Francis Joseph Galbraith

Who was Francis Joseph Galbraith?

Francis Joseph Galbraith was a former United States diplomat and member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

He was born on December 9, 1913 in Timber Lake, Dewey County, South Dakota and worked as cowboy and rodeo rider on his father's ranch near the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation until he attended the University of Puget Sound receiving a B.A. in History in 1939 and a B.A. in librarianship from the University of Washington in 1940. He attained the rank of Captain while serving in the U.S. Army in the South Pacific from 1941 to 1942, and joined the Foreign Service in 1946 serving as U.S. Vice Consul in Hamburg, 1946–48; Batavia, 1949–50. After serving as U.S. chargé d'affaires in Indonesia, he was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, 1966–69 and Indonesia 1969–74.

After retiring from the State Department he worked for the Bechtel Corporation, Freeport Indonesia, Weyerhaeuser Company and Intermaritime Management as a consultant on international affairs. He was survived by his wife Martha Townsley Fisher; a daughter, Susan, of Boston, and a son, Kelly, of Jakarta.