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Donald Franchot McHenry (October 13, 1936 [1] - ) was the United States Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations from September 1979 until January 20, 1981.

McHenry was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up across the river in East St. Louis, Illinois. He attended Illinois State University, graduating with a BS in 1957. He then continued on to earn a Master's degree from Southern Illinois University in 1959. His mother chose "Franchot" as his middle name because she was a fan of the actor Franchot Tone.

McHenry spent much of his career working in foreign diplomacy. He began working with the United States Department of State in 1963, and spent eight years there. From 1971 to 1976, he worked for a series of private think-tanks - the Brookings Institution, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - writing about foreign policy.

In 1976, McHenry served as a member of President Carter's transition staff at the State Department before joining the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. In March 1977, he was appointed as the U.S. Deputy Representative to the U.N. Security Council.

In August 1979, McHenry was the principal negotiator for the United States when a Soviet airliner carrying Russian ballerina Ludmila Vlasova was prevented from taking off by Port Authority Police. Acting Secretary of State Warren Christopher had ordered the interception because Vlasova's husband, Alexander Godunov, who had defected two days earlier had expressed his belief that his wife was returning to the Soviet Union against her will. Vlasova steadily maintained that she was returning voluntarily, but the U.S. representation was unwilling to accept her statement unless they could speak with her in the absence of Soviet officials. This request was denied.[2] Eventually Soviet officials allowed Vlasova to speak with U.S. representatives in a mobile lounge that was brought up to the plane. She convinced them that she was not returning under coercion, and the plane took off with Vlasova on board.[3]

The timing of the Vlasova incident drew attention to McHenry at a critical time. Earlier that year, Andrew Young had been made to resign his post as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. after meeting with a representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, against U.S. policy, and making controversial remarks on political prisoners in the U.S. In September 1979, McHenry was appointed Ambassador and U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N. by President Jimmy Carter.

In 1986 McHenry received a L.H.D. from Bates College. He has served on the board of directors of several multi-national corporations and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is currently Professor of Diplomacy and International Affairs at Georgetown University and president of the IRC Group, a private consulting firm. He has also been a director of The Coca-Cola Company since 1981, and is a director of AT&T Corporation and International Paper Company.

McHenry is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans. [4]

United States Ambassadors to the United Nations	↓
Stettinius • Johnson* • Austin • Lodge • Wadsworth • Stevenson • Goldberg • Ball • Wiggins • Yost • Bush • Scali • Moynihan • Scranton • Young • McHenry • Kirkpatrick • Walters • Pickering • Perkins • Albright • Richardson • Burleigh* • Holbrooke • Cunningham* • Negroponte • Danforth • Patterson* • Bolton • Wolff* *denotes acting

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