David M. Ransom

David M. Ransom (November 23, 1938 – December 4, 2003) was an American diplomat. A career Foreign Service officer, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the State of Bahrain from 1994 to 1997.^[1][2]

David M. Ransom
United States Ambassador to Bahrain
In office July 18, 1994 – July 28, 1997
Preceded by	David S. Robins
Succeeded by	Johnny Young
Personal details
Born	(1938-11-23)November 23, 1938 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died	December 4, 2003(2003-12-04) (aged 65)
Cause of death	Heart attack
Education	The Choate School Princeton University (BA) Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (MA)
Profession	Diplomat

Ransom was born in St. Louis, Missouri on November 23, 1938. His father was a civil engineer who served as a career military officer. When his father died when he was 14, the family had lived in Greenville, Texas, Japan and Greece. Ransom graduated from The Choate School (1956), Princeton University (BA, 1960) and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (MA, 1962). Ransom entered the Foreign Service in 1965 and served overseas in Yemen, Iran, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, and Bahrain. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1997.^[3]

He died from a heart attack while on a trip to New York City, on December 4, 2003, at the age of 65.^[1]

Career

While with the State Department, Ransom was a White House National Security Council staffer from 1973 to 1975, during the Nixon and Ford presidencies, first under both Henry Kissinger and General Brent Scowcroft. From 1978 to 1982, he was assigned to Department of Defense, working as the Director of the Near East, South Asia and Africa Division, serving both the Democrat Harold Brown and Republican Caspar Weinberger. When he retired in 1997, Ransom held the rank of Minister-Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service. He founded DMRansom Associates, an international consulting firm focusing on the Gulf Region.^[1]

References

1. "David M. Ransom, Former U.S. Ambassador and Middle East Specialist, Dies at 65". 27 November 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
2. "David M. Ransom (1938–2003)". Office of the Historian. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
3. "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR DAVID MICHAEL RANSOM" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 2 November 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.