Cyrus Vance | |
---|---|
57th United States Secretary of State | |
In office January 20, 1977 – April 28, 1980 |
|
President | Jimmy Carter |
Deputy | Warren Christopher |
Preceded by | Henry Kissinger |
Succeeded by | Edmund S. Muskie |
11th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense | |
In office January 28, 1964 – June 30, 1967 |
|
President | Lyndon B. Johnson |
Preceded by | Roswell Gilpatric |
Succeeded by | Paul H. Nitze |
7th United States Secretary of the Army | |
In office July 5, 1962 – January 21, 1964 |
|
President |
John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson |
Preceded by | Elvis Jacob Stahr, Jr. |
Succeeded by | Stephen Ailes |
General Counsel of the Department of Defense | |
In office January 29, 1961 – June 30, 1962 |
|
President | John F. Kennedy |
Preceded by | J. Vincent Burke, Jr. |
Succeeded by | John T. McNaughton |
Personal details | |
Born |
Cyrus Roberts Vance March 27, 1917 Clarksburg, West Virginia, U.S. |
Died | January 12, 2002 Mount Sinai Medical Center Manhattan, New York City New York, U.S. |
(aged 84)
Resting place |
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia 38°52′37″N 77°04′15″W / 38.876806°N 77.070795°WCoordinates: 38°52′37″N 77°04′15″W / 38.876806°N 77.070795°W |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Grace Elsie Sloane (m. 1947; his death 2002) |
Children | Elsie Nicoll Vance Amy Sloane Vance Camilla Roberts Vance Grace Vance Holmes Cyrus Roberts Vance, Jr. |
Education | Yale University (B.A, J.D) |
Profession | Lawyer |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Service/branch | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1942–1946 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Unit | USS Hale (DD-642) |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Cyrus Roberts Vance (March 27, 1917 – January 12, 2002) was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. Prior to that position he was the Secretary of the Army and the Deputy Secretary of Defense.
As Secretary of State, Vance approached foreign policy with an emphasis on negotiation over conflict and a special interest in arms reduction. In April 1980, Vance resigned in protest of Operation Eagle Claw, the secret mission to rescue American hostages in Iran. He was succeeded in the position by Edmund Muskie.
Vance was the cousin (and adoptive son) of 1924 Democratic presidential candidate and lawyer John W. Davis. He is the father of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr.
Vance was born on March 27, 1917, in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He was the son of John Carl Vance II and his wife Amy Roberts Vance, and had an older brother, John Carl Vance III. Following Vance's birth, his family relocated to Bronxville, New York, so that his father could commute to Manhattan, where he was an insurance broker. Vance's father was also a landowner and worked for a government agency during World War I. He died unexpectedly of pneumonia in 1922. Vance's mother was Amy Roberts Vance, who had a prominent family history in Philadelphia and was active in civic affairs. Following her husband's death, she moved her family to Switzerland for a year, where Vance and his brother learned French at L'Institut Sillig in Vevey.