The Foreign Service Journal, February 2011

embarrassment he would suffer if the president vetoed the bill. So on Aug. 13, 1946, the president duly signed H.R. 6967, making the Foreign Serv- ice Act of 1946 the law of the land. A Distinguished Diplomatic Career In November 1946 Chapin was named the first director general of the Foreign Service; later that month he was promoted to Career Minister, a rank created by the act. He had been a member of the first group of FSOs hired under the Rogers Act of 1924, and was now a member of the first group of chiefs of mission under the 1946 Act. In the 14 years that followed, Chapin went on to an even more no- table career, serving as deputy com- mandant of the National War College, as well as chief of mission in five coun- tries. His overseas missions were sometimes difficult. Serving as minis- ter in Hungary (1947-1949) while the most repressive regime in Eastern Eu- rope was consolidating its power, he was declared persona non grata based on false accusations that he had in- spired Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty’s resistance. At other times he played key roles in critical strategic achievements. While ambassador to The Netherlands (1949-1953), he was involved in the formation of NATO and the Euro- pean Council. Later in Iran (1955- 1958) he oversaw large economic and security assistance programs, and se- cured Iranian membership in the star-crossed Central Treaty Organiza- tion military alliance. His assignment as ambassador to Panama (1953-1955) was less dra- matic, while his tenure as chief of mission in Lima (May-August 1960) was cut short by personal factors. Chapin retired shortly thereafter, re- turning to his home (Running Point), in Seal Harbor, Maine. Selden Chapin died on March 26, 1963, age 64, and was interred in Ar- lington Cemetery. His gravestone is inscribed simply with his naval rank: lieutenant junior grade, U.S. Navy. Notwithstanding Chapin’s outstand- ing contributions to the conduct of American policy over an extended ca- reer, his most lasting achievement was the Foreign Service Act of 1946. We are in his debt, and should continue to honor him as the “Father of the Modern Foreign Service.” F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 53 All Foreign Service personnel to this day are in Selden Chapin’s debt.