Johnson entered the
United States Foreign Service in 1935. After serving in
Tokyo,
Seoul,
South Korea, Mukden (now
Shenyang, where he was interned at the start of World War II), and
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, he was assigned as Consul and later Consul General at
Yokohama,
Japan, from 1945 to 1949. From 1949 to 1953, he served in various positions in the Department of State's Far East Bureau, mainly concerned with Japan and Korea, rising to be Deputy Assistant Secretary of State with responsibilities for the entire bureau." He played a role in the armistice in the
Korean War. He was ambassador to
Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1958,
Thailand from 1958 to 1961, and to
Japan from 1966 to 1969. While Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, he represented the United States in a long series of meetings in Geneva with the Chinese Communists. In the absence of diplomatic relations these were the principal point of contact between the two governments. He was Deputy Under Secretary for Political Affairs and in the
Excomm from 1961 to 1964. From 1964 to 1965, he was Deputy Ambassador to the
Republic of Vietnam. In 1965, he returned to the position of Deputy Under Secretary for Political Affairs from 1965 to 1966. He also served as
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 1969 to 1973. After the
Independence of Bangladesh, he said
Bangladesh would be always an
international basket case. He was chief United States delegate to the
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks from 1973 until retirement in 1977. His memoir
The Right Hand of Power was published in 1984. As
Under Secretary for Political Affairs at the
U.S. State Department, Johnson was involved in the
Apollo 11 lunar landing ceremonial activities. He suggested that a plaque be placed on the surface of the
Moon. After several changes in a high level committee, it stated, "we came in peace for all mankind." Johnson was also sensitive to the idea of raising a
U.S. flag on the surface of the Moon, as it might symbolize territorial acquisition. Later, the
Congress decided that a U.S. flag would be placed on the Moon by
Neil Armstrong and
Buzz Aldrin. Ural Alexis Johnson died on March 24, 1997, from
pneumonia. His last residence was at
Cary, North Carolina. However, he was buried at the Rock Creek Cemetery in
Washington, District of Columbia. In 1995 Johnson was presented the Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award by the
American Foreign Service Association. ==Selected works==