Robert Strausz-Hupé, 98 years of age, former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, NATO, Belgium, Sweden, and Sri Lanka, and professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, died at his home in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on February 24, 2002.
Born in Vienna under the rule of the Hapsburg Empire, Strausz-Hupé came to the United States In 1923. After Nazi troops entered his native Vienna in 1938, he began writing and lecturing to American audiences on “the coming war,” which led to an academic position at the University of Pennsylvania. Strausz-Hupé authored or co-authored several important books on international affairs. His first major work, Geopolitics: The Struggle for Space and Power, became a best seller in its genre. His later works included Protracted Conflict and The Balance of Tomorrow.
In 1969, he was appointed U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka. He subsequently served as ambassador to Belgium (1972-74), Sweden (1974-76), NATO (1976-77), and Turkey (1981- 89). In 1989, Strausz-Hupé retired and rejoined the Foreign Policy Research Institute, which he had founded in 1955.
Former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig, Jr., said of him: “Ambassador Strausz-Hupé was a brilliant geo-strategic thinker and writer. . . . He was a valued friend and counselor, a true patriot, and statesman.”
Courtesy FPRI