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Article: Philip Bonsal Dies at 92; Last Ambassador to Cuba
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- June 30, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Philip W. Bonsal, 92, a Foreign Service officer who served as the
last U.S. ambassador to Cuba before diplomatic ties with Fidel
Castro's regime were severed in 1961, died of pneumonia June 28 at
his home in Washington.
Mr. Bonsal, a career diplomat, also had served as ambassador to
Colombia, Bolivia and Morocco. He retired from the State Department
in 1965 after 27 years of service.
Fluent in Spanish and experienced in the nuances of Latin American
diplomacy, Mr. Bonsal was named ambassador to Cuba in January 1959 to
replace Earl E.T. Smith, who was identified in the minds of many
Cubans with the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship that Castro had
overthrown that month.
Arriving at the Havana ...