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Viron P. Vaky

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Viron Peter Vaky
United States Ambassador to Costa Rica
In office
October 17, 1972 – February 9, 1974
PresidentRichard Nixon
Preceded byWalter Christian Ploeser
Succeeded byTerence Todman
United States Ambassador to Colombia
In office
April 5, 1974 – June 23, 1976
PresidentRichard Nixon
Preceded byLeonard J. Saccio
Succeeded byPhillip Victor Sanchez
United States Ambassador to Venezuela
In office
July 26, 1976 – June 24, 1978
PresidentGerald Ford
Preceded byHarry Walter Shlaudeman
Succeeded byWilliam H. Luers
19th Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs
In office
July 21, 1978 – November 30, 1979
PresidentJimmy Carter
Preceded byTerence Todman
Succeeded byWilliam G. Bowdler
Personal details
BornSeptember 13, 1925
Corpus Christi, Texas
DiedNovember 22, 2012 (aged 87)
Mitchellville, Maryland

Viron Peter Vaky (September 13, 1925 – November 22, 2012[1]) was an American diplomat who was United States Ambassador to Costa Rica (1972–74), Colombia (1974–76), and Venezuela (1976).[2] He was a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and Council on Foreign Relations.[3]

Life

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Career

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Viron P. Vaky was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, on September 13, 1925, as a son of Greek immigrants. During the Second World War, he was part of the Army Signal Corps, while graduating from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service in 1947. One year later, he obtained an MA in international relations from the University of Chicago. In 1949, Vaky joined the Foreign Service and went on to serve as career diplomat until 1980, when he retired from the State Department.[4] Following this, he taught at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, ultimately becoming an associate dean.[5]

Opposition to overthrow of Allende

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Documents declassified and made available in 2013 show that in September 1970, when Vaky was the top deputy to Henry Kissinger, Vaky took a stand against Kissinger's plan to overthrow Salvador Allende who was the democratically elected president of Chile. According to the account published on the National Security Archive, Vaky wrote a memo to Kissinger arguing that plotting a coup would lead to "widespread violence and even insurrection." He also argued that such a policy was immoral: "What we propose is patently a violation of our own principles and policy tenets.... If these principles have any meaning, we normally depart from them only to meet the gravest threat to us, e.g. to our survival. Is Allende a mortal threat to the U.S.? It is hard to argue this."[6][7]

Embezzlement accusations against Debayle

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Following the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake Vaky accused then Army Chief Anastasio Somoza Debayle of exploiting international aid for personal gain. Debayle denied these accusations and was later validated when Terence Todman, Secretary of State for Inter-American affairs testified that 28 major audits failed to demonstrate any diversion or misuse of resources.[8]

Family

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He had three sons Peter, Paul, and Matthew.

Peter Vaky was a managing partner in a private equity firm in Atlanta, Georgia, VVS Capital. Peter had three children with Debra Thompson. Benjamin Vaky is a business development manager and married Stephanie Solley in the summer of 2011. Christopher Vaky is a private banking trader. Katherine Vaky is pursuing her Juris Doctor.

Paul Vaky is regional director for Central and Eastern Europe for the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT), which is part of the United States Department of Justice.[9]

Matthew Vaky is an accomplished actor/teacher. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh with both a BFA and an MFA in theatre and is currently a Spanish and theatre teacher in Washington, D.C.

Positions

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  • US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs (1978–79)
  • US Ambassador to Venezuela (1976)
  • US Ambassador to Colombia (1974–76)
  • US Ambassador to Costa Rica (1972–74)
  • US National Security Council (1969–70)
  • American Academy of Diplomacy
  • Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • Inter-American Dialogue

References

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  1. ^ Schudel, Matt (8 December 2012). "Viron P. Vaky, ambassador who helped shape Latin American policy, dies at 87". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  2. ^ Pear, Robert (5 December 1989). "AFTER THE SUMMIT; Soviet Sway in Cuba and Nicaragua Called Slight". New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Council on Foreign Relations".
  4. ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR VIRON PETER VAKY" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 31 January 1991. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  5. ^ Schudel, Matt (2012-12-08). "Viron P. Vaky, ambassador who helped shape Latin American policy, dies at 87". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  6. ^ "Kissinger and Chile: The Declassified Record on Regime Change".
  7. ^ "Home | National Security Archive" (PDF).
  8. ^ Somoza, Anastasio (1980). Nicaragua Betrayed. Western Islands. p. 6. ISBN 978-0882792354.
  9. ^ https://www.justice.gov/criminal-opdat/contact-opdat Last retrieved on January 8th, 2017
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Costa Rica
October 17, 1972 – February 9, 1974 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Colombia
April 5, 1974 – June 23, 1976 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Venezuela
July 26, 1976 – June 24, 1978 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs
July 21, 1978 – November 30, 1979 		Succeeded by
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