Dayton S. Mak

Dayton Seymour Mak (July 10, 1917 – March 16, 2018)[1] was an American diplomat who served posts in England, Libya, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Germany. He was the first U.S. Chargé d'Affaires of Kuwait. Mak was also former Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, for Near East South Asia Affairs.

Dayton S. Mak
United States Ambassador to Kuwait
In office
1961–1963
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Preceded byn/a
Succeeded byParker T. Hart
Personal details
Born(1917-07-10)July 10, 1917
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.
DiedMarch 16, 2018(2018-03-16) (aged 100)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Spouse(s)Julia Mak
ChildrenHolly Mak
ResidenceWashington DC
Alma materUniversity of Arizona, University of Pennsylvania, Middle East Institute, Naval War College
ProfessionDiplomat
AwardsPurple Hearts, Bronze Star
U.S. Near Eastern Affairs Diplomats

Loy W. Henderson (1922–1960)
Charles W. Yost (1930–1971)
Dayton S. Mak (1946–1970)
Hermann Eilts (1947–1979)
William Stoltzfus (1949–1976)
Andrew Killgore (1949–1980)
Richard Bordeaux Parker (1949–1981)
William L. Eagleton (1949–1988)
Robert O. Waring (194?–1976)
Clifford J. "Pat" Quinlan (1950–1980)
Talcott Williams Seelye (1950–1981)
Joseph J. Sisco (1951–1976)
Alfred Atherton (1954–1984)
Nicholas A. Veliotes (1955–1986)
Richard W. Murphy (1955–1989)
Joseph W. Twinam (195?–1985)
Peter A. Sutherland (195?-198?)
Robert Pelletreau (1962–1996)
W. Nathaniel Howell (1965–1992)
Edward Djerejian (1966–1994)
Hume Horan (1966–1998)
April Glaspie (1966–2002)
Wat T. Cluverius IV (1967–?)
Edward S. Walker Jr. (1967–2001)
Edward Gnehm (1969–2003)
Ronald E. Neumann (1970–2007)
Ryan Crocker (1972–present)
Harold H. Saunders (1974–1981)
Barbara Bodine (1975–present)
Mary Ann Casey (1976-1994)
David Welch (1977–2008)
Francis J. Ricciardone Jr. (1978–present)
Daniel C. Kurtzer (1981–2006)
William Joseph Burns (1982–present)
Zalmay Khalilzad (1984–present)
Dennis Ross (1989–1992)
Martin Indyk (1995–2001)

James Steinberg (2009–present)

Biography

Mak was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on July 10, 1917 but was raised in Iowa. Mak served in the United States Army during World War II between 1941 and 1945. He was awarded two Purple Hearts and one Bronze Star. In 1946, Mak joined the Foreign Service, serving as Vice Consul in Hamburg, Germany, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Jidda, Saudi Arabia, and Tripoli, Libya. In 1962, Mak became the first U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait and was responsible for establishing the embassy. In 1969, Mak became the director of INR for near-east south Asia Affairs. Mak officially retired from the Foreign Service in 1970.[2] Mak was close friends with Francis Meloy, US Ambassador who was assassinated in Beirut, Lebanon. Meloy was best man at Mak's wedding.[3]

Beginning in the late 1980s, Mak volunteered to help the newly create Association for Diplomatic Studies (later Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, or ADST). He conducted a few interviews for oral histories before beginning to create tables of contents for the oral history collection. Mak continued his volunteer service to ADST until 2014.

Service chronology
Dayton Mak's Diplomatic Chronology
PositionHost country or organizationYear
US Foreign Service1946 to 1970
US Foreign ServiceHamburg, Germany1946 to 1948
US Foreign ServiceDhahran, Saudi Arabia1948 to 1949
US Foreign ServiceJeddah, Saudi Arabia1949 to 1950
US Foreign ServiceTripoli, Libya1951 to 1954
US Foreign ServiceLondon, England1954 to 1956
US Foreign ServiceTripoli, Libya1957 to 1959
US Foreign ServiceKuwait1961 to 1964
US Foreign ServiceBeirut, Lebanon1965 to 1969
US Foreign Service (Bureau of Intelligence and Research Director)Washington DC1969 to 1970

Publications

Co-author, American Ambassadors in a Troubled World: Interviews with American Diplomats (1992, interviews, with Charles Stuart Kennedy)

Peer reviewer, Strangers When We Met (Nat Howell)

See also

References
  1. "Dayton Mak". The Washington Post. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  2. Mak, Dayton. "Ambassador's Oral History - US State Department" (PDF). US State Department.
  3. Dayton, Mak. "Oral History" (PDF).


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