Maurice Tempelsman

Tempelsman was born on August 26, 1929, in Antwerp, Belgium, the son of Leon and Helene Tempelsman, both Orthodox Jews,{{cite journal | last=Gleick | first=Elizabeth | date=July 11, 1994 | title=The Man Who Loved Jackie | journal=People| volume=42 | issue=2 | pages=75–81 | url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20103428,00.html | access-date=November 14, 2009 }} in a Yiddish-speaking family in Antwerp's Jewish community. In 1940, Tempelsman and his family emigrated to the United States to escape persecution by Nazi Germany during World War II. When he was 16, Tempelsman began working for his father, a diamond broker. He attended New York City's public schools and New York University.{{cite book | last=Heymann | first=Clemens David | title=American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy | publisher=Simon & Schuster | location=New York | year=2007 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanlegacyst00heym/page/261 261–262] | isbn=978-0-7434-9738-1 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/americanlegacyst00heym/page/261 }}{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/arts/26arts-TEMPELSMANSC_BRF.html | title=Tempelsman Sculptures Return to Italy | last=Povoledo | first=Elisabetta | date=February 26, 2008 | work=New York Times| access-date=November 11, 2009 }}{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/25/us/clinton-and-kennedys-in-30-years-a-full-circle.html | title=Clinton and Kennedys: In 30 Years, a Full Circle | last=Ifill | first=Gwen | author-link=Gwen Ifill | date=August 25, 1993 | work=New York Times | pages=A10 | access-date=November 11, 2009 }}{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/01/arts/design/01rest.html | title=Two Marble Sculptures to Return to Sicily | last=Povoledo | first=Elisabetta | date=September 1, 2007 | work=New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2009 }}{{cite web | url=http://www.eurasia.org/about/bio_tempelsman.aspx | title=Bio: Maurice Tempelsman | work=Eurasia Foundation | publisher=eurasia.org | access-date=November 16, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301030335/http://www.eurasia.org/about/bio_tempelsman.aspx | archive-date=March 1, 2009 }}

In 1950, Tempelsman created a new marketing niche by persuading the US government to stockpile African diamonds for industrial and military purposes, with him as the middleman. In 1957, at the age of 27, he and his lawyer, Adlai Stevenson, traveled to Africa, where Tempelsman had begun forging ties with leaders. His contacts eventually ranged from South African anti-apartheid politician Oliver Tambo to Zaire's kleptocratic dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko and the influential Oppenheimer diamond family. Declassified memos and cables between former U.S. presidents and State Department officials from the 1950s to the 1990s have named Tempelsman with direct input in the destabilization of Congo, Sierra Leone, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Rwanda and Ghana.{{Cite web |title=Africa: U.S. Covert Action Exposed {{!}} corpwatch |url=https://www.corpwatch.org/article/africa-us-covert-action-exposed |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=www.corpwatch.org}} He was involved in the overthrow of Ghana's first elected president, Kwame Nkrumah, the CIA-backed assassination of Congo's first-elected prime minister, Patrice Lumumba and cover-up of CIA covert support of the former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mobuto Sese Seko.

Tempelsman is chairman of the board of directors of Lazare Kaplan International Inc. (LKI), the largest diamond company in the United States, noted for its "ideal cut" diamonds sold worldwide under the brand name, Lazare Diamonds.{{cite news | url=http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/business/companies/lazare-kaplan-international-inc/index.html | title=Lazare Kaplan International Inc. | work=New York Times| first=Philip H. | last=Dougherty}}{{cite news | url=http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=4&aid=39&dir=2009/January/Friday16 | title=Lazare Kaplan sales down as worried buyers reassess strategy | date=January 16, 2009 |work=Mmegi | publisher=mmegi.bw | access-date=November 9, 2009 }} Tempelsman is one of fewer than 90 "sightholders" in the world, which means that 10 times a year he is permitted to buy diamonds directly from the powerful De Beers cartel in the City of London. Because DeBeers was a virtual monopoly, for many years it could not operate legally in the United States.

File:Maurice Tempelsman.jpg (not in this detail of the photo) in Romania July 1974.{{cite web|url=http://fototeca.iiccr.ro/picdetails.php?picid=37812X19X29|title=Fototeca online a comunismului românesc|author=Arhivele Nationale ale Romaniei si Institutul de Investigare a Crimelor Comunismului in Romania|work=iiccr.ro}}]] He is also a general partner of Leon Tempelsman & Son, an investment company specializing in real estate and venture capital.{{cite news | url=https://people.forbes.com/profile/maurice-tempelsman/48702 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130123080848/http://people.forbes.com/profile/maurice-tempelsman/48702 | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 23, 2013 | title=Maurice Tempelsman Profile | work=Forbes | publisher=people.forbes.com | access-date=November 14, 2009 }}

Tempelsman maintains relations with political and business leaders, in particular government leaders in Africa and Russia, and leading figures in the U.S. Democratic Party. His extensive political contacts and monetary contributions often provide him with access and prestige in those markets, as was the case during the presidency of Bill Clinton.{{cite web | url=http://clinton2.nara.gov/Africa/delegation.html | title=Official Delegation Accompanying the President to Africa | date=March 20, 1998 | work=Office of the Press Secretary | publisher=clinton2.nara.gov| access-date=November 16, 2009 }} From 1993 to 1997, Tempelsman visited the White House at least ten times, met privately with Hillary Clinton on two occasions, vacationed with the Clintons and the Kennedy family in Martha's Vineyard, and flew to Moscow and back with President Clinton on Air Force One.

In Southern Africa, Tempelsman has played a key role in negotiations between hostile governments and companies engaging in diamond exploration. He met with Mobutu Sese Seko, to assist the regime's business dealings with De Beers. In the 1960s Tempelsman hired as his business agent the CIA station chief in Kinshasa, Larry Devlin, who helped put Mobutu in power and afterward served as his personal adviser.{{cite news | url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/182/33782.html | title=Diamonds of Death | last=Silverstein | first=Ken | work=The Nation | date=April 23, 2001 | access-date=May 19, 2014 }}{{cite book | last=Smillie | first=Ian | title=Blood on the Stone: Greed, Corruption and War in the Global Diamond Trade | publisher=Anthem Press | year=2010 | pages=163–166 | isbn=978-0857289636}} From March 3, 1977, Tempelsman briefly held the title of honorary consul general for Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), at the DRC's consular offices in New York City.{{cite web | url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/fco/20896.htm | title=Colombia – Czech Republic | date=Fall–Winter 2003 | work=United States Department of State | publisher=state.gov | access-date=November 16, 2009 }} In addition to the DRC, Tempelsman has played a key role in the diamond industries of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and Sierra Leone.{{cite press release | title=OPIC Board Approves $250 Million to Develop Diamond Cutting and Polishing in Botswana | url=http://www.opic.gov/news/press-releases/2008/pr101008 | publisher=Overseas Private Investment Corporation | date=October 10, 2008 | access-date=November 16, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813104156/http://opic.gov/news/press-releases/2008/pr101008 | archive-date=August 13, 2009 }}{{cite press release | title=OPIC & U.S. Company Partner to Improve Diamond Production and Sales in Emerging Markets | url=http://www.opic.gov/news/press-releases/2004/pr101804 | publisher=Overseas Private Investment Corporation | date=October 18, 2004 | access-date=November 16, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813122740/http://opic.gov/news/press-releases/2004/pr101804 | archive-date=August 13, 2009 }}{{cite press release | title=USAID Signs a $1.5 Million Partnership to Improve Economic Opportunities in Angola | url=http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2005/pr050620.html | publisher=Overseas Private Investment Corporation | date=June 17, 2005 | access-date=November 16, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090907171557/http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2005/pr050620.html | archive-date=September 7, 2009 }}{{cite web | url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/mss/mssmisc/mfdip/2005%20txt%20files/2004lin04.txt | title=Interview with Ambassador John A. Linehan, Jr. | last=Kennedy | first=Charles Stuart | date=April 6, 1993 | work=The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training | publisher=lcweb2.loc.gov| access-date=November 16, 2009 }}

Tempelsman served as chairman of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) from 1999 to 2002 and again from 2007 to 2008, after which he was named chairman emeritus.{{cite news | url=http://www.eurasia.org/people/maurice-tempelsman | title=Maurice Tempelsman Bio | work=Eurasia Foundation |access-date=December 21, 2012 }} An example of his work with the CCA involved assisting government leaders with establishing the New Partnership for Africa's Development.{{cite web | url=http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2002/September/20020920185546corey@pd.state.gov0.751034.html | title=Congress Holds Hearing on New Partnership for African Development | date=September 20, 2002 | work=Bureau of International Information Programs | publisher=america.gov | access-date=November 16, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329020250/http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2002/September/20020920185546corey@pd.state.gov0.751034.html | archive-date=March 29, 2010 }} Tempelsman was a board member of the Southern African Enterprise Development Fund, and past chairman and long-serving board member of the Africa-America Institute.{{cite web | url=http://www.diamonds.net/News/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=41195&ArticleTitle=AAI+Recognizes+Tempelsman+as+Distinguished+Trustee| title=AAI Recognizes Tempelsman as Distinguished Trustee | work=Rapaport | date=27 September 2012 | publisher=diamonds.net | access-date=July 4, 2013 }}

Tempelsman is a trustee of the Eurasia Foundation,{{cite web | url=http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACQ263.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061002101104/http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACQ263.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 2, 2006 | title=2001 Annual Report | last1=Erlendsson | first1=Elina |last2=Taylor|first2=Carolina | work=Eurasia Foundation | publisher=usaid.gov | pages=5 | access-date=November 16, 2009 }} and a director of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs,{{cite web | url=http://www.ndi.org/tempelsmanm|title=NDI Board of Directors: Maurice Tempelsman | work=National Democratic Institute for International Affairs | publisher=ndi.org | access-date=November 16, 2009 }} the Center for National Policy, the Business Council for International Understanding, and the U.S.-Russia Business Council.

He is chairman of the International Advisory Council of the Harvard School of Public Health's AIDS Initiative,{{cite web|url=http://www.aids.harvard.edu/people/iac.html |title=People: International Advisory Council |work=Harvard School of Public Health |publisher=aids.harvard.edu |access-date=November 15, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123053454/http://www.aids.harvard.edu/people/iac.html |archive-date=January 23, 2013 }} and is an honorary trustee and an honorary member of the corporation of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Tempelsman is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and was named a visitor to the Department of Classical Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A director of the Academy of American Poets, Tempelsman also serves as a trustee of the New York University Institute of Fine Arts, and on Lenox Hill Hospital's advisory board. He has served on several Presidential Commissions including the President's Commission for the Observance of Human Rights, the Citizen's advisory board of Youth Opportunities and the National Highway Safety Advisory Committee, and was appointed to the New York Council on International Business.

In 1980, Tempelsman bought, for $1 million, two 500 BC acroliths representing Demeter and Persephone; the pieces consisted of two marble heads, three feet, and three hands. Tempelsman purchased them from the later-infamous art dealer Robin Symes. The Italian government first claimed the items when they were displayed in a 1988 exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu; the museum had listed them as belonging to a private collector.[https://www.theartnewspaper.com/1998/05/01/anatomy-of-plunder-maurice-tempelsman-finds-himself-at-the-centre-of-a-scandal-over-illegally-excavated-antiquities Anatomy of plunder: Maurice Tempelsman finds himself at the centre of a scandal over illegally excavated antiquities], by David D'Arcy, The Art Newspaper, 30 April 1998. The Italian authorities determined that they were looted from Morgantina, and smuggled into Switzerland, where they were acquired by Symes. They were finally repatriated to the archeological museum of Aidone in 2007, after being on exhibit for five years at the Fralin Museum of Art, part of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/01/arts/design/01rest.html Two Marble Sculptures to Return to Sicily], by

Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, 01 September, 2007. Putatively, in 2005, Tempelsman donated the pieces to the university museum, and the restitution to Italy was mediated by the university's archeology professor Malcolm Bell III.[https://www.prolocoaidone.it/la-vicenda-antiquaria-della-dea-di-morgantina/ Pro Loco Aidone], entry on Morgantina collections.{{Cite web |title=Malcolm Bell |url=http://archaeology.virginia.edu/malcolm-bell.html |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=Interdisciplinary Archaeology Program |language=en}}

Tempelsman has adult children by his wife Lilly Bucholz, who had also fled Antwerp with her family. They were married in 1949. Their daughter, Rena, is the widow of Robert Speisman, an executive vice president of Lazare Kaplan International Inc. who died on board American Airlines Flight 77, when the aircraft crashed into The Pentagon during the September 11 attacks.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/15/us/robert-speisman-executive-48.html | title=Robert Speisman -- Executive, 48 | date=September 15, 2001 | work=The New York Times | pages=A21 | access-date=November 11, 2009 }}

Tempelsman and Bucholz formally separated in 1984. According to People, Bucholz and Tempelsman never legally divorced.

Tempelsman was the longtime companion of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.{{cite news | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reading-celebs-through-their-wills/ | title=Reading Celebs Through Their Wills | last=Clayson | first=Jane | author-link=Jane Clayson Johnson | date=July 25, 2000 | work=CBS News}} Maurice and Lilly Tempelsman were guests at the State Dinner given at Mount Vernon, Virginia in honor of the President Ayub Khan of Pakistan in 1961. The two began their lengthy relationship in 1980, five years after the death of Jacqueline Onassis' second husband Aristotle Onassis.{{cite news | url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=556546 | title=Diamond in the rough | last1=Melman | first1=Yossi | last2=Carmel|first2=Asaf | date=March 25, 2005 | work=Haaretz | publisher=haaretz.com | access-date=November 9, 2009 }}{{cite book | last=Pottker | first=Jan | author-link=Janice Pottker | title=Janet and Jackie: The Story of a Mother and Her Daughter, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis | publisher=St. Martin's Griffin | location=New York | year=2002 | pages=310 | isbn=978-0-312-30281-8}} In 1988, Tempelsman moved into Onassis's Fifth Avenue penthouse apartment in New York City.

During their relationship, he handled Onassis's finances, quadrupling the $26 million that was secured from the estate of her late husband Aristotle Onassis.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/02/us/onassis-leaves-estate-to-charity-and-her-children.html | title=Onassis Leaves Estate to Charity and Her Children | date=June 2, 1994 | work=New York Times | pages=A16 | access-date=November 11, 2009 }} The couple frequently took walks through Central Park and were photographed doing so in the days preceding her death from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 64 on May 19, 1994.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/05/tv/cover-story-a-lady-who-never-stopped-being-first.html | title=A Lady Who Never Stopped Being First | last=Gates | first=Anita | date=November 5, 2000 | work=New York Times | pages=A4 | access-date=November 11, 2009 }} At Onassis's funeral Mass, Tempelsman read Constantine P. Cavafy's poem Ithaca, one of her favorites, and concluded by saying: "And now the journey is over, too short, alas, too short. It was filled with adventure and wisdom, laughter and love, gallantry and grace. So farewell, farewell."{{cite web | url=http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/jko/sd032.txt | title=First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: Memorial Tributes in the One Hundred Third Congress of the United States | year=1995 | work=United States Government Printing Office | publisher=access.gpo.gov| pages=62 | access-date=November 16, 2009 }}

Tempelsman was one of two executors of the will that she had drawn up with her long-time attorney, Alexander D. Forger. She left him a "Greek alabaster head of a woman" and named Tempelsman to be a co‑chair of a charitable organization, the C & J Foundation.{{cite web | url=http://www.nycourts.gov/4jd/warren/surrogates_will_onassis.shtml | title=Last Will & Testament – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis | work=New York Surrogate's Court}} However, there was no residuary left to fund the foundation after estate taxes were paid.{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/21/nyregion/mrs-onassis-s-estate-worth-less-than-estimated.html | title = Mrs. Onassis's Estate Worth Less Than Estimated | author = David Cay Johnston |author-link=David Cay Johnston| date = December 21, 1996 | work = The New York Times}}

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