John Gordon Mein
United States Ambassador to Guatemala
In office
September 22, 1965 – August 28, 1968
PresidentLyndon B. Johnson
Preceded byJohn O. Bell
Succeeded byNathaniel Davis
Personal details
BornSeptember 10, 1913
DiedAugust 28, 1968(1968-08-28) (aged 54)
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Resting placeRock Creek Cemetery
Washington, D.C., U.S.
ProfessionDiplomat

John Gordon Mein (September 10, 1913 – August 28, 1968) was the first United States ambassador to be assassinated while serving in office.[1]

Mein served as the United States Ambassador to Guatemala during the Guatemalan Civil War. It was during his tenure that alleged U.S.-backed state terrorism which started after the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état greatly accelerated with forced disappearances and massacres.[2] He was shot by rebels belonging to the Rebel Armed Forces (FAR) one block from the U.S. consulate on Avenida Reforma in Guatemala City on August 28, 1968. U.S. officials believed that FAR intended to kidnap him in order to negotiate an exchange, but instead they shot him when he attempted to escape.[3] The rebels had killed two U.S. military aides prior to the assassination of Mein.[4]

He is buried at Rock Creek Cemetery, in Washington, D.C.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Eight Bullets in Guatemala". Life. September 6, 1968. p. 52A.
  2. ^ Bevins, Vincent (2020). The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World. PublicAffairs. pp. 217–218. ISBN 978-1541742406.
  3. ^ "Information Memorandum From the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Vaky) to Secretary of State Rusk". Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968. XXXI, South and Central America. U.S. Dept. of State, Office of the Historian. August 29, 1968.
  4. ^ "The Assassination of Ambassador John Gordon Mein, Guatemala, 1968". Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2019-02-28.

External links

Diplomatic posts Preceded byJohn O. Bell United States Ambassador to Guatemala September 22, 1965 – August 28, 1968 Succeeded byNathaniel Davis
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