Joseph Melrose helped broker the Lome Peace Accord which brought an end to hostilities, and he worked to expose the role of blood diamonds in financing armed conflict in Africa.
10 Facts About Joseph Melrose
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Joseph Melrose served as Consul General in Karachi, Pakistan when President Zia and US Ambassador Arnold Raphel died in a plane crash, and he was Deputy Chief of Mission in Lagos, Nigeria, from 1995 to 1998.
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In Sierra Leone, Joseph Melrose worked with the Sierra Leonian delegation to get them to agree to the Lome Peace Talks.
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Joseph Melrose was described as "Mr Fixit" and "the State Department's emergency repairman" by Robert Windrem of NBC News.
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Joseph Melrose headed the Emergency Support Team following the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Nairobi, Kenya, and played a role following the 1983 United States embassy bombing in Beirut.
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Joseph Melrose retired from the State Department in 2002 and became professor of politics and international relations at Ursinus College, his alma mater.
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Joseph Melrose's awards include the Ursinus College H Lloyd Jones Award for distinguished advising and mentoring, the Department of State's Distinguished Honor Award and Superior Honor Award, the Secretary of State's Career Achievement Award, and the Presidential Distinguished Service Award.
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Joseph Melrose earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ursinus College in 1966 and a Master of Arts degree from Temple University in 1969.
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Joseph Melrose received an honorary degree in Democratic and Human Rights studies from Hilla University in Iraq and an honorary Doctor of Laws from Ursinus College.
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Joseph Melrose has studied at the University of Michigan under a National Science Foundation program.