Rawson, David P. (David Paul), 1941-2020 (US Ambassador)
Dates
- Existence: September 10, 1941 - September 16, 2020
Biographical Note
David Paul Rawson was born September 10, 1941 in Addison, MI. He attended Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI and has a Ph.D. from American University in Boston, MA. He married Sandra Miller, with whom he had two children. Rawson served in the U. S. Foregin Service since 1971 as a diplomat. He worked as an assistant to a desk officer in the Department of State for Rwanda and Burundi (1971-2), then as a political officer in Kigali, Rwanda (1973-5) and Bamako, Mali (1975-8). He was in the chief political section in Dakar, Senegal (1978), then became the Special Assistant for Trade and Development in the Pearson Fellowship Program put on by the Trumbull County Commissioners in Warren, Ohio. Rawson was appointed Deputy chief of Mission for Antananarivo, Madagascar (1983-1985) and for Mogadishu, Somalia (1986-1988). He then became a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at Princeton University and Director of the Office of West African Affairs for the Department State (1989-1990). He was a Senior Fellow at the Center for Study of Foreign Affairs (1991-1992), before he became an advisor for the Council on Foreign Diplomacy's Executive Exchange Program of Mobil South, Inc. (1993). Rawson became Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Rwanda (Nov. 22, 1993 [arrived Jan. 8, 1994] - Jan. 6, 1996) and Mali (Dec. 19, 1995 [arrived Mar. 1, 1996] - July 26, 1999), and Dept. Chief of Mission in Mogadishu, Somalia (1986-88). Rawson arrived on Kigali Hill in Rwanda as an ambassador to help ensure the establishment of a government and a national assembly as part of the Arusha peace process.
Now retired, Rawson is a member of the African Studies Association, Mande Studies Association, Lenawee County Farm Bureau, and American Foreign Service Association.
Citation:
"David P. Rawson." Prabook. Accessed September 03, 2018. https://prabook.com/web/david_p.rawson/885566."David P. Rawson (1941–)." Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Accessed September 03, 2018. https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/rawson-david-p.
"Interview - David P. Rawson: Ghosts of Rwanda." Frontline PBS. April 1, 2004. Accessed September 03, 2018. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ghosts/interviews/rawson.html.
"Rawson, David P." Library of Congress Linked Data Service Name Authority. Accessed September 03, 2018. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2004079288.html.