Frances E. Willis
The first woman to make a career of the Foreign Service, the first female Foreign Service Officer appointed ambassador, and the first woman to hold the rank of Career Ambassador.
Service Record
| Born | May 20, 1899, Metropolis, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Education | A.B., History, Stanford University, 1920 (Phi Beta Kappa); Ph.D., Political Science, Stanford University, 1923 |
| Before the Service | Taught history at Goucher College; assistant professor of political science, Vassar College, 1924 – 1927 |
| Entered Foreign Service | 1927 |
| Posts | Chile, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, England, Finland, and Washington |
| U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland | 1953 – 1957 |
| U.S. Ambassador to Norway | 1957 – 1961 |
| U.S. Ambassador to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) | 1961 – 1964 |
| Career Minister | 1955 |
| Career Ambassador | 1962 |
| Died | July 23, 1983, Redlands, California |
| Honors | AFSA Foreign Service Cup, 1973; Career Service Award, National Civil Service League, 1962; U.S. postage stamp, 2006 |
Overview
Frances Willis was the third woman admitted to the Foreign Service and the first to make a career of it. Over thirty-seven years she broke nearly every barrier the Service had.
Early Life and Education
Born in Metropolis, Illinois, she earned her bachelor's degree in history at Stanford in 1920 and, in 1923, became the first person to receive a doctorate in political science from Stanford. She taught at Goucher College and then at Vassar.
Career
She entered the Foreign Service in 1927. Her first post was Chile in 1928, followed by assignments in Sweden, Belgium, Spain, England, Finland, and Washington. In May 1940 she was second secretary in Brussels when Germany invaded Belgium.
A Run of Firsts
She was the first woman designated chargé d'affaires, the first appointed deputy chief of mission, the first female Foreign Service Officer appointed ambassador, and the first woman to serve as ambassador at three posts. In 1955 she became the first woman appointed Career Minister, and in 1962 the first woman to hold the rank of Career Ambassador.
Ambassador
President Eisenhower appointed her ambassador to Switzerland in 1953. She went on to Norway in 1957 and to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, in 1961, retiring in 1964. After retirement she served as a U.S. delegate to the UN General Assembly and led the U.S. delegation at a session of the Kennedy Round trade negotiations in Geneva.
Legacy
The American Foreign Service Association awarded her its Foreign Service Cup in 1973. Her papers are held at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, and in 2006 the U.S. Postal Service honored her in its Distinguished American Diplomats stamp series.
Recognition
Envoys of Record recognizes Frances E. Willis as a Pioneer of the Foreign Service, whose career opened doors for every officer who followed.