Deane R. Hinton Explained

Office:U.S. Ambassador to Panama
President:George H. W. Bush
Term Start:9 January 1990
Term End:12 February 1994
Predecessor:Arthur H. Davis, Jr.
Successor:Oliver P. Garza
Office1:U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica
President1:Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Term Start1:17 November 1987
Term End1:4 January 1990
Predecessor1:Lewis Arthur Tambs
Successor1:Robert O. Homme
Office2:17th U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan
President2:Ronald Reagan
Term Start2:21 November 1983
Term End2:9 November 1986
Predecessor2:Ronald I. Spiers
Successor2:Arnold Lewis Raphel
Office3:U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador
President3:Ronald Reagan
Term Start3:28 May 1981
Term End3:15 July 1983
Predecessor3:Robert White
Successor3:Thomas R. Pickering
Office4:U.S. Ambassador to Zaire
Term Start4:June 20, 1974
Term End4:June 21, 1975
Predecessor4:Sheldon B. Vance
Successor4:Walter L. Cutler
President4:Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Birth Name:Deane Roesch Hinton
Birth Date:12 March 1923
Birth Place:Fort Missoula, Montana
Death Place:San Jose, Costa Rica
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:University of Chicago
Occupation:Diplomat
Office5:14th Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs
Term Start5:1979
Term End5:1981
Preceded5:Julius Katz
Succeeded5:Robert Hormats

Deane Roesch Hinton (March 12, 1923  - March 28, 2017) was an American diplomat and ambassador.

Biography

Hinton was born March 12, 1923, in Fort Missoula, Montana. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1943 and joined the U. S. Army, serving as a 2nd Lt. during World War II. After the war he attended Harvard University from 1951 to 1952 and the National War College from 1961 to 1962.

A career Foreign Service Officer, his postings included Syria 1946-1950,[1] Mombasa, Kenya 1950-1952, Guatemala 1954-1969,France 1954-1955, and Chile 1969-1973. Hinton was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Zaire in 1974. Poor relations with Mobutu Sese Seko led to him being declared persona non grata on June 18, 1975.[2] He later served as U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador in 1981-83, Pakistan in 1983-86, Costa Rica from 1987 to 1990, and Panama from 1990 to 1994. He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and American Academy of Diplomacy. Hinton died on March 28, 2017.[3]

Hinton was no stranger to controversy. In 1949, while serving at the US embassy in Syria, he became aware of the US plan to support a coup overthrowing the democratically elected government. His prescient comment was, “I want to go on record as saying that this is the stupidest, most irresponsible action a diplomatic mission like ours could get itself involved in, and that we’ve started a series of these things that will never end.” However, the new government, led by Husni al-Za'im, did the US's bidding and allowed the trans-Syrian oil pipeline, instigated talks with Israel and imprisoned left-wingers and trade unionists. He was executed in his pyjamas within the year, much as predicted by Hinton.

Hinton succeeded Robert E. White as ambassador to El Salvador after White was removed from his post by the Reagan administration; as a result, Hinton was seen as "the bearer of the administration's big stick". However, according to Joan Didion, Hinton's public statements differed from White's "more in style than in substance". During Hinton's ambassadorship in El Salvador he was involved with the investigation of the 1980 murders of U.S. missionaries in El Salvador. He also investigated the Santa Rita massacre, confirming the Salvadoran military's version of events and stating that "they have not tried to hide anything."[4] It was later revealed that American military advisors had been present on the Salvadoran military base the attack issued from[4] and that the Salvadoran officer who ordered the killings, Mario Reyes Mena, then a colonel, became a legal resident of the United States in 1987.[5]

Personal life

Hinton was married twice before 1982. His first marriage, to an American, produced five children and ended in divorce. The second marriage was to a Chilean and ended with her death. In 1982, he was engaged to a Salvadoran named Patricia de Lopez.[6]

According to Joan Didion, he spoke with a "high Montana twang".[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Baby and the Baath water . Adam Curtis . 16 June 2011. Adam Curtis Blog- The Medium and the Message. BBC. 17 June 2011.
  2. Book: Young, Crawford . Thomas Turner . The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State . registration . Madison, Wisc. . University of Wisconsin Press . 1985 . 0-299-10110-X . 11548384 . 373 .
  3. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/30/world/americas/deane-hinton-dead-american-ambassador.html?_r=0 Deane Hinton, Envoy Who Denounced Salvadoran ‘Death Squads,’ Dies at 94
  4. Web site: In Cold Blood: Salvadorian Colonel who Plotted Murder has been Living in United States. Zembla. 16 September 2020. 26 September 2018.
  5. Web site: Justice Sought for 4 Dutch Journalists Killed in El Salvador. AP News. Selsky, Andrew. 24 March 2019. 16 September 2020.
  6. Book: Didion . Joan . Joan Didion . . 1994 . Vintage International . New York . 0679751831 . 87–89.