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 You are in: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice > Former Secretaries of State > Biographies 
Picture of Cyrus Roberts VanceBIOGRAPHY

Cyrus Roberts Vance
Secretary of State, 
Term of Appointment: 01/23/1977 to 04/27/1980

Travels

  • Born in Clarksburg, West Virginia on March 27, 1917;
  • Graduated from Yale University in 1939 and Yale University Law School in 1942;
  • Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II;
  • Married Grace Sloane in 1947;
  • practiced law in New York City, 1947-1960 and 1967-1977;
  • Consulting counsel for the Senate Special Committee on Space and Astronautics in 1958;
  • General Counsel for the Department of Defense 1961-1962;
  • Secretary of the Army 1962-1964 and Deputy Secretary of Defense 1964-1967;
  • President's special representative investigating the Detroit civil disturbances in 1967;
  • Served as special representative of the President in the Cyprus crisis in 1967;
  • In 1968 was special representative of the President in Korea;
  • Negotiator at the Paris Peace Conference on Vietnam 1968-1969;
  • Secretary of State in President Carter's Cabinet from January 23, 1977, until he resigned in protest over President Carter's decision to try a rescue of American hostages in Iran on April 27, 1980;
  • Returned to practice law in New York City until his death on January 12, 2002.


Released on July 15, 2003

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