The Foreign Service Journal, June 2007

72 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 7 around the world, including India, Pakistan, Turkey and Sri Lanka, where he was U.S. ambassador. At every post, she immersed herself in local history and culture and engaged in volunteer efforts. An accomplished linguist, she learned to speak French, Russian, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Turkish and Sinhala. In 1978, Mrs. Van Hollen became the chief analyst for Afghanistan in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the State Department. With her background in Soviet affairs and knowledge of South Asia, she became an important asset to the department when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. One of the few to pre- dict the invasion, she later warned the U.S. not to become too closely tied to the Taliban and extremist Islamic groups. She wrote articles on Afghan- istan published by the State Depart- ment and later took three official trips to Moscow for discussions on Afghan- istan and other South Asian issues. Mrs. Van Hollen also served as the senior intelligence analyst for Pakistan and India, and in 1989 became chief of the South Asia division at INR. She frequently testified before Senate and House committees with jurisdiction over intelligence and foreign policy issues. In 1992, she received the National Medal of Achievement from the direc- tor of Central Intelligence. She also received two Superior Honor awards, two Meritorious Honor awards and the Analyst of the Year award, among others. After retiring from State in 1994, Mrs. Van Hollen maintained her interest in foreign affairs as a member of the McLean Foreign Policy Group. With her husband, she also became involved in son Chris Van Hollen’s successful campaigns for the Mary- land Senate in 1994 and the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002, playing a key role in the grassroots, door-to-door efforts for the Demo- crat. Mrs. Van Hollen was active in the Women’s National Democratic Club and enjoyed other pursuits, including her book club, gardening, hiking and cooking. She and her husband also spent time at their family home in Vermont, where she served as one of three trustees of the Big Basin Forest, an organization that owns and man- ages a large tract of Green Mountain forestland. In addition to her husband of 54 years, Amb. Christopher Van Hollen of Washington, D.C., and her son, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Kensington, Md., survivors include two daughters, Caroline Van Hollen of Washington, D.C., and Cecilia Van Hollen of Fayetteville, N.Y.; a brother; and five grandchildren. Joseph A. Yager , 90, a retired FSO and an expert on China and Asian strategic issues, died on April 5 of a swallowing disorder at Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham, Md. A former Bethesda, Md., resident, he had been living since 2000 at Colling- ton Episcopal Life Care Community in Mitchellville, Md. Mr. Yager was born in Owensville, Ind., and grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where he was an Eagle Scout. He received an undergraduate degree in 1937, a law degree in 1939 and a mas- ter’s degree in economics in 1940, all from the University of Michigan. During World War II, he worked in the Office of Price Administration, where he helped administer gas rationing. He also served in the U.S. Army in China. Working in collabora- tion with the Office of Strategic Services, the wartime forerunner to the Central Intelligence Agency, he collected information about roads, bridges and infrastructure in those areas of southern China not con- trolled by the Japanese. Mr. Yager joined the Foreign Service following the war, and in 1954 served as an adviser to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles at the Geneva conference that ended the French war in Indochina. He served in Taiwan from 1957 to 1961, where he was deputy chief of mission. He also directed the Office of East Asian Affairs and was vice chairman of the Policy Planning Council. In 1968, Mr. Yager retired from the Foreign Service and joined the Institute for Defense Analysis as deputy director of the international and social studies division. In 1972, he became a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, where he spe- cialized in world food and energy sup- ply and wrote several books on nuclear energy, nonproliferation and agriculture in China and Taiwan. In 1986, he joined the Science Applications International Corp. as a senior fellow at the firm’s Center for National Security Negotiations. He published a number of papers on nuclear nonproliferation before retir- ing again in 1996. Survivors include his wife of 70 years, Virginia Beroset Yager of Mitchellville, Md.; and two children, Thomas Yager of New York City and Martha Yager of Hyattsville, Md. n I N M E M O R Y Send your “In Memory” submission to: Foreign Service Journal Attn: Susan Maitra, 2101 E Street NW, Washington DC 20037, or e-mail it to FSJedit@afsa.org, or fax it to (202) 338-8244. No photos, please.