John R. Countryman

John Russell Countryman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 25, 1933. His father, Russell Countryman, worked for Associated Press as a photography and art editor; his mother was a Czech immigrant. He was named for John Budd Long, general manager of the California Newspaper Publishers Association. He had one sister. == Acting career ==

, and Shirley Temple in a publicity photo for The Blue Bird From age three to ten, John was a child model and actor. A succession of film roles quickly followed. One of his notable film roles was as Tyltyl, the younger brother of Shirley Temple's character Mytyl in The Blue Bird, released in 1940. This film marked the first time another child played alongside Temple for the duration of the story, and Temple's mother Gertrude was upset about the six-year-old Russell sharing screen time with her daughter. She tried to have Russell, who was "notably talented and cute", replaced, but producer Darryl F. Zanuck insisted on Russell being retained as Temple's character's brother. Russell later acted on the New York stage. == Education and military career ==

Seeking a "normal childhood" for their son, John's parents relocated the family to Garden City, New York, where John attended a local elementary school. He next studied at Xavier High School, a private Jesuit military secondary school in Manhattan, where he was a contemporary of Antonin Scalia and served as a major in the cadet regiment and won gold medals in the debating, oratory, and dramatics clubs. He graduated from high school in 1950 and earned his bachelor's degree in English literature from Fordham University in 1954. While in college, Countryman had signed up with the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), but his military service was deferred when he was awarded a post-graduate Fulbright Fellowship to study English literature at the Free University of Berlin. He had applied for a fellowship to the University of Leeds, but the Fulbright Program had a surplus of applications for England and not that many for Germany. Countryman had studied German in both high school and university, and agreed to switch countries. In 1955, he joined the United States Air Force, serving in the Strategic Air Command for three years. He mainly flew tanker aircraft such as the KC-97 and KB-29, but also flew the B-47 and B-52. He served primarily in the mainland United States, although he did provide limited support for personnel and equipment transfers between Alaska and Japan. His overseas experience sparked his desire to join the United States Foreign Service, and while studying for his master's degree at the University of Miami, he also studied for the Foreign Service exam. He successfully passed the written and oral exams in 1961, the same year he received his master's degree in English and American literature with his thesis on "The German Element in the Writings of Thomas Wolfe". While waiting to enter the Foreign Service, he worked as a city reporter for The News-Times in Danbury, Connecticut. He joined the Foreign Service in February 1962. == Foreign Service career ==

At nearly 30 years old, Countryman was one of the oldest in his incoming class, as most entrants had just graduated from college. He scored high in his German language test and was recommended to study a "hard" language like Turkish for a Near East posting. He briefly worked in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, which covered Turkey at the time, and then began his Turkish language course. He reported to the diplomatic mission in Istanbul in January 1963. From 1971 to 1975, Countryman served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Libreville, Gabon, in west-central Africa. During his Gabonese tour, Countryman and his wife also toured South Africa, which was then under apartheid. In 1976, thanks to his diplomatic experience in Saudi Arabia and familiarity with the Persian Gulf states and emirates, plus the research he did at the Army War College, Countryman was tapped for the post of Deputy Director of Arabian Peninsula Affairs (ARP) at the State Department, where he worked until 1978. This period marked an increase in wealth in Saudi Arabia due to its oil reserves, and Congress' passage of a law restricting arms sales to areas that had newfound wealth. Countryman briefed Democrat and Republican Congressmen on the issues, which included Israel's concern over the supply of American weaponry to Saudi Arabia. Countryman explained: "It was in Israel's best interest that the United States had access to oil and there be stable oil and financial markets in the world. So then the issues came down to just how sophisticated the weaponry is that you sell to Saudi Arabia, and what controls do you put in place so you make sure it is not used against Israel". Countryman also briefed US federal agencies on the topics of human rights and narcotics. In 1978, Countryman was promoted to Acting Director of ARP. He spent much of his time dealing with the Iran hostage crisis through briefing the Saudis and the Gulf States, and working on foreign policy initiatives with other governments and the United Nations. He also helped negotiate a military access agreement between the U.S. and Oman which was signed in September 1980. == Ambassador to Oman ==

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Countryman to be United States Ambassador to Oman. He was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent and presented his credentials in Muscat on October 14, 1981. Countryman developed the growing relationship between the U.S. and Oman by promoting trade as well as military access; his staff coordinated a 150th anniversary celebration of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the two nations. and Countryman arranged for Vice President George Bush to visit the sultanate on one of his visits to the region. Countryman also hosted a large congressional delegation led by Charles H. Percy, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. During Countryman's ambassadorship, the Iran–Iraq War erupted. Ambassadors for both Iraq and Iran were present in Oman, and while Countryman was friendly with the Iraqi ambassador, he adhered to U.S. foreign policy and did not acknowledge the Iranian ambassador at all. Countryman's tour was originally set to be three years, but he stayed on an additional year to act as an advisor for the re-negotiation of the U.S.–Oman military access agreement. He left his post on July 29, 1985. In 1985, Countryman moved back to Washington, D.C., to complete an 18-month senior fellowship at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He researched and wrote a paper on the subject of "Oil and Security in the Persian Gulf", which he then developed into an all-day seminar for the Foreign Service Institute. He retired from the United States Foreign Service in March 1987. == Later activities ==

Countryman spent the next five years working in real estate in Georgetown. He then worked several years as Executive Director of the Mission for Peace and Cooperation in the Middle East, under the auspices of Search for Common Ground. In this position, he organized seminars on conflict resolution for Arabs, Israelis, and Iranians. In 1992, he became associate publisher of CEO Update, a newsletter that covers jobs in the nonprofit sector. == Personal life and death ==

Countryman's first wife was a French native whom he met during his tour in Istanbul; they were divorced before he started his tour in Libya in 1971. Countryman spoke about his diplomatic experiences to students at his high school alma mater during that school's annual Career Day. He was inducted into the Xavier High School Hall of Fame in 2010, sixty years after his graduation. Countryman died of pneumonia in Loudoun, Virginia, on December 14, 2024, six weeks before his 92nd birthday. ==Filmography==