John A. Scali

John Alfred Scali (April 27, 1918 – October 9, 1995) was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1973 to 1975. From 1961 he was also a long time correspondent for ABC News.

John A. Scali
11th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
In office February 20, 1973 – June 29, 1975
President	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
Preceded by	George H. W. Bush
Succeeded by	Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Personal details
Born	John Alfred Scali (1918-04-27)April 27, 1918 Canton, Ohio, U.S.
Died	October 9, 1995(1995-10-09) (aged 77) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Spouse(s)	Helen Glock (1946–1973) Denise St. Germain (1973–1995)
Education	Boston University (BA)

As a correspondent for ABC, Scali became an intermediary during the Cuban Missile Crisis and later a part of the Nixon Administration. Scali gained fame after it became known in 1964 that in October 1962, a year after he joined ABC News, he had carried a critical message from KGB Colonel Aleksandr Fomin (the cover name for Alexander Feklisov) to U.S. officials. He left ABC in 1971 to serve as a foreign affairs adviser to President Nixon, becoming U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in 1973. Scali re-joined ABC in 1975 where he worked until retiring in 1993.

Scali was contacted by Soviet embassy official (and KGB Station Chief) Fomin about a proposed settlement to the crisis, and subsequently he acted as a contact between Fomin and the Executive Committee. However, it was without government direction that Scali responded to new Soviet conditions with a warning that a U.S. invasion was only hours away, prompting the Soviets to settle the crisis quickly.