Hon, John R. Countryman ’50 

John R. Countryman graduated from Xavier in 1950. He was a Major in the cadet regiment, commanding the Third Battalion, and was active in debating, oratory and dramatics. As the commander of the Third Battalion, he was responsible for the training of the freshman cadets. He was seldom seen without a gold cord.

In the May 16, 1950 issue of Xavier’s Review, John’s Xavier career was outlined in the “Presenting” column. Much of the article emphasizes his excellent academic record and his superior skill in communication.

“In the field of speaking, however, John leads all in the school. Joining Dramatics in second year he continued in this field in his third and fourth years. In third year he played his part so well that he received a gold medal for the best performance.

As a debater, John also holds an enviable record and is feared by many of his opponents in the forensic league…He was in the prize debates every year, and won a gold medal for the best speaker three times.

Finally, not only in debating, but also in oratory does John excel.  Last year he won a gold medal in the elocution contest. Moreover, he was chosen to represent Xavier in the American Legion Oratorical contest, in which he won the gold medal in the Manhattan division.”

After graduation from Fordham University in 1954 with a Bachelor’s degree in English, John attended the Free University of Berlin as a Fulbright Scholar. He then served three years in the U. S. Air Force as a pilot in the Strategic Air Command. He received a Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Miami in 1961 and after a brief stint as a reporter/feature writer for the Danbury, Connecticut, News-Times, he entered the United States Diplomatic Service in January 1962.

Over the next twenty years he served in Washington and various overseas posts in Africa and the Middle East (Turkey, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Gabon and Libya). He is a graduate of the Department of State's Arabic Language School and the U.S. Army War College. He was appointed Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman in 1981 by then-President Ronald Reagan.

After retirement from the Diplomatic Service in 1985 he worked briefly in real estate before serving as the executive director of Search for Common Ground's Initiative for Peace and Cooperation in the Middle East, a non-profit organization bringing Arabs and Israelis together to achieve peace.

Since 1992, he has been associate publisher of CEO Update, a newsletter reporting on not-for-profit jobs. He speaks French, German, Arabic and Turkish. His wife, Illona, is a senior analyst for the Agency for International Development. His daughter, Vanessa, is an Associate with the Washington, DC law firm of Gibson, Dunn and Krutcher.