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Ambassador James R. Lilley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Ambassador to China | |
| In office May 8, 1989 – May 10, 1991 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Winston Lord |
| Succeeded by | J. Stapleton Roy |
| United States Ambassador to South Korea | |
| In office November 26, 1986 – January 3, 1989 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Richard L. Walker |
| Succeeded by | Donald Gregg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 15, 1928 Qingdao, Shandong, Republic of China |
| Died | November 12, 2009 (aged 81) Washington, D.C., US |
| Spouse | Sally Booth |
| Children | 3 sons |
| Alma mater | Yale University (B.A.) George Washington University (M.A.) |
| Profession | Diplomat |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1945–1946 1951–1954 |
| Battles/wars | Korean War |
James Roderick Lilley (simplified Chinese: 李洁明; traditional Chinese: 李潔明; pinyin: Lǐ Jiémíng; January 15, 1928 – November 12, 2009) was a CIA operative and an American diplomat. He served as United States ambassador to China from 1989 to 1991.[1]
Born to American parents in China, Lilley learned Mandarin at a young age before his family moved back to the United States at the outbreak of World War II. He served in the United States Army before earning an undergraduate degree from Yale University and a master's in international relations from George Washington University. He then joined the Central Intelligence Agency, where he would work for nearly 30 years in a variety of Asian countries prior to becoming a diplomat.
Before being appointed ambassador to China in 1989, he was director of the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington's de facto embassy on the island, and ambassador to South Korea. After the suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests, Lilley was critical of the Chinese crackdown and harbored a prominent dissident in the embassy, but worked to prevent long-term damage to United States–China relations. After his retirement, he published a memoir and worked as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
- ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR JAMES R. LILLEY" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 21 May 1998. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 June 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.