James W. Spain

John W. Spain (born 1926 in Chicago, Illinois) was a distinguished American diplomat. Born to Irish immigrants—his father a streetcar conductor and his mother a seamstress—Spain attended St. Brendan's Parochial School and Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary. His classmates included notable figures such as priest and author Andrew Greeley and "Vatican Banker" Paul Marcinkus. Spain went on to receive a master's degree from the University of Chicago and a PhD from Columbia University.

During World War II, Spain served on General Douglas MacArthur's staff as a photographer in occupied Japan. He began his career in the Foreign Service in 1951, with his first posting as Vice Consul in Karachi. Spain's career in government service spanned several decades and various countries, including Pakistan, Turkey, Tanzania, the United Nations, and Sri Lanka.

After his initial post in Karachi, Spain returned to the United States, living primarily in Washington, DC, until 1969. He held several significant positions, including:

• Chargé d'Affaires to Pakistan (1969)
• Consul General in Istanbul (1970–1972)
• Deputy Chief of Mission in Ankara (1972–1974)
• Ambassador to Tanzania (1975–1979)
• Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations under Andrew Young (1979)
• Ambassador to Turkey (1980–1981)
• Ambassador to Sri Lanka (1985–1988)

Spain retired as a Career Minister in the Foreign Service and remained in Sri Lanka until 2006, when he returned to the United States, settling in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Throughout his career, Spain authored numerous books, including "In Those Days," "American Diplomacy in Turkey," "The Way of the Pathans," "Pathans of the Latter Day," and a series of novels featuring Dodo Dillon. He also contributed articles on foreign affairs to a variety of publications.

Spain played pivotal roles in strengthening the United States' alliances and relations with Turkey, facilitating a peaceful transition to majority rule in Zimbabwe, and enhancing diplomatic ties with countries in the subcontinent. One of his earliest memories from growing up on the South Side of Chicago was watching Al Capone walk through City Hall, an experience that impressed many, including Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, who once held up a reception line to hear about it.

In retirement, Spain actively engaged in organizing a power and irrigation project in Sri Lanka. He died on January 2, 2008, of natural causes in Wilmington, North Carolina, at the age of 81.

He was preceded in death by his wife Edith and daughter Sikandra. He is survived by his sons, Patrick Spain, Stephen, William (since deceased) and his grandchildren, Jeanne, James, Amaranth, Katherine, and Rachel.

Spain authored a number of books. In Those Days: A Diplomat Remembers^{[permanent dead link‍]} is his autobiography, a memoir of his time as an American diplomat who spent most of his life in Asia and Africa, engaged in high-level diplomacy. He is also the author of The Pathan Borderland; People of the Khyber; Pathans of the Latter Day; American Diplomacy in Turkey and The way of the Pathans.

• Kent State University Press: Review of In Those Days: A Diplomat Remembers
• Asian Tribune Obituary The Demise of American Diplomat James W. Spain: An Eulogy
• Daily News (Sri Lanka) Obituary: Recollections of Ambassador James W. Spain
• Press release from U.S. Embassy, Colombo regarding death of former Ambassador James Spain
• Video of Senator Patrick Leahy's Tribute to James Spain on the floor of the U.S. Senate on February 4, 2008
• Memories in Asia