was elected President, from 1979 to 1986. In 1981, Sullivan published Mission to Iran, a memoir of his time as ambassador. His autobiography, Obbligato: Notes on a Foreign Service Career, was published in 1984. Later career He later served on the boards of the Lincoln Center, the International Center, and the U.S.–Vietnam Trade Council. In 1988 he received an overture to begin steps towards U.S.–Vietnam normalization from his former North Vietnamese negotiations counterpart Nguyen Co Thach, who had become Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Sullivan first traveled back to Vietnam in May 1989 to meet with Minister Thach, founded the U.S.–Vietnam Trade Council, and from then continued to work on steps towards the historic normalization. Following retirement, he lived a quiet life in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and later, Washington, D.C. William H. Sullivan died on October 11, 2013, one day before his 91st birthday. He is survived by four children and six grandchildren. References External links Brief summary of Mission to Iran 1922 births 2013 deaths People from Cranston, Rhode Island People of the Iranian Revolution Ambassadors of the United States to Laos Ambassadors of the United States to the Philippines Ambassadors of the United States to Iran Writers from Rhode Island People of the Laotian Civil War United States Foreign Service personnel Brown University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II American expatriates in Thailand American expatriates in India American expatriates in Japan American expatriates in Italy American expatriates in the Netherlands American expatriates in Vietnam 20th-century American diplomats