Joseph J. Sisco

Joseph John Sisco was a diplomat who played a major role in then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East. His career in the United [States Department of State|State Department] spanned five presidential administrations.

Diplomatic career

Sisco had served for a year as an officer of the Central Intelligence Agency before joining the State Department in 1951, where he served as a foreign affairs officer until 1965, when he was promoted to Assistant [Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs] by Dean Rusk. In 1969, he was promoted to Assistant Secretary of State for [Near Eastern Affairs]. He left the government in 1976, and served as the President of American University until 1980.

Private sector career

In June 1980, he joined CNN as a columnist, appearing occasionally on air as an expert on Middle Eastern and Asian affairs.

Personal life

Sisco attended Morton College and Knox College and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
Sisco's wife, Jean Head Sisco, whom he married in 1946 while they were students at the University of Chicago, died in 1990.