Harry G. Barnes Jr.
{{short description|American diplomat and ambassador}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Harry G. Barnes, Jr.
| image = Harry George Barnes, Jr.jpg
| caption = Barnes in 1981
| office = United States Ambassador to Chile
| president = Ronald Reagan
| term_start = November 18, 1985
| term_end = November 26, 1988
| predecessor = James D. Theberge
| successor = Charles A. Gillespie, Jr.
| office1 = United States Ambassador to India
| president1 = Ronald Reagan
| term_start1 = November 17, 1981
| term_end1 = June 27, 1985
| predecessor1 = Robert F. Goheen
| successor1 = John Gunther Dean
| order2 = 15th
| office2 = Director General of the Foreign Service
| president2 = Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
| term_start2 = December 22, 1977
| term_end2 = February 8, 1981
| predecessor2 = Carol Laise
| successor2 = Joan M. Clark
| office3 = United States Ambassador to Romania
| president3 = Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
| term_start3 = March 14, 1974
| term_end3 = November 10, 1977
| predecessor3 = Leonard C. Meeker
| successor3 = O. Rudolph Aggrey
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|06|05}}
| birth_place = St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2012|8|9|1926|6|5}}
| death_place = Lebanon, New Hampshire, U.S.
| spouse = Elizabeth Ann Sibley
| children = 4
| alma_mater = Amherst College (BA)
Columbia University (MA)
National War College
| profession = Diplomat
|allegiance={{flag|United States}}
|branch={{army|United States}}
|serviceyears=1944-1946
}}
Harry George Barnes Jr.{{cite web|url=http://viaf.org/viaf/31249552/|title=Barnes, Harry G. (Harry George), 1926-2012 Library of Congress/NACO|publisher=Online Computer Library Center (OCLC)|access-date=2013-03-15}}{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/barnes-harry-george-jr|title=Harry George Barnes (1926-2012)|publisher=U.S. Department of State|access-date=2013-03-15}} (June 5, 1926 – August 9, 2012) was an American diplomat, known for his role in ending the government of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. A former Foreign Service Officer who served as US ambassador to Romania, India, and Chile, Barnes also occupied the post of Director General of the Foreign Service at the Department of State between December 22, 1977, and February 8, 1981.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/17/world/americas/harry-g-barnes-jr-envoy-to-chile-and-india-dies-at-86.html|title=Harry Barnes Jr., a Top U.S. Diplomat, Is Dead at 86|work=The New York Times|date=August 17, 2012}} Elliott Abrams, the United States assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, once called Barnes "a world-class ambassador."
Early life
Harry George Barnes, Jr. was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on June 5, 1926. He graduated from Amherst College, earned a Master's Degree in history from Columbia University, and served in the U.S. Army from 1944–46. Barnes entered the United States Foreign Service as consular officer in Bombay in 1951, and was head of the consular section in Prague in 1953–55. He was publications procurement officer in Moscow in 1957–59, leaving to become political officer in the Office of Soviet Affairs in the Department of State from 1959–62. He attended the National War College in 1962–63. In 1963–67, he was Deputy Chief of Mission in Kathmandu.{{Cite web |date=25 April 2001 |title=The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR HARRY G. BARNES, JR |url=https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Barnes-Harry-G.-Jr.toc_.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716143402/https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Barnes-Harry-G.-Jr.toc_.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2024 |access-date=16 July 2024 |website=Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training}}
Diplomatic career
Barnes served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Bucharest in 1968–71, during which time he became the first American diplomat to address the Romanian nation on television. After returning to Washington he served as supervisory personnel officer (1971–72) and deputy executive secretary (1972–74) before being named Ambassador to Romania by Richard Nixon.John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters, The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara, CA, The American Presidency Project, UCSB, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=44171#axzz1X6OHa1cp
Although the American government, in particular Henry Kissinger, had supported the rise of dictator Augusto Pinochet, by 1985 the Chilean opposition started to campaign against extending his rule. Barnes supported the ultimately successful effort, angering Pinochet, who called him "Dirty Harry".{{cite news|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB413/|title=OSCARS: DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS TELL HISTORY BEHIND BEST FOREIGN FILM NOMINATION, "NO"|publisher=The National Security Archive|date=February 22, 2013}} He advised the dictator that {{Nowrap|"[t]he}} ills of democracy can be cured only with more democracy." In addition to agitating for democratic reform, Barnes contributed oversight to the 1988 Chilean national plebiscite against extending Pinochet's rule, funding a parallel vote tally and advertising for the anti-Pinochet campaign.
Retirement
Barnes retired from government service in 1988.
Between 1994 and 2000, he served as the director of the Carter Center's Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Programs from 1994–2000. During this time, he traveled to North Korea and worked on Carter Center initiatives in this area.National Committee on North Korea, http://www.ncnk.org/member-directory/ambassador-harry-barnes He also taught at several universities.
Barnes died on August 9, 2012, in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The cause of death was an infection.
References
{{Reflist|2}}
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{{succession box|title=United States Ambassador to Romania|before=Leonard C. Meeker|after=O. Rudolph Aggrey|years=1973–1977}}
{{succession box|title=United States Ambassador to India|before=Robert F. Goheen|after=John Gunther Dean|years=1981–1985}}
{{succession box|title=United States Ambassador to Chile|before=James D. Theberge|after=Charles A. Gillespie, Jr.|years=1985–1988}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=Carol Laise}}
{{s-ttl|title=Director General of the Foreign Service|years=1977–1981}}
{{s-aft|after=Joan M. Clark}}
{{s-end}}
{{US Ambassadors to Romania}}
{{US Ambassadors to India}}
{{Ambassadors of the United States to Chile}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Harry G. Jr.}}
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Romania
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to India
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Chile
Category:People from Saint Paul, Minnesota
Category:Amherst College alumni
Category:Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Category:Directors general of the United States Foreign Service