Francis J. Meehan

Francis J. Meehan
Francis J. Meehan, 1985
United States Ambassador to East Germany
In office 16 September 1985 – 30 November 1988
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Rozanne L. Ridgway
Succeeded by	Richard Clark Barkley
United States Ambassador to Poland
In office 2 October 1980 – 11 February 1983
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	William E. Schaufele, Jr.
Succeeded by	John R. Davis, Jr.
United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia
In office 23 March 1979 – 20 October 1980
President	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Thomas Ryan Byrne
Succeeded by	Jack F. Matlock Jr.
Personal details
Born	(1924-02-14) February 14, 1924 (age 93) East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Glasgow Harvard University

Francis Joseph Meehan (born 14 February 1924) is a retired American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to several of the Eastern Bloc states during his career. His final posting was as United States Ambassador to East Germany.

Meehan was born in the United States city of East Orange, New Jersey to British parents, who were staying in the United States for a short period. He would move to Scotland when his homesick mother returned home, growing up in the Scottish ship-building town of Clydebank, situated eight miles west along the River Clyde from Glasgow.

Clydebank, as a centre of ship-building during World War II was a major target for the Luftwaffe and a teenage Meehan would help with the clear up after bombing raids. He graduated in 1945 from the University of Glasgow with an Master of Arts degree in History. He was, by this time, a fluent German speaker.

His birth in the United States rendered him an American citizen, and as such he was drafted in 1945 for military service, with his postings being to Fontainebleau for training, then onto Allied-occupied Germany. His education and fluent German made him consider a career with the United States Department of State.

Meehan completed his two years of military service in 1947, and took a position as a clerk at the Consular Agency of the United States, Bremen, serving from 1947-1948. His next posting was as an administrative assistant at the Economic Cooperation Administration in Washington, D.C., serving from 1948-1951, at which point he formally joined the United States Foreign Service.