Lucius D. Battle

Lucius Durham Battle (born 1918) was born in Dawson, Georgia. His family moved soon after to Florida, settling in Bradenton. In 1939 he graduated from the University of Florida, and spent World War II in the Navy.

Some of the positions he held:

Special Assistant to the Secretary of State (1949 to 1953)
Executive Secretary, U.S. State Department ( to May 1962)
Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture (June 5, 1962 to Aug. 20, 1964)
U.S. Ambassador to Egypt (September 22, 1964 to March 5, 1967)
United States Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East and North Africa (1967-1968)
President of Middle Eastern Institute, 1973-1975
In 1977 President Carter offered him the Ambassadorship to Iran; he turned it down, thereby avoiding captivity during the Iran hostage crisis.
He served on the board of directors of a number of institutions, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

His wife was Betty and children were Thomas Durham Battle

Writings

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 [1]
His papers are housed at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum