| Office: | 10th President of American University |
| Term Start: | 1976 |
| Term End: | 1980 |
| Predecessor: | George H. Williams |
| Successor: | Richard E. Berendzen |
| Order1: | 8th |
| Office1: | Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs |
| Term Start1: | February 19, 1974 |
| Term End1: | June 30, 1976 |
| Predecessor1: | William J. Porter |
| Successor1: | Philip Habib |
| President1: | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford |
| Order2: | 10th |
| Office2: | Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs |
| Term Start2: | February 10, 1969 |
| Term End2: | February 18, 1974 |
| Predecessor2: | Parker T. Hart |
| Successor2: | Alfred Atherton |
| President2: | Richard Nixon |
| Order3: | 7th |
| Office3: | Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs |
| Term Start3: | September 10, 1965 |
| Term End3: | February 9, 1969 |
| Predecessor3: | Harlan Cleveland |
| Successor3: | Samuel De Palma |
| President3: | Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon |
| Birth Date: | 31 October 1919 |
| Birth Place: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Death Place: | Chevy Chase, Maryland |
| Death Cause: | Complications of diabetes |
| Children: | 2 |
| Education: | Knox College (BA) University of Chicago (MA, PhD) |
| Profession: | Diplomat, businessman |
| Mawards: | is not set --> |
| Nickname: | "Jumping Joe" |
| Allegiance: |  United States |
| Serviceyears: | 1942-1945 |
| Rank: | First lieutenant |
| Unit: | 41st Infantry Division |
| Battles: | World War II |
| Awards: | is not set --> |
Joseph John Sisco (October 31, 1919 – November 23, 2004) was a diplomat who played a major role in then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East. His career in the State Department spanned five presidential administrations.[1]
Sisco had served for a year as an officer of the Central Intelligence Agency before joining the State Department in 1951, where he served as a foreign affairs officer until 1965, when he was promoted to Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs by Dean Rusk. In 1969, he was promoted to Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. He left the government in 1976, and served as the President of American University until 1980.[2]
In June 1980, he joined CNN as a columnist, appearing occasionally on air as an expert on Middle Eastern and Asian affairs.
Sisco attended Knox College and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.[3]
Sisco's wife, Jean Head Sisco, whom he married in 1946 while they were students at the University of Chicago, died in 1990.[4]