John A. Scali
| John A. Scali | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 11th United States Ambassador to the United Nations | |
|
In office February 20, 1973 – June 29, 1975 | |
| President |
Richard Nixon Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | George H. W. Bush |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Patrick Moynihan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Alfred Scali April 27, 1918 Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died |
October 9, 1995 (aged 77) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Alma mater | Boston University |
| Profession | Journalist |
John Alfred Scali (April 27, 1918 – October 9, 1995) was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1973 to 1975. From 1961 he was also a long time correspondent for ABC News.
As a correspondent for ABC, Scali became an intermediary during the Cuban Missile Crisis and later a part of the Nixon Administration. Scali gained fame after it became known in 1964 that in October 1962, a year after he joined ABC News, he had carried a critical message from KGB Colonel Aleksandr Fomin (the cover name for Alexander Feklisov) to U.S. officials. He left ABC in 1971 to serve as a foreign affairs adviser to President Nixon, becoming U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in 1973. Scali re-joined ABC in 1975 where he worked until retiring in 1993.
Scali was contacted by Soviet embassy official (and KGB Station Chief) Fomin about a proposed settlement to the crisis, and subsequently he acted as a contact between Fomin and the Executive Committee. However, it was without government direction that Scali responded to new Soviet conditions with a warning that a U.S. invasion was only hours away, prompting the Soviets to settle the crisis quickly.
References
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George H. W. Bush |
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations 1973 – 1975 |
Succeeded by Daniel Patrick Moynihan |
 |  | ||
