Andrew L. Steigman ’54

Andy died Sept. 7, 2018, of complications from a stroke.

At Princeton, he was vice president of Prospect Club, majored in the Woodrow Wilson School, and received a summer scholarship for study abroad. Writing his senior thesis on “British Relations with China, 1945-53,” he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Andy’s distinguished career in the Foreign Service was preceded by African studies at the London School of Economics, two years in the Army, and further studies at American University. He held foreign posts in Congo, Libya, France, and Nigeria, and ultimately served as Ambassador to Gabon and to Sao Tome and Principe. He also held Africa-related assignments in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the Bureau of African Affairs. Other assignments included a Congressional Fellowship on Capitol Hill, working as staff assistant to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, a term on loan to the director of intelligence, and as deputy assistant secretary of personnel.

His service as diplomat-in-residence at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service led to his appointment as associate dean, where he spent the next 33 years teaching as a knowledgeable and enthusiastic academic adviser.

Andy’s wife, Meryl, who lent essential diplomatic — if unofficial — support at all his posts, died in 2017. He is survived by daughter Daria, son Jonathan, and one grandson.