Beginning in 1949, his foreign service career took him to
Canada,
New Zealand,
South Korea (twice), and
South Vietnam. He held the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1967–1969 and was chief of staff for the U.S. delegation to the
Paris Peace Talks from 1968 to 1971. In 1969, he was given the Rockefeller Public Service Award and the National Civil Service League's Career Service Award in 1970. Habib acquired increasingly important posts, serving as
Ambassador to South Korea (1971–1974),
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (1974–1976), and
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (1976–1978). He was also the one time president of the
American Foreign Service Association. a sentiment shared by
William H. Gleysteen. The CIA station chief in Korea at the time, Donald P. Gregg, remembered that Habib forcefully emphasized to the
Park Chung-hee regime that keeping Kim in captivity would damage U.S.Korean relations. Habib called the kidnapping "stupid governmental thuggery." Kim later became the first opposition leader in South Korea to become president and also won the
Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his reconciliation efforts with
North Korea. Even after returning to Washington, Habib was a powerful advocate for human rights in South Korea. In 1974, Habib was chastised by
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger for his continued calls for the end of political repression. He was presented the
Distinguished Honor Award by Secretary
Henry Kissinger for his "important role in the development of American foreign policy and furthering the county's interests overseas." That same year, a massive heart attack forced Habib to resign as Under Secretary, the top post possible for a career Foreign Service Officer. Habib oversaw the negotiations of a peace deal that allowed the PLO to evacuate from the besieged city of
Beirut. In 1982, for his efforts he was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest official honor given to a U.S. citizen by the
U.S. government. Early in 1986, Reagan sent Habib to the
Philippines to convince President
Ferdinand Marcos to a power sharing compromise between him and Cory Aquino. In March 1986, Reagan appointed him as a special envoy to
Central America with the intention of furthering U.S. interests in the conflict in
Nicaragua. Administration hard-liners intended to use his fame and stature to advance a military solution, namely further funding of the
Contras. Deciding that the
Contadora Plan had run its course,
Óscar Arias, the newly elected president of
Costa Rica, drew up a plan that focused on democratization. While he viewed the Arias plan as riddled with loopholes, Habib worked to help revise it, and promoted it to other Central American governments. On August 7, 1987, the five Central American presidents, much to the shock of the rest of the world, agreed in principle to the Arias plan. Because further negotiating would require Habib to meet directly with Nicaragua's president,
Daniel Ortega, President Reagan forbade him to travel. Believing he no longer had the confidence of the president, Habib resigned. ==Death and legacy==