Reflections on Asia With Ambassador Chase Untermeyer
VIEW EVENT DETAILSAmbassador Chase Untermeyer joins Asia Society Texas Center to discuss his diplomatic work in Asia and reflect upon his service under President George H. W. Bush. Ambassador Untermeyer’s experience in Asia began during the Vietnam War, where he served as an officer in the United States Navy aboard a destroyer in the Western Pacific and as aide to the commander of U.S. naval forces in the Philippines. In 1977, Untermeyer joined a delegation which included notable figures such as George and Barbara Bush, James Baker, and the CEO of Pennzoil among others on a trip to China, including Tibet, as guests of the Chinese government. The delegation was only the second group of Americans to visit Tibet following the Chinese takeover. The trip also proved memorable as President Bush was able to reunite with old friend Deng Xiaoping who had just come to power in China.
Schedule
Light Reception: 6:30 pm
Program: 7:00 pm
Registered ticket holders, please enjoy free admission to the Sarofim Gallery now showing Weavers' Stories From Island Southeast Asia, today until the start of the program.
About Chase Untermeyer
Chase Untermeyer has been an international business consultant since returning in 2007 from Qatar, where he served three years as United States ambassador on appointment of President George W. Bush.
Ambassador Untermeyer has held both elected and appointed office at all four levels of government — local, state, national, and international — for more than 35 years, with work in journalism, academia, and business as well.
He is a 1968 graduate of Harvard College with honors in government. During the Vietnam War he served as an officer in the United States Navy aboard a destroyer in the Western Pacific and as aide to the commander of US naval forces in the Philippines.
Upon his return to Texas, Ambassador Untermeyer was a political reporter for the Houston Chronicle for three years before becoming executive assistant to the county judge (chief administrative official) of Harris County, Texas, the jurisdiction surrounding Houston. In 1976, he was elected to the first of two terms as a member of the Texas House of Representatives.
He left the Legislature in 1981 to go to Washington as executive assistant to then-Vice President Bush. Three years later, President Reagan appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower & Reserve Affairs. When George Bush became president in 1989, Mr. Untermeyer returned to the White House as Director of Presidential Personnel, responsible for advising the President on his appointments to federal office. In 1991, President Bush appointed him Director of the Voice of America, the overseas broadcasting arm of the US government, where he served until the end of the Administration in 1993.
He is author of When Things Went Right: The Dawn of the Reagan-Bush Administration, which uses edited entries from Ambassador Untermeyer’s personal journal, and has been published by Texas A&M University Press. The book covers his time as executive assistant to then-Vice President Bush (1980-83).
The book will be available for sale at the program.
Business and policy programs at Asia Society Texas Center are made possible by support from United Airlines—Official Airline of Asia Society Texas Center. Additional support provided by Asia Society contributors and members.