The Foreign Service Journal, April 2013

66 april 2013 | the foreign Service journal books for diplomats and military officers. In his obituary in the Washington Post , Matt Schudel notes that Mr. Palmer was known for his advocacy of demo- cratic principles of government through- out his career—at a time, in the 1970s, when U.S. policy was more focused on containing the Soviet threat and moni- toring human rights abuses. He was one of the primary authors of President Ronald Reagan’s 1982 speech to the British Parliament outlining a goal of spreading democracy throughout the old Soviet bloc. “What I am describ- ing now is a plan and a hope for the long term—the march of freedom and democracy which will leave Marxism- Leninism on the ash heap of history,” Reagan memorably declared. Mr. Palmer also organized the 1985 Geneva summit between Pres. Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a diplomatic breakthrough that led to a thawing of relations between the two superpowers. In 1986, Reagan named Mr. Palmer U.S. ambassador to Hungary. There, Ambassador Palmer carried his cam- paign for democracy to the streets of Budapest, sometimes marching with forces opposing the communist regime. His support of the Hungarian opposition movement lent credibility to its cause; but, as the Post ’s Schudel points out, it also caused discomfort on the State Department’s seventh floor. Amb. Palmer received three presiden- tial awards, but left the Foreign Service in 1990 in a controversy over his involve- ment in what some legislators and State Department officials considered a conflict of interest. After leaving the Foreign Service, Amb. Palmer was based in Berlin as president of the Central European Devel- opment Corp. From there, he pioneered business enterprises throughout the old Soviet empire and established the first independent television stations in six East European countries. He also owned a company involved in building hous- ing in Anacostia and other areas of the Washington region undergoing revital- ization. Amb. Palmer is the author of Break- ing the Real Axis of Evil: How to Oust the World’s Last Dictators by 2025 (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003). He held leadership positions in Freedom House and other groups devoted to promoting democracy. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Sushma Mahyera Palmer of Washington, D.C., and a sister. n Richard Undeland , 82, a retired Foreign Service officer with USIA, died on Dec. 21 at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington County, Va., after a long illness. A native of Omaha, Neb., Mr. Unde- land was a 1952 graduate of Harvard University. He received a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University in 1954, and then went to Cairo University to study Arabic. Mr. Undeland joined USIA in 1957. During a 35-year diplomatic career, he and his wife, Joan, served in 11 Arab countries, with additional assignments to Vietnam and Washington, D.C. Mr. Unde- land’s overseas postings included Alex- andria, Algiers, Amman, Bahrain, Beirut, Cairo, Damascus, Kuwait, Doha, Rabat, Saigon and Tunis. He served variously as an information officer, field operations officer and public affairs officer. In the late 1970s, Mr. Undeland was a State Department deputy spokesman during the peace talks between Egypt and Israel held at Camp David, Md. He retired in 1992 with the rank of minister- counselor and received USIA’s Career Achievement Award. The Undelands then settled in Arling- ton, Va., where Mr. Undeland served as founder, president and chairman emeritus of the Foreign Affairs Retirees of Northern Virginia, or FARNOVA. He was a volunteer with Arlington’s elec- tions office and served as a polling chief. In addition, he was on the board of the Northern Virginia Hiking Club and par- ticipated in other hiking groups. Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Joan Marvin Undeland of Arling- ton, Va.; four children, David Unde- land of Suffolk, Va., John Undeland of Arlington, Anne Undeland of Rich- mond, Mass., and Charles Undeland of Colombo, Sri Lanka; a brother; and six grandchildren. n Frank Dixon “Dick” Underwood , 85, a retired Foreign Service officer, died on Dec. 29 at the Wilkes Regional Medi- cal Center in North Wilkesboro, N.C. Mr. Underwood was born in Wilkes County, N.C., on Oct. 19, 1927, to B.R. and Frances Hendren Underwood. A lifelong member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, he graduated from the Univer- sity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1950 after studying journalism. After a job as the news editor for The Rocky Mount Evening Telegram , he joined the U.S. Navy, serving as editor of the Navy’s magazine in Washington, D.C., from 1952 until 1955. In 1955, Mr. Underwood joined the Foreign Service of the U.S. Information Agency. His first posting was Jakarta, where he was in charge of publications from 1955 until 1958. From 1958 until 1960, he trained in Japanese language studies before serv- ing as director of the American Cultural Center in Kanazawa. In 1963, Mr. Underwood was trans-