Brandon Hambright Grove, Jr. was born on April 8, 1929, and died on May 20, 2016.
He was the United States Ambassador to the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and Zaire (1984–87).
Grove served on the board of directors of the American Academy of Diplomacy.
In 1950, Grove received an undergraduate degree from Bard College and a master’s degree in public administration from Princeton University in 1952.
Brandon Grove’s career assignments took him to posts in Africa, India, East and West Berlin, and Jerusalem, where he was consul general during Israel’s war with Lebanon.
Grove became the first American diplomat accredited to East Germany, in 1974, where he established the embassy in Berlin.
In 1984-87, Brandon was appointed President Reagan’s ambassador to Zaire.
Bard College awarded him its (2000) John Dewey Medal for Distinguished Public Service, and in 2010 the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters for his lifetime contributions to diplomacy.
Brandon Grove has received the President’s Meritorious Service Award three times .
His autobiography was published by The University of Missouri Press, called’ Behind Embassy Walls: The Life and Times of an American Diplomat, in June 2005.
Brandon Grove passed away at 87 yrs old.