Dean Rusk Quotes


Who do you think you are, a country?


Context

In the midst of the Vietnam War, U Thant, the Secretary General of the United Nations had tried to open back-channel communications to the North Vietnamese. Rusk came down hard on Thant, reminding him that he was only the Secretary General—the instrument of the states of the United Nations and was not a state himself and did not have the prerogatives of a state.


Citations

Dean Rusk, U.S. Secretary of State (Democrat), Challenge to UN Secretary General U Thant

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

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Dean Rusk
Dean Rusk
  • Born: February 9, 1909
  • Died: December 20, 1994
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Diplomat

David Dean Rusk was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Rusk is one of the longest serving U.S. Secretaries of State, behind only Cordell Hull.