{{Short description|American diplomat (1912–2010)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2012}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Roy R. Rubottom Jr. | image = Roy R. Rubottom Jr. 1961.jpg | caption = Rubottom in 1961 | image_size = | office1 = 6th [[Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs|Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs]] | predecessor1 = [[Henry F. Holland]] | successor1 = [[Thomas C. Mann]] | president1 = [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] | term_start1 = June 18, 1957 | term_end1 = August 27, 1960 | ambassador_from2 = United States | country2 = Argentina | predecessor2 = [[Willard L. Beaulac]] | successor2 = [[Robert M. McClintock]] | president2 = [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] | term_start2 = August 27, 1960 | term_end2 = October 19, 1961 | birth_date = {{birth date|1912|02|13}} | birth_place = [[Brownwood, Texas]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2010|12|06|1912|02|13}} | death_place = [[Austin, Texas]], U.S. | party = | spouse = Billy Ruth Young | relations = | children = | alma_mater = [[Southern Methodist University]]<br>[[University of Texas at Austin]] | occupation = | profession = Diplomat | signature = | website = | footnotes = | order2 = 34th }}
'''Roy Richard Rubottom Jr.''' (February 13, 1912 – December 6, 2010) was an American diplomat, most notable for being [[Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs]] from 1957 to 1960, a post in which he played a major role in engineering the United States' response to the [[Cuban Revolution]].
==Biography== ===Early years (1912–1947)=== Rubottom was born in [[Brownwood, Texas]], on February 13, 1912.<ref>{{cite web|author=Lawrence Kestenbaum |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/ruble-ruggero.html |title=The Political Graveyard |publisher=The Political Graveyard |accessdate=January 17, 2012}}</ref> His parents ran a [[boarding house]].<ref name="crossandcrescent2007">[http://www.crossandcrescent.com/2007/05/salute-to-dick-rubottom/ Tad Lichtenauer, "Salute to Dick Rubottom", ''Cross & Crescent'', May 2007.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105193602/http://www.crossandcrescent.com/2007/05/salute-to-dick-rubottom/ |date=January 5, 2010 }}</ref> He was educated at [[Southern Methodist University]], graduating in 1933.<ref name="autogenerated116">Roy R. Rubottom Jr., "Toward Better Understanding between United States and Latin America," ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 330, Whither American Foreign Policy? (Jul. 1960), p. 116.</ref> There he was a member of the [[Lambda Chi Alpha]] [[Fraternities and sororities|fraternity]] and in 1933, he became the fraternity's seventh full-time traveling secretary (educational leadership consultant) from 1933 to 1935.<ref name="crossandcrescent2007"/> In 1937, he became [[dean of student life]] at the [[University of Texas at Austin]].<ref name="google27">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZdIDAAAAMBAJ&q=Roy+R.+Rubottom,+Jr.&pg=PA27 |title="Texas exes staff embassies in far away places", ''The Alcalde'' (May 1965), p. 27 |date=May 1965 |accessdate=January 17, 2012}}</ref> He married a student, Billy Ruth Young of [[Corsicana, Texas]], in 1938, and together the couple had three children: a daughter, Eleanor Ann (Rubottom) Odden and two sons, Frank Richard Rubottom and John William Rubottom.<ref name="txgenweb1">{{cite web|url=http://www.txgenweb6.org/txnavarro/obituaries/pg90185.htm |title=Obituary of Billy Ruth (Young) Rubottom |publisher=Txgenweb6.org |accessdate=January 17, 2012}}</ref> During his time at the University of Texas, he also did graduate level studies from 1939 to 1941.<ref name="google27"/> In fall 1941, Rubottom joined the [[United States Navy]] with the rank of [[Lieutenant (junior grade)]].<ref name="crossandcrescent2007"/> He was initially posted to [[New Orleans]], where he was responsible for recruiting and training.<ref name="crossandcrescent2007"/> After serving additional assignments in [[Manzanillo, Colima]], Mexico and [[Asunción]], Paraguay, he left the Navy in 1946, having achieved the rank of [[Commander (United States)|Commander]].<ref>[http://www.crossandcrescent.com/2007/05/salute-to-dick-rubottom/ Tad Lichtenauer, "Salute to Dick Rubottom", ''Cross & Crescent'', May 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105193602/http://www.crossandcrescent.com/2007/05/salute-to-dick-rubottom/ |date=January 5, 2010 }}; [http://www.txgenweb6.org/txnavarro/obituaries/pg90185.htm Obituary of Billy Ruth (Young) Rubottom.]</ref>
===Career in the Foreign Service (1947–1957)=== Rubottom joined the [[United States Foreign Service]] in 1947. His first posting as a [[Foreign Service Officer]] was [[Second Secretary]] in [[Bogotá]].<ref name="autogenerated116"/> He then moved to the [[United States Department of State]] in Washington, D.C., to become Officer-in-Charge of Mexican Affairs, and later Director of the Office of Middle American Affairs.<ref name="autogenerated116"/> He then returned to the field, serving in the [[United States Embassy]] in Madrid, first as Counselor, then as Director of the United States Operations Mission in Spain.<ref>Roy R. Rubottom Jr., "Toward Better Understanding between United States and Latin America," ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,'' Vol. 330, Whither American Foreign Policy? (Jul. 1960), p. 116.</ref> In 1956, he returned to Washington, D.C., and became Deputy [[Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs]].<ref name="crossandcrescent2007"/>
===Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (1957–1960)=== Upon the resignation of [[Henry F. Holland]] in September 1956, Rubottom took over as Acting [[Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808575,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214125356/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808575,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 14, 2008 |title="The Americas: Top Man Resigns", ''Time'', Sept. 10, 1956 |magazine=Time |date=September 10, 1956 |accessdate=January 17, 2012}}</ref> After many months,<ref>{{cite web |date=February 13, 1990 |title=The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR ROY R. RUBOTTOM, JR. |url=https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Rubottom,%20Roy%20R.toc.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240703175147/https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Rubottom,%20Roy%20R.toc.pdf |archive-date=3 July 2024 |access-date=2 August 2024 |website=Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training |pages=22–23}}</ref> [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[John Foster Dulles]] chose to nominate Rubottom for the post, which was confirmed in the [[United States Senate|Senate]] after lengthy [[United States congressional hearing#Confirmation hearings|confirmation hearings]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rabe|first1=Stephen G.|authorlink=Stephen G. Rabe|title=Eisenhower and Latin America: The Foreign Policy of Anticommunism|date=1988|publisher=University of North Carolina press|location=Chapel Hill|isbn=0807842044|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=o2SFNdAiB7UC&pg=PA100 100–101]}}</ref> Rubottom served in the capacity of Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs from June 18, 1957, until August 27, 1960. Pursuing the [[Eisenhower Administration]]'s [[Cold War]] policy of [[containment]] (as expressed in the [[Eisenhower Doctrine]]), Rubottom's chief aim as Assistant Secretary was to halt the spread of Communism in Latin America. In January 1958, Rubottom gave an important speech entitled "Communism in the Americas" in which he warned that agents of the [[Soviet Union]] were increasingly active in Latin America and that the U.S. needed to be prepared to support anti-Communist forces in Latin America.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historicaltextarchive.com/print.php?action=section&artid=116 |title=Roy R. Rubottom Jr., "Communism in the Americas", ''Department of State Bulletin'', Feb. 3, 1958. |publisher=Historicaltextarchive.com |accessdate=January 17, 2012}}</ref>
The [[Cuban Revolution]] of 1959 occurred while Rubottom was Assistant Secretary. Rubottom initially believed that Castro was not a Communist, and in April 1959, the State Department greeted Castro as a "distinguished leader".<ref>[http://www.modernhistoryproject.org/mhp/ArticleDisplay.php?Article=FinalWarn07-6 David Rivera, ''Final Warning: A History of the New World Order'' (1994), ch. 7.6.]</ref> At a January 14, 1960, meeting of the [[United States National Security Council]], Rubottom explained how the State Department's policy evolved from having a positive image of [[Fidel Castro]] in early 1959 through to deciding Castro needed to be assassinated by the end of the year:<ref>NSC meeting, January 14, 1960, FRUS 1958–60, 6:742–43.</ref>
{{blockquote|The period from January to March might be characterized as the honeymoon period of the Castro government. In April a downward trend in [[Cuba – United States relations|US-Cuban relations]] had been evident. . . . In June we had reached the decision that it was not possible to achieve our objectives with Castro in power and had agreed to undertake the program referred to by [[Livingston T. Merchant|Mr. Merchant]].
In July and August we had been busy drawing up a program to replace Castro. Some American companies, however, reported to us during this time that they were making some progress in negotiations, a factor that caused us to slow the implementation of our program. The hope expressed by these companies did not materialize. October was a period of clarification. . . . On 31 October in agreement with [[Central Intelligence Agency]], the Department had recommended to the President approval of a program along the lines referred to by Mr. Merchant.
The approved program authorized us to support elements in Cuba opposed to the Castro government while making Castro's downfall seem to be the result of his own mistakes.}}
In addition to discussions about assassinating Castro, Rubottom was involved in discussions about the [[United States embargo against Cuba]], which began in October 1960, two months after Rubottom left the State Department.<ref>See Lester D. Mallory, Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Mallory) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Rubottom), Department of State, Central Files, 737.00/4-660, Secret, Drafted by Mallory, in Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS), 1958–1960, Volume VI, Cuba: (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1991), p. 885.</ref>
As Assistant Secretary, Rubottom was supportive of moderates in the [[Dominican Republic]] who sought the overthrow of dictator [[Rafael Trujillo]], advising the National Security Council in March 1960 that an assassination attempt would occur soon.<ref>NSC meeting minutes, Mar. 31, 1960, AWF/NSC.</ref> He was in contact with CIA officials about orchestrating the assassination, which eventually occurred in May 1961.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/1461.cfm |title=''The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower'', Vol. XX, Doc. 1461, Mar. 21, 1960 |publisher=Eisenhowermemorial.org |accessdate=January 17, 2012}}</ref>
===Later years (since 1960)=== President Eisenhower then nominated Rubottom as [[United States Ambassador to Argentina]]; Ambassador Rubottom presented his credentials to the Argentinian government on October 20, 1960, and served in that post for one year, leaving Argentina on October 19, 1961.<ref>[http://argentina.usembassy.gov/former_u.s._ambassadors List of U.S. Ambassadors to Argentina from the Embassy's website] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527090629/http://argentina.usembassy.gov/former_u.s._ambassadors |date=May 27, 2010 }}</ref> [[File:Ambassador Roy R Rubottom, Jr.png|thumb|Roy R. Rubottom, Jr (right), then Ambassador to Argentina, pins a 20-year Length of Service pin on Celestino del Castillo]] Rubottom spent 1961 to 1964 as a faculty adviser at the [[Naval War College]].<ref>Roy R. Rubottom Jr., "The Goals of United States Policy in Latin America", ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 342, American Foreign Policy Challenged (Jul., 1962), p. 30.</ref> He then returned to his alma mater, [[Southern Methodist University]], as Vice President of Life (1964–1967); Vice President of Administration (1967–1970); and Vice President of Planning (1970–1971).<ref name="crossandcrescent2007"/> He then spent two years as president of the [[Fundación Universidad de las Américas, Puebla|University of the Americas]] before retiring in 1973.<ref name="crossandcrescent2007"/>
In retirement, Rubottom lived in [[Dallas]].<ref name="txgenweb1"/> Rubottom and his wife were active members of the [[Highland Park, Texas|Highland Park]] [[United Methodist Church]].<ref name="txgenweb1"/> Rubottom was also active in the [[Boy Scouts of America]], serving as U.S. delegate to the [[World Scout Conference]] on four occasions and being awarded the [[Silver Buffalo Award]] in 1993.<ref name="crossandcrescent2007"/> Rubottom also remained active in [[Lambda Chi Alpha]], serving on the Grand High Zeta from 1968 to 1976 and as a director of the Educational Foundation Board from 1977 to 1996 (and as its chairman from 1985 to 1989).<ref name="crossandcrescent2007"/> The fraternity awarded Rubottom its Order of Achievement in 1988.<ref name="crossandcrescent2007"/> After over 40 years living in Dallas, the Rubottoms moved to [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] in 2006.<ref name="txgenweb1"/> Rubottom's wife, Billy Ruth, died on January 4, 2008.<ref name="txgenweb1"/> Roy Richard Rubottom died on December 6, 2010, in Austin, Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hosting-tributes-24744.tributes.com/show/R.-Rubottom-90098224 |title=Obituary of Roy Richard Rubottom |publisher=Hosting-tributes-24744.tributes.com |accessdate=January 17, 2012}}</ref>
==Awards== Rubottom was awarded the H. Neil Mallon Award by the [[World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth|World Affairs Council]] in 1991. The H. Neil Mallon Award, hosted by the World Affair Council of Dallas/ Fort Worth, is presented annually to individuals who have excelled at promoting the international focus of North Texas. The prestigious Mallon Award is named after the Council’s founder and is presented annually to individuals who have excelled in promoting our region’s international profile. Funds raised from this event support the World Affair Council’s public and education programming, international exchanges, and diplomatic services. ==Publications by Roy R. Rubottom Jr.== *[http://historicaltextarchive.com/print.php?action=section&artid=116 Roy R. Rubottom, Jr., "Communism in the Americas", ''Department of State Bulletin'', Feb. 3, 1958.] *Roy R. Rubottom Jr., "Toward Better Understanding between United States and Latin America," ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 330, Whither American Foreign Policy? (Jul. 1960), pp. 116–123. *Roy R. Rubottom Jr., "The Goals of United States Policy in Latin America", ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 342, American Foreign Policy Challenged (Jul., 1962), pp. 30–41.
==Photographs of Roy R. Rubottom Jr.== *[http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?assetType=Image&family=Editorial&contractUrl=2&phrase=Roy%20R.%20Rubottom%2C%20Jr. From Getty Images] *[http://www.life.com/search/?type=images&q0=roy+r.+jr.+rubottom From ''Life'' magazine]
==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
{{s-start}} {{s-gov}} {{succession box | before=[[Henry F. Holland]] | title=[[Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs]] | after=[[Thomas C. Mann]] | years=June 18, 1957 – August 27, 1960 }} {{s-dip}} {{succession box | before=[[Willard L. Beaulac]] | title=[[United States Ambassador to Argentina]] | after=[[Robert McClintock]] | years=October 20, 1960 – October 19, 1961 }} {{s-end}} {{US Ambassadors to Argentina}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubottom, Roy R., Jr.}} [[Category:1912 births]] [[Category:2010 deaths]] [[Category:United States assistant secretaries of state]] [[Category:Writers from Texas]] [[Category:People from Brownwood, Texas]] [[Category:Southern Methodist University alumni]] [[Category:University of Texas at Austin people]] [[Category:United States Navy officers]] [[Category:Naval War College faculty]] [[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Argentina]] [[Category:United States Foreign Service personnel]] [[Category:20th-century American diplomats]] [[Category:Military personnel from Texas]]