Cyrus Vance

Cyrus Vance
57th United States Secretary of State
In office
January 20, 1977 – April 28, 1980
PresidentJimmy Carter
DeputyWarren Christopher
Preceded byHenry Kissinger
Succeeded byEdmund Muskie
11th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
In office
January 28, 1964 – June 30, 1967
PresidentLyndon B. Johnson
Preceded byRoswell Gilpatric
Succeeded byPaul Nitze
7th United States Secretary of the Army
In office
July 5, 1962 – January 21, 1964
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded byElvis Jacob Stahr Jr.
Succeeded byStephen Ailes
General Counsel of the Department of Defense
In office
January 29, 1961 – June 30, 1962
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Preceded byVincent Burke
Succeeded byJohn McNaughton
Personal details
Born
Cyrus Roberts Vance

(1917-03-27)March 27, 1917
Clarksburg, West Virginia, U.S.
DiedJanuary 12, 2002(2002-01-12) (aged 84)
New York City, U.S.
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Gay Sloane
(m. 1947)
Children5, including Cyrus Jr.
RelativesJohn W. Davis (adoptive father)
EducationYale University (BA, LLB)
Signature
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service1942–1946
RankLieutenant
UnitUSS Hale (DD-642)
Battles/warsWorld War II

Cyrus Roberts Vance Sr. (March 27, 1917 – January 12, 2002) was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980.[1] Prior to serving in that position, he was the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Johnson administration. During the Kennedy administration he was Secretary of the Army and General Counsel of the Department of Defense.[2]

As Secretary of State, Vance approached foreign policy with an emphasis on negotiation over conflict and a special interest in arms reduction. In April 1980, he resigned in protest of Operation Eagle Claw, the secret mission to rescue American hostages in Iran. He was succeeded by Edmund Muskie.

Vance was the cousin (and adoptive son) of 1924 Democratic presidential nominee and lawyer John W. Davis. He was the father of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference obit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Bell, William Gardner (1992). "Cyrus Roberts Vance". Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army: Portraits and Biographical Sketches. United States Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007.