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Arthur T. Tienken

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Arthur T. Tienken
7th US Ambassador to Gabon
In office
February 3, 1978 – July 19, 1981
PresidentJimmy Carter
Preceded byAndrew L. Steigman
Succeeded byFrancis Terry McNamara
2nd US Ambassador to São Tomé and Príncipe
In office
February 2, 1978 – July 19, 1981
PresidentJimmy Carter
Preceded byAndrew L. Steigman
Succeeded byFrancis Terry McNamara

Arthur Thomas Tienken (August 5, 1922 Yonkers, New York – May 7, 2006, Arlington, Virginia) was an American career Foreign Service Officer who held concurrent ambassadorships to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe (1978–1981).[1][2]

Tienken graduated from Princeton University, earning a bachelor's in 1946 (political science) and a master's in international relations at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1950.[1] Tienken entered with the Class of ‘44 but took time off from his studies, serving as a first lieutenant in the 3094th Quartermaster Company of the Western Pacific in the Philippines during World War II.[3]

Tienken joined the Foreign Service in 1950.[4] His first position was as a Kreis resident officer, or district governor, in Germany. He served in various the Belgian Congo, Mozambique, Zambia, Tuniasia and Ethiopia. He then spent four years at the embassy in Brussels. São Tomé and Príncipe achieved independence from Portugal on July 12, 1975, during Tienken's predecessor's time as ambassador. However, the ambassador of São Tomé and Príncipe served concurrently as the ambassador to Gabon until 2020.

Upon his return stateside, he attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and was a diplomat-in-residence at Marquette University. He retired in 1987.[3]

Tienken died of stomach cancer at his home.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Arthur T. Tienken '44 *50". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Arthur Tienken". Office of the Historian. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Obituaries". The Washington Post. May 13, 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  4. ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR ARTHUR T. TIENKEN" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 12 June 1989. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 July 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
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