{{short description|American diplomat}} {{Infobox person | name = Philo Dibble | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = September 10, 1951 | birth_place = Alexandria, Egypt | death_date = October 1, 2011 (aged 60) | death_place = McLean, Virginia, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = | education = Sidwell Friends School<br/>Woodrow Wilson High School | alma_mater = St. John's College<br/>Johns Hopkins University | employer = | occupation = Diplomat | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | political_party = | boards = | spouse = Elizabeth Dibble | children = 3 | parents = Philo Tolman Dibble<br/>Cleopatra Bolens | relatives = }} '''Philo Louis Dibble''' (September 10, 1951 – October 1, 2011) was an American diplomat.
==Early life== Dibble was born on September 10, 1951, in Alexandria, Egypt.<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news |title=Philo Dibble, Diplomat and Iran Expert, Dies at 60 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/world/middleeast/philo-dibble-diplomat-and-iran-expert-dies-at-60.html?ref=obituaries |work=New York Times |date=2011-10-13 |access-date=2011-10-25}}</ref><ref name="washpostobit">{{cite news |title=Philo Dibble, diplomat who helped free U.S. hikers from Iran, dies at 60|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/philo-l-dibble-us-diplomat-who-helped-secure-hikers-release-from-iran-dies-at-60/2011/10/11/gIQAzsq3fL_story.html |access-date=July 3, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 12, 2011}}</ref> He was named for his father, Philo Tolman Dibble, who was also a diplomat.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name="washpostobit"/>
Dibble attended the Sidwell Friends School and graduated from the Woodrow Wilson High School.<ref name="washpostobit"/> He graduated from St. John's College in 1976.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name="washpostobit"/> He went to graduate school at Johns Hopkins University, where he earned a master's degree in international studies in 1980.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name="washpostobit"/>
==Career== Dibble joined the United States Foreign Service in 1980.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name="washpostobit"/> He served as a diplomat in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Pakistan, Syria and Lebanon. He served in Lebanon shortly after the 1983 United States embassy bombing.<ref name=nytimes/> He was retired from 2006 to 2010.<ref name="washpostobit"/>
Dibble returned to the Foreign Service in September 2010, when he was appointed as the deputy assistant secretary of state for Iran for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.<ref name="washpostobit"/> Dibble was instrumental in the release, in September 2011, of two American hikers who had been held in Iran for two years.<ref name="washpostobit"/> Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal were released from Iranian capture after two years in September 2011. Dibble, along with a team of U.S. Department of State officials negotiated their release. He used his connections with diplomats from Oman and Switzerland to secure their release.<ref name=nytimes/>
==Personal life and death== Dibble was married to Elizabeth Dibble, née Elizabeth Link.<ref name=nytimes/> They had three daughters.<ref name="washpostobit"/> They resided in McLean, Virginia.<ref name="washpostobit"/>
Dibble died of a heart attack on October 1, 2011, aged 60.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name="washpostobit"/> His funeral, held at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, was attended by hundreds of people, including U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name="foreignpolicystatedepartmentturnsout">{{cite news |last1=Rogin |first1=Josh |title=State Department turns out to honor Philo Dibble |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/06/state-department-turns-out-to-honor-philo-dibble/ |access-date=July 3, 2018 |work=Foreign Policy |date=October 6, 2011}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dibble, Philo}} Category:1951 births Category:2011 deaths Category:People from McLean, Virginia Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni Category:20th-century American diplomats Category:21st-century American diplomats