Terrence A.Todman: From St. Thomas To The State Department
Third in a series honoring notable Virgin Islanders during Black History Month.
By Winston Nugent
Winston Nugent
As a little boy growing up on his native St. Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands with (12) brothers and sisters, he dreamed of exploring other parts of the world. Born on March 13, 1926, Terrence Todman graduated from public school, and enrolled at Inter American University in Puerto Rico.
His wondrous imagination prompted him to drop out and he immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army as a commissioned officer. He was sent to Japan after the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War 11. He became a first lieutenant during his four years of service. As a result of his outstanding service, he was placed in the “Infantry Hall of Fame” at Fort Binning in Georgia.
When his army service was completed, he decided to pursue a diplomatic career and so while earning his advanced degree in public administration, he worked for the State Department as an International Relations Officer in the Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Department. His first post was in 1957 as a political officer in the U.S. Embassy in Delhi, India. Because languages came easily to him, in addition to Arabic, he is fluent in Spanish, French, and Russian. He accepted his first ambassadorship in 1969 when he became the Ambassador of the African Republic of Chad.
Bio-Scan:
. In 1972 he became the American Ambassador to Guinea located in Northwest Africa.
. In 1975 he was appointed Ambassador to Costa Rica becoming the first African American to serve in such a position in Latin America.
.In 1977 he became Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. In his position he helped broker the Panama Canal Treaty and worked with Cuba to developed U.S. interests, maritime and fishing agreements.
. In 1978 he was named Ambassador to Spain by President Jimmy Carter.
. In 1983 he was asked to serve as Ambassador to South Africa. He refused saying that he could not support President Ronald Regan’s stance on Apartheid.
. In 1983 he served as Ambassador to Denmark.
. In 1989 George H. W. Bush named him a career ambassador which is equivalent to the military’s four star general and the state deployment highest rank.
. His latest diplomat assignment was Ambassador to Argentina.
. In 1986 he was honored with the Virgin Islands Medal of Honor.
. In 1988 he received Denmark’s Presidential Meritorious Service Award.
Good read, what is the Ambassador doing now?