Admiral Chester W Nimitz
(February 24, 1885- February 20, 1966)
A five star admiral, Chester William Nimitz retired as US’s chief of naval operations (CNO) in 1947. He was a German Texan. When India took the Kashmir case to the UN, a resolution paved way for the plebiscite to determine whether the people wish to be part of India or Pakistan.
In March 1949, under UN Security Council Resolution 80 the governments of India and Pakistan agreed that Admiral Nimitz should administer the plebiscite. He visited Kashmir and met the parties involved but could not succeed in holding a plebiscite. He was later recalled by the UN.
Warren Robinson Austin
(Nov 12, 1877 – Dec 25, 1962)
An American politician and statesman, he served as a senator from Vermont. He resigned on August 2, 1946 as Senator and became US ambassador to UN, a position he held until January 25, 1953. He was the first American official with whom Sheikh Abdullah shared the possibility of a separate Kashmir state. Then, Sheikh was part of the Indian delegation to UN in 1947. Austin discouraged him.
Loy Wesley Henderson
(June 28, 1892 – March 24, 1986)
A US Foreign Service Officer and diplomat from Arkansas, Henderson was posted as US ambassador in Delhi soon after the partition. Prior to that he was the first US diplomat who started the US mission is Moscow. He retired as a Director rank officer and retired in 1957. However, he was the first US diplomat who visited Kashmir and was a frequent visitor to Sheikh Abdullah.
Adlai Ewing Stevenson
(February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965)
An intelligent Democrat who has been the governor of Illinois, Stevenson lost two elections for US presidency against Republican Dwight D Eisenhower (1952 and 1956). President Kennedy appointed Stevenson as the Ambassador to the United Nations, where he served from 1961 to 1965. He was grandson of a vice president. Flanked by Henderson, Adlai had a long meeting with Sheikh Abdullah in Srinagar on May 3, 1953. This led to the speculations that Shiekh was hatching a conspiracy against India to set up an independent state. It paved way for Sheikh’s unceremonious dismissal and humiliating arrest.
John Kenneth Galbraith
(October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006)
A Canadian-American economist, Galbraith was author of more than 50 books on economics. After becoming a US citizen in 1937, Galbraith joined state department in 1946 for some time. He was appointed India’s ambassador in 1961 by Kennedy administration and for the two years he was advising Prime Minister Nehru on economic affairs. Apart from suggesting that Kashmiris should get a berth in the negotiation process it was Galbraith who floated the idea of soft border between J&K and Pa kistan administered Kashmir. He suggested that India and Pakistan would retain territorial claims on their respective pieces of Kashmir while allowing free movement between the two sides.
William Phillips Tolbot
(June 7, 1915 – October 1, 2010)
A reporter who had covered the Indian independence movement, Talbot joined the state department and finally became an Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs from 1961-65 during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. In 2002 he got the Padma Shri for his efforts in normalising relations between India and USA. He was the first top US diplomat who suggested “secret diplomacy” for settling Kashmir. His visit to South Asia in 1964 created much speculation and media in India and Pakistan reported that he had come with a ‘Talbot Plan’. The plan, although denied by US, was presumed to be envisaging creating autonomous entity comprising Valley and Pakistan administrated areas of the state with Hindu and Buddhist majority areas remaining with India.
Robin Lynn Raphel
An Urdu knowing career diplomat, Ms Robin Raphel was US’s first Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs during the Clinton administration (April 1993). Prior to her elevation she was posted in Delhi for a few years. She was later ambassador to Tunisia. Apart from working on Afghanistan, she served as a member of the Iraq Reconstruction Team during the Bush administration. Obama administration recalled her from National Defense University in Washington, where she was a vice president to become the coordinator for non-military US assistance to Pakistan. She has been nicknamed ‘Lady Taliban’ for her alleged pro-Pakistan stand. Her husband ambassador Arnold Lewis Raphel died in a mysterious plane crash in 1988 with General Zia ul Haq in Pakistan, days after they had divorced. She has remained one of the active US diplomats on Kashmir. She once questioned the instrument of accession and talked about Kashmir’s disputed status. This would usually create Himalayan controversies in New Delhi. She was a strong votary for restoration of greater autonomy to the J&K.
Dan Lee Burton
(June 21, 1938)
A Republican, he has been a Congressman for six consecutive terms and is a fierce India basher. In 1999, he suggested a 25 percent cut in US development aid to India in wake of its failure in improving its human rights records in Kashmir. After a 90-minute debate the move failed. This was his second such exercise within less than three years. He is one of the few politicians in US who has sought Obama’s intervention on Kashmir during his India visit.
