David Kenneth Rush (January 17, 1910 – December 11, 1994) was a United States Ambassador who helped negotiate the groundbreaking Four-Power Agreement in 1971 that ended the post-war crisis over Berlin.[1][2] He also served as Counselor to President Nixon in 1974. He served as Deputy Secretary of State from 1972-1974.
Early life
Kenneth Rush was born David Kenneth Rush in Walla Walla, Washington, where his parents, from an old Tennessee family, had journeyed during a yearlong tour of the western United States. His father was a farmer in Greenville, Tennessee, and his mother a teacher. His father died when he was two years old.[1] After attending secondary schools in Greenville, Rush worked his way through the University of Tennessee by waiting on tables. He majored in history and was elected into the Phi Beta Kappa. In 1932, he enrolled in Yale Law School, where he edited the law journal and earned an LL.B. degree.[3]
Career
Early career
From 1936 to 1937, Rush joined the Duke University faculty as an assistant professor and taught law.[4] It was here that he met to-be-President Richard Nixon who was a student at the university. It was the beginning of their enduring friendship. In 1937, Rush accepted an offer to join the Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation with the prospect of an executive position. He became a vice president in 1939 and was named president in 1966.[1]
Political career
Rush resigned from all private positions in 1969 to become United States Ambassador to West Germany. Rush was credited for playing a major role in rushing the successful conclusion of the Four Power Agreement on Berlin between the United States, Britain, Soviet Union, and France after 17 months of negotiations. The agreement ended more than two decades of east–west tensions over the divided former capital of Germany; it improved ties between Washington and Moscow, reaffirmed the Western Allies' rights in the city and paved the way for the development of peaceful relations between East and West Germany.
President Richard Nixon appointed Rush as Deputy Secretary of Defense for 1972 under Melvin Laird,[1] then named him Deputy Secretary of State from February 1973 to May 1974,[5] including a period from September 3 to September 22 when Rush served as interim Secretary of State between the terms of William P. Rogers and Henry Kissinger.[6] On May 25, 1974, he was appointed counselor to the president for economic policy.[7] From 1974 to his retirement on March 15, 1977, he served as Ambassador to France.[8]
Death
Rush died at his home in Delray Beach, Florida, on December 11, 1994, at the age of 84. He was remembered by the New York Times as, "a United States Ambassador helped negotiate the ground-breaking four-power agreement in 1971 that ended the post-war crises over Berlin."[9] According to one of his sons, he was under treatment for heart and blood ailments.
Personal life
In 1947, Rush married Jane Gilbert Smith. They had five sons and one daughter. Two of their sons died at a young age.
References
- ^ a b c d Binder, David (December 13, 1994). "Kenneth Rush, U.S. Diplomat, Is Dead at 84". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
- ^ Kleiman, Robert (September 4, 1971). "Mr. Nixon and Berlin".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Kenneth Rush". Retrieved 2009-08-22.
- ^ "Back-channel communications are nothing new for White House". ABC News. Retrieved 2026-01-27.
- ^ Binder, David. "Accords on Berlin Signed, Opening New Era for City". Archived from the original on 2018-03-18. Retrieved 2026-01-27.
- ^ "KENNETH RUSH (1910–1994)". Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ Matusow, Allen J. (1998). Nixon's Economy: Booms, Busts, Dollars, & Votes. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas. p. 281. ISBN 0-7006-0888-5. OCLC 37975682.
- ^ Dunhan, Elizabeth (July 20, 2006). "Kenneth Rush Papers". Archived from the original on June 25, 2010. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
- ^ "Kenneth Rush, U.S. Diplomat, Is Dead at 84 (Published 1994)". 1994-12-13. Archived from the original on 2025-09-10. Retrieved 2026-01-27.
External links
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| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary |
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| Ministers Plenipotentiary to France (1778–1815) | ||
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to France (1816–1893) | ||
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- 1910 births
- 1994 deaths
- Ambassadors of the United States to France
- Ambassadors of the United States to Germany
- Duke University faculty
- Florida Republicans
- Ford administration cabinet members
- Nixon administration cabinet members
- North Carolina Republicans
- People from Delray Beach, Florida
- People from Walla Walla, Washington
- United States deputy secretaries of defense
- United States deputy secretaries of state
- Acting United States secretaries of state
- 20th-century American diplomats
