92 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL IN MEMORY n Richard Alan Boucher, 73, a retired Senior Foreign Service officer with the rank of Career Ambassador, died of cancer on June 27, 2025, in Arlington, Va. Born in Maryland in 1951 to Melville Boucher and Ellen Kaufmann, he spent his early childhood in Maryland, France, and Germany. After hitchhiking around Europe upon high school graduation, Mr. Boucher earned his bachelor’s degree from Tufts University in 1973. Inspired by his grandfather Hiram Boucher, a career diplomat, he joined the Peace Corps after college, serving two years in Senegal and one with USAID in Guinea. In 1977 he entered the Foreign Service. After Mr. Boucher completed Mandarin training at the Foreign Service Institute’s Chinese language school in Taiwan, his early assignments included postings at the U.S. embassy in Taipei (1978-1979), the consulate general in Guangzhou (1979-1980), and the China desk and Bureau of Economic Affairs in Washington, D.C. From 1984 to 1986, he returned to China as deputy principal officer at the U.S. consulate general in Shanghai. Back in Washington in 1986, Mr. Boucher worked in the State Department’s Operations Center and served as deputy director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs. In 1993 he was named U.S. ambassador to Cyprus, where he served until 1996. From 1996 to 1999, he served as consul general in Hong Kong. Ambassador Boucher served under seven Secretaries of State. He was the department’s spokesperson under Secretaries Baker, Eagleburger, Christopher, Albright, Powell, Rice, and Clinton. Known for his dry wit and calm under pressure, his “Words of Wisdom” on public speaking remain a humorous institutional legacy within the department (see page 89). After retiring from the Foreign Service in 2009 following 32 years of service, Amb. Boucher was appointed deputy secretarygeneral of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. In 2013 he returned to the U.S. and began teaching at several universities, including the University of Michigan and Brown University, helping prepare the next generation of diplomats. Amb. Boucher was fluent in Mandarin and French and proficient in German, Italian, Russian, and Wolof. His career was distinguished not only by his rank but also by his commitment to connecting with people across cultures and mentoring younger officers. Amb. Boucher spent his recent years traveling and playing with his beloved grandson, Harry. He traveled the world with his wife, friends, and family, scuba diving in Indonesia, chasing the northern lights into northern Canada and Iceland, and hiking and tracking animals through his 100 acres of West Virginian woods. Amb. Boucher is survived by his wife, Carolyn Brehm; his children, Madeleine Brehm Boucher (and spouse Lane Sell) and Peter Brehm Boucher (and spouse Whitney Westmorland); his grandson, Harry Boucher Sell; and his siblings, Douglas and Anita Boucher. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in his memory to the University of New Haven Model UN Program or the Cacapon and Lost Rivers Land Trust. n William “Bill” Harrop, 96, a retired Senior Foreign Service officer and former ambassador, passed away on June 6, 2025, of heart failure. Mr. Harrop was born in Baltimore, Md., on Feb. 19, 1929. At age 10, he moved with his family to Princeton, N.J., where his father worked as a research physician. Mr. Harrop attended Deerfield Academy and then earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College in 1950. After a brief teaching stint, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. Following military service, he pursued a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Missouri. Shortly before his final exams, he was accepted into the Foreign Service, prompting him to leave his studies. In 1954, he began a 38-year career as a diplomat. His early postings included Palermo, where he helped administer the Refugee Relief Program, and Rome, where he served as assistant commercial attaché. Returning to Washington in 1958, Mr. Harrop accepted an assignment in the Office of Personnel, later working on Euratom (European Atomic Energy Community) issues in the Bureau of European Affairs. In 1962 he shifted to the Bureau of African Affairs to cover the Congo and Katanga crises, followed by postings in Brussels, Lubumbashi, and a sabbatical at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School. From 1969 to 1971, Mr. Harrop directed the Office of African Affairs in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. In 1975 he was named U.S. ambassador to Guinea, then a Marxist state solidly under Soviet influence. Ambassador Harrop led a mission of 16 Americans, in contrast to a Soviet embassy with a staff of 1,200. He persuaded President Ahmed Sékou Touré to end Soviet use of the Conakry airport for military flights that harassed NATO shipping in the North Atlantic. He also famously distributed thousands of soccer balls bearing the U.S. assistance symbol to villages throughout the country. After returning to Washington in 1977 as principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs, Amb. Harrop went on to serve as U.S. ambassador to
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