Harry R. Melone, Jr.

Harry Roberts Melone, Jr., grew up only a stone's throw from the Auburn homes of two of our nation's most prominent Secretaries of State, William H. Seward and John Foster Dulles. One wonders whether it was this proximity to diplomatic history that inspired "Bob" to pursue a career in the foreign service.

Melone was born in Auburn on 30 June 1928, the son of Harry Roberts Melone and Dorothy (Swift) Melone. (His father was the civic leader for whom the Melone Village housing project was named.) He was president of Auburn High School's Class of 1946, and earned an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1950. In the following year, he joined the United States Department of State and was posted to Tabriz, Tehran, Yaounde. He served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Bangui (1961-63) and in Niamey (1963-64), as an international relations officer in the Bureau of African Affairs at the State Department (1964-66). He served as advisor for African cultural affairs at the United States Mission to the United Nations (1966-68) and as counselor for political affairs in Conakry (1968-69). Melone studied the National War College in 1970-71. Thereafter, he served as an international relations officer at the State Department (1971-73) and as a political officer in Paris (1973-77).

President Jimmy Carter nominated Melone to serve as Ambassador to the Republic of Rwanda on 24 September 1979 and he served in that position until 1982. After retirement from the foreign service, Ambassador Melone resided in Washington, D.C. He died on 30 January 2009, and was interred in Fort Hill Cemetery on June 15, 2009. He was survived by his wife, Domenica Djuvara Melone, and daughter Sandra Djuvara Melone, and granddaughter Zoe Melone Popovici.