William Vanden Heuvel

William vanden Heuvel (1930) a senior partner in the Manhattan-based law firm, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, as well as co-chairman of the Council of American Ambassadors and President of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (FERI) since its creation in 1987. His daughter, Katrina vanden Heuvel, is editor of The Nation.

His current affiliations include the the Council on Foreign Relations, the International League for Human Rights, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation and the Institute for Democracy Studies.

Terrorism
He is a signatory of "Beyond Guantanamo".

Israel-Palestine Conflict
He signed a letter, for the Annapolis Summit to President Bush and Secretary of State Rice, saying As to Hamas, we believe that a genuine dialogue with the organization is far preferable to its isolation; it could be conducted, for example, by the UN and Quartet Middle East envoys. Promoting a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza would be a good starting point.{{citation | author = Steve Clemons | date = 10 April 2008 | journal = Huffingtgon Post | title = Obama Triangulates and Won't Go Where Other Great Americans Will on Hamas | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clemons/obama-triangulates-and-wo_b_96150.html

Earlier service
In 1977 he accepted an appointment as ambassador to the United Nations' European Offices and, in 1979, became U. S. deputy representative to the United Nations in New York.

From 1961 to 1964, as special assistant to Attorney General Robert Kennedy, vanden Heuvel played the key role in orchestrating the desegregation of the recalcitrant Prince Edward County, Virginia, school system, thereby expanding the scope of the Brown decision. After leaving the justice department, vanden Heuvel remained actively involved with many public and private organizations, including service as chair of the United Nations Association, the New York City Board of Corrections, the International Refugee Committee and as vice president of the 1967 New York State Constitutional Convention and special counsel to Governor Averell Harriman.

In 1952 he joined the law firm of Donovan, Leisure, Newton and Irvine, and served as executive assistant to U.S. Ambassador to Thailand William J. Donovan, former director of the Office of Strategic Services.

Historical writing
With respect to The Holocaust, he has defended the position that the U.S. did correctly in focusing on bringing an end to the German regime, rather than bombing camps and infrastructure.

Education

 * Cornell University and Cornell Law school, where he was editor of the Law Review.