American Embassy in Copenhagen.[10] He would be the embassy's Chief of the Political Section along with being a member of the US Education Foundation which oversaw the Fulbright Program for Denmark starting in 1953.[11] From 1955 to 1956 he would be the Deputy Executive Secretary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization serving under Secretary General, Lord Ismay before he resigned in 1956 from the Foreign Service[11] to serve as the Vice President of Colonial Williamsburg which he did until 1964.[10]

After the election of President John F. Kennedy in 1960, Battle returned to Washington to rejoin the State Department as its first[12] Executive Secretary being appointed on March 16, 1961 serving until May 2, 1962).[13]

He would also be a member of the United States delegation to the Treaty of San Francisco, to the Council on Foreign Ministers in 1949, several sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, North Atlantic Council[14] and chaired the United States delegation for UNESCO during one year.[9]

Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture

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After serving as the Executive Secretary, he would be appointed on May 29, 1962 as the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture beginning his service on June 5. He would leave his position on August 20, 1964.[13] One of the first decisions done by Battle would be to carry out a planned reorganization of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs abolishing the director position putting the Assistant Secretary in charge.[15] He would help to coordinate cultural events in Washington and worked with Senator J. William Fulbright on the Fulbright Scholars program.[citation needed]

Ambassador to Egypt

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Battle would be appointed as the United States Ambassador to Egypt on July 31, 1964 and presented his credentials on September 22.[13] During an interview Battle said that he did not have any interest in serving abroad when he was approached about being an ambassador to Egypt but did end up taking it anyways.[9] Prior to being appointed he did not have any previous experience in the Middle East but while serving as the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs he did try to secure approval from Congress for projects such as Abu Simbel.[16]

In Cairo, he faced a number of challenges. One was including an attack on the recently dedicated JFK Library, which was burned to the ground by a group of students protesting U.S. policies in the Congo on Thanksgiving Day in 1964,[17] specifically about American support of Moïse Tshombe who was leading Katangan rebels with the Egyptian police standing by and not intervening with the library being burned down. Battle would ask Nassar for an apology.[18]

Later on December 18 that year, a Texas oilman named John Mecom who was friends with President Johnson and one of his biggest financial backers had his plane shot down which the Egyptians said was by accident. Battle responded to Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser saying that "because first you burn his libraries, then you kill his friends." that the country would not be receiving aid in response.[17] At the time of the incident Battle was watching a play at Cairo's American University and learned about it learned about it only when he got to his home in Cairo.[9] As President Nassar was worried food aid may not come as he sent the Minister of Supply, Ramsey Stino to meet with which took place a few hours after he had returned from the site of the wreckage. Battle was angry and distraught over the crash with Stino offering him orange juice followed by coffee to calm him down he refused saying he did not feel he could talk about it but thought the food program would make it.[18] Battle was effective and well regarded by his Egyptian counterparts, despite increasing tensions between Gamal Abdel Nasser and U.S. officials.

Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East and North Africa

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On March 5, 1967, Battle left Egypt to return to Washington to take up the position of Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East and North Africa. (He has the rare distinction among Foreign Service officers of having held the position of Assistant Secretary twice.) Within weeks, Israel attacked Egypt and the Six-Day War began. During the Six-Day War, Israeli aerial and naval forces attacked the USS Liberty as she was in international waters.[19] The Israeli government claimed the attack was a case of mistaken identity. Survivors of the attack were ordered to not discuss the attack with anyone, including their families. Battle described the attack as “incomprehensible” and observed that “We failed to let it all come out publicly at the time. We really ignored it for all practical purposes, and we shouldn’t have…Most of us knew that they were guilty of a deliberate attack.”[20] These comments have lent credibility to the theory that the attack was deliberate.

Later career

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In 1968, Battle resigned from the Foreign Service to work as Vice President of Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT).[11]

Battle turned down two Ambassadorial posts: to Vietnam in the Johnson administration and to Iran in 1977, thereby avoiding captivity during the Iran hostage crisis.

He became president of the Middle East Institute, from June 1973[11] to 1975 before returning to Comsat until 1980. Next he started the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1980, and finished his career as president of the Middle East Institute from 1986 until his retirement in 1990.

In 1984, Ambassador Battle was awarded the Foreign Service Cup, an award given annually to a retired Foreign Service officer by Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired.

Personal life

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Lucius was known to enjoy reading.[9]

His wife, Betty Davis Battle (1924–2004), was a Stanford-educated political scientist, attorney, and arts foundation official at the Woodward Foundation, which placed works by American artists in embassies around the world.[citation needed]

Affiliations

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Battle served on the board of directors of a number of institutions, including:

  • Trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
  • Trustee, Washington Gallery of Modern Art
  • President of the American Foreign Service Association
  • Vice Chairman of Meridian House International
  • Chairman of Governing Board at St. Albans School
  • Member of the Chapter of the Washington National Cathedral
  • President of Bacon House Foundation
  • Trustee of the George C. Marshall Foundation
  • Director of the Foreign Policy Association and the World Affairs Council
  • National Board of the Smithsonian Associates
  • Board of Governors of the Metropolitan Club
  • American Academy of Diplomacy
  • First chairman of the Johns Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute
  • Trustee of the American University in Cairo
  • Chairman of the Visiting Committee for the Center for Middle Eastern Studies of Harvard College
  • Member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies of Georgetown University
  • Advisory Committee, American Near East Refugee Aid

Writings

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  • Communications and the Economy: Communications and Peace, by Lucius D. Battle, 1975
  • "Peace: Inshallah", article in Foreign Policy, No. 14, Spring 1974.
  • Reminiscences of Lucius D. Battle, Oral History. 51 pp., 1974

References

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  1. ^ "Lucius Durham Battle (1918–2008)". United States Department of State - Office of The Historian. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  2. ^ "Assistant Secretaries of State for Near Eastern Affairs". United States Department of State - Office of the Historian. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "Assistant Secretaries of State for Near Eastern Affairs". United States Department of State - Office of the Historian. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  4. ^ "Lucius Durham Battle (1918–2008)". United States Department of State - Office of The Historian. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  5. ^ "Assistant Secretaries of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs". United States Department of State: Office of The Historian. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  6. ^ "Lucius Durham Battle (1918–2008)". United States Department of State - Office of The Historian. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  7. ^ "Executive Secretaries". United States Department of State - Office of the Historian. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "Lucius D. Battle became a known political figure". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. February 23, 2004. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Interview with Lucius D. Battle" (PDF). Library of Congress.
  10. ^ a b c d "Battle, Lucius D., 1918-". DISCOVERLBJ. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d "APPENDIXES - I. BIOGRAPHIES OF WITNESSES". The Impact of the October Middle East War Hearings Before the Subcommittee on the Near East and South Asia..., 93-1, Oct. 3, 23, 24, and November 29, 1973. United States Government Printing Office. 1973. p. 103 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ "Executive Secretaries". United States Department of State: Office of the Historian. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "Lucius Durham Battle (1918–2008)". United States Department of State Office of the Historian.
  14. ^ United States Department of States (1961). Department of State News Letter. Bureau of Administration. p. 38 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ Department of State News Letter (15 ed.). Washington, D.C.: United States Department of State. 1962. p. 19 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ Glickman, Gabriel (2021). "Starting Over with/in Cairo". US-Egypt Diplomacy Under Johnson: Nasser, Komer, and the Limits of Personal Diplomacy. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 79 & 80. ISBN 9780755634040. Retrieved March 24, 2024 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ a b Orkaby, Asher (2017). "Nasser's Cage". Beyond the Arab Cold War: The International History of the Yemen Civil War, 1962-68. Oxford University Press. p. 125. ISBN 9780190618469 – via Google Books.
  18. ^ a b Shelby, Alexander M. (2021). Lyndon Johnson and the Postwar Order in the Middle East, 1962–1967. Lexington Books. p. 110. ISBN 9781793643582 – via Google Books.
  19. ^ "Israel attacks USS Liberty". HISTORY. February 10, 2010. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  20. ^ Scott, James M. (June 2017). "The Spy Ship Left Out in the Cold". Naval History. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
[edit]
Government offices
Preceded by Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
June 5, 1962 – August 20, 1964 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs
April 5, 1967 – September 30, 1968 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Egypt
September 22, 1964 – March 5, 1967 		Succeeded by
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