Joseph J. Sisco

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Joseph J. Sisco
10th President of American University
In office 1976–1980
Preceded by	George H. Williams
Succeeded by	Richard E. Berendzen
8th Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
In office February 19, 1974 – June 30, 1976
President	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
Preceded by	William J. Porter
Succeeded by	Philip Habib
10th Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs
In office February 10, 1969 – February 18, 1974
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Parker T. Hart
Succeeded by	Alfred Atherton
7th Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs
In office September 10, 1965 – February 9, 1969
President	Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Harlan Cleveland
Succeeded by	Samuel De Palma
Personal details
Born	(1919-10-31)October 31, 1919 Chicago, Illinois
Died	November 23, 2004(2004-11-23) (aged 85) Chevy Chase, Maryland
Cause of death	Complications of diabetes
Spouse	Jean Churchill Head ​ ​ (m. 1946; died 1990)​
Children	2
Education	Knox College (BA) University of Chicago (MA, PhD)
Profession	Diplomat, businessman
Nickname	"Jumping Joe"
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1942-1945
Rank	First lieutenant
Unit	41st Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War II

Joseph John Sisco (October 31, 1919 – November 23, 2004) 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 State Department spanned five presidential administrations.^[1]

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.^[2]

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

Sisco attended Morton College and Knox College and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.^[3]

Sisco's wife, Jean Head Sisco, whom he married in 1946 while they were students at the University of Chicago, died in 1990.^[4]

• Appearances on C-SPAN