William Warren Scranton and the United Nations 1976-1977

During his year of service as the American ambassador to the United Nations, William Scranton, who had a distinguished career in domestic and foreign service before his appointment to the position in February 1976, faced a number of challenges during this time period. His first task was to improve the standing of the American delegation with other representatives following the tumultuous tenure of his predecessor, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, especially when it came to delegates from the Third World. Scranton attempted to find a balance in the Middle Eastern disputes between Israel and much of the Arab world. Following this, Scranton dealt with the end of European imperialism in Africa through welcoming new member-states into the organization. The Cold War, even during the era of détente, was never far from the agenda, and Scranton helped pioneer the efforts to attack on the Soviet record on human rights, a tactic later used by representatives from the Carter and Reagan Administrations.