Ralph Elihu Becker

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This article is about the American ambassador to Honduras. For his son, the mayor of Salt Lake City, see Ralph Becker (mayor).
Ralph Elihu Becker
United States Ambassador to Honduras
In office
October 27, 1976 – August 1, 1977
PresidentGerald Ford
Preceded byPhillip V. Sanchez
Succeeded byMari-Luci Jaramillo
Personal details
BornJanuary 29, 1907
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 24, 1994 (aged 87)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
ChildrenRalph Becker
Alma materSt. John's University (LLB)
Military service
Branch/service United States Army
Battles/warsWorld War II

Ralph Elihu Becker Sr. (January 29, 1907 – August 24, 1994) was an American diplomat and attorney who served as U.S. Ambassador to Honduras from 1976–1977 under the Ford administration.[1] He was a founding trustee of the National Center for the Performing Arts and served as its general counsel during the Eisenhower administration and until 1976.

Early life and education

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Ralph Becker was born on January 29, 1907, in New York City, to a tailor from Lithuania and a mother from Minsk.[2] He took night courses at the City College of New York earned his law degree from St. John's University law school in 1928.[2][3]

Career

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He served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps in World War II as a part of the 30th Infantry Division.[2] He landed in Normandy after D-Day and won a Bronze Star, along with medals from the Belgian, French, and Dutch governments.[2][3]

After his discharge, he worked as a lawyer in Westchester County, New York.[2][4] He went to Washington, D. C. and was the chairman for the Young Republican National Committee from 1946 to 1950.[2][3] In the 1960s, he joined an Arctic expedition that he had helped sponsor, and brought back a pair of polar bears as a gift for the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.[2][3] From 1976 to 1977, he was appointed Ambassador to Honduras.[2][3]

Personal life

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Becker died of congestive heart failure at the George Washington University Hospital on August 24, 1994.[2][3] He was interred soon afterwards in Arlington National Cemetery.[5]

His son Ralph Elihu Becker Jr. was elected Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah in 2007.[6][7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR RALPH E. BECKER" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 9 February 1988. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Saxon, Wolfgang (1994-08-26). "Ralph E. Becker, 87, Lawyer And Ex-Ambassador, Is Dead". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Smith, J.Y. (25 August 1994). "Lawyer and Ambassador Ralph E. Becker Dies at 87". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ Mak, Dayton; Kennedy, Charles Stuart (1992). American Ambassadors in a Troubled World: Interviews with Senior Diplomats: Interviews with Senior Diplomats. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-06576-7.
  5. ^ "Burial Detail: Becker, Ralph E". ANC Explorer.
  6. ^ "Washington-area obituaries of note". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ Woodruff, Daniel (2015-11-03). "Biskupski leads Becker in SLC mayoral race". KUTV. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Honduras
1976–1977 		Succeeded by


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