Background
He was born in Swainsboro, Georgia to William Manning Rountree, Senior and Clyde Brannan Rountree on March 28, 1917.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
William Manning
Edit ProfileEducation
The family moved to Atlanta when William Junior. was six, where he attended high school.
Career
After graduating from high school in 1935, Rountree got a job with the United States Department of the Treasury where he held various clerical and accounting positions. He later became involved with the lend-lease program In 1942 he transferred to the United States Department of State and was assigned to Cairo, Egypt where he helped organize World World War II aid programs.
This led to a long diplomatic career in which Rountree specialized in the Middle East and South Asia.
During 1948 and 1949 he was assigned to the United States. Embassy in Athens, Greece, where he helped administer United States. aid programs to the Greek army which was fighting Communist insurgents. He later held positions in Turkey and Iran.
In 1956 he became Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian and African Affairs. In this position he helped develop United States. policy involving the Suez crisis in November 1956 and the United States. intervention in Lebanon in 1958.
Rountree served as Ambassador to Pakistan (1959-1962), Sudan (1962-1965), South Africa (1965-1970), and Brazil (1970-1973).
He retired in May 1973 and settled in Gainesville, Florida, where he died of cancer on November 3, 1995.
