Alan D. Romberg ’60

Al died March 27, 2018, of renal cancer after a truly distinguished career in the Foreign Service and a succession of diplomatic positions in and outside of the State Department.

He came to Princeton from White Plains (N.Y.) High School. He was an NROTC midshipman, was active in Whig-Clio, the Pre-Law Society, Terrace Club, and the Navy Club; and joined the Woodrow Wilson program.

After graduation, he served two years in the Navy, which took him to the Taiwan/China area. Al then earned a master’s degree in Soviet studies at Harvard in 1964 and joined the Foreign Service, per his original plan. He excelled from early days, in time becoming a leading expert on U.S.-China relations, especially the “One China Policy,” which dictated U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan over the two decades of his involvement. His obituary in The Washington Post said that he counseled “a generation of China hands in this sensitive triangular relationship” through always tense and sometimes turbulent times. In addition, as deputy spokesman for the State Department, Al was widely admired for the clarity and authority of his representation of the State Department and the U.S. government.

Al is survived by two children from his first marriage, Jonathan ’86 and Laura ’89; a stepson from his marriage of 24 years to Nancy; and four grandchildren.