Editing Pete Peterson

{{Short description|American politician and diplomat (born 1935)}}
{{Other people|Pete Peterson}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Pete Peterson
| image name          = petepeterson.jpg{{!}}border
| image_size          = 255px
| birth_name          = Douglas Brian Peterson
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1935|06|26}}
| birth_place         = [[Omaha, Nebraska]], U.S.
| state1              = [[Florida]]
| district1           = [[Florida's 2nd congressional district|2nd]]
| term_start1         = January 3, 1991
| term_end1           = January 3, 1997
| preceded1           = [[James W. Grant|Bill Grant]]
| succeeded1          = [[Allen Boyd]]
| office              = [[List of ambassadors of the United States to Vietnam|Ambassador of the United States of America to Vietnam]]
| term_start          = April 11, 1997
| term_end            = July 15, 2001
| president           = [[Bill Clinton]]<br/>[[George W. Bush]]
| predecessor         = ''Inaugural holder''
| succeeded           = [[Raymond Burghardt]]
| citizenship         = American,<ref>{{cite news|title=Pete Peterson starts business|url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2017/09/16/prisoner-booster-former-pow-eager-watch-the-vietnam-war/658723001/|access-date=30 October 2024|newspaper=[[Tallahassee Democrat]]|date=16 September 2017}}</ref> Australian (since 2002)<ref name="webb"/>
| nationality         = American
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]
| allegiance          = United States
| branch              = [[United States Air Force]]
| nickname            = "Pete"
| serviceyears        = 1954–1980
| rank                = [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]]
| unit                = [[433d Weapons Squadron|433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron]]
| battles             = [[Vietnam War]]{{WIA}}
| mawards             = [[Silver Star]] (2)<br/>[[Legion of Merit]]<br/>[[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]<br/>[[Bronze Star Medal]] (3)<br/>[[Purple Heart]]
}}
'''Douglas Brian''' "'''Pete'''" '''Peterson''' (born June 26, 1935) is an American politician and diplomat. He served as a [[United States Air Force]] pilot during the [[Vietnam War]] and spent over six years as a prisoner of the [[People's Army of Vietnam|North Vietnamese army]] after his plane was shot down. He served three terms in the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1991 to 1996 and returned to [[Hanoi]] when he became the first [[List of ambassadors of the United States to Vietnam|United States Ambassador to Vietnam]] in 1997. He was an ambassador until July 2001, after which he devoted himself to philanthropic work.

==Early life and education==
Peterson grew up in [[Milton, Iowa]], and attended college at the [[University of Tampa]]. He joined the [[United States Air Force]] and served in the Vietnam War, where his [[F-4 Phantom II]] fighter was shot down on September 10, 1966. He spent six years in prison, a period he described as "hours and hours of boredom, spliced with moments of stark terror."<ref name="webb">{{cite news|last=Webb|first=Carolyn|title=POW's journey to Australia, via love in Vietnam |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/pows-journey-to-australia-via-love-in-vietnam-20090916-frp6.html|access-date=8 October 2010|newspaper=[[The Age]]|date=17 September 2009}}</ref> He was released on March 4, 1973.

==Career==
After the Vietnam War, Peterson remained in the Air Force and retired in 1981 as a colonel with 26 years of service. After retirement he established a general contracting firm in [[Tampa, Florida]] and later a small computer company in [[Marianna, Florida]] called CRT Computers. He served for 5 years on the faculty of [[Florida State University]] in [[Tallahassee, Florida]].

=== Congress ===
In 1990, Peterson ran as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] for a seat in the [[United States House of Representatives]] in [[Florida's 2nd congressional district]]. He defeated [[James W. Grant | Bill Grant]], the incumbent congressman who had grown unpopular after switching from the Democratic Party to the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in the middle of his second term. Peterson won and served three terms from 1991 to 1996.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.com/story/2012/05/clinton-sends-ambassador-to-communist-vietnam-076051 | author=Andrew Glass | date=May 9, 2012 | website=Politico | title=Clinton sends ambassador to Communist Vietnam}}</ref>

[[Jason Altmire]], who later became a three-term congressman himself, was a staffer during Peterson’s first campaign and time in Congress.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2023/11/former-pennsylvania-rep-jason-altmire-leads-a-discussion-on-american-partisanship-at-kpu-election-day-event | author=Phillip Kulubya | date=November 16, 2023 | website=The American Eagle | title=Former U.S. Representative leads discussion on partisanship at KPU Election Day event}}</ref>

=== Ambassador to Vietnam ===
Peterson declined to run for a fourth term (he was succeeded by [[Allen Boyd]]) and was asked by President [[Bill Clinton]] to become the United States's first post-war ambassador to Vietnam.<ref name="webb"/> He was confirmed by the Senate and began his tenure in 1997. His primary goals were securing an account of those still listed as missing in action from the war and helping to resolve the [[Vietnam War POW/MIA issue]].

=== Presidential Citizens Medal ===
On November 17, 2000, he was presented with the [[Presidential Citizens Medal]] by President Clinton.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov/textonly/library/hot_releases/November_17_2000_6.html | title= Remarks of President Clinton to embassy personnel | date=November 17, 2000}}</ref>

===Philanthropy and business===
Since retiring as ambassador, Peterson founded [[The Alliance for Safe Children]], TASC, which aims to lower preventable injuries to children worldwide, and focuses specifically on such issues as drowning in Asia.<ref name="children">{{cite news|title=Children from developing world dying of preventable injuries: UN|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200210/s694479.htm|access-date=5 October 2010|newspaper=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=6 October 2002}}</ref><ref name="BBC, Swimming" >{{Cite web|title=Pete Peterson: The ex-POW teaching Vietnam to swim|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21770163|author=William Kremer|date=23 March 2013|publisher=BBC News magazine}}</ref> With his wife he started a company whose aim it is to promote American business in Southeast Asia.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pete Peterson starts business|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZoUeAAAAIBAJ&pg=4396,1567512&dq=pete-peterson+vietnam&hl=en|access-date=8 October 2010|newspaper=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]]|date=27 February 2002}}</ref>

Peterson later was a senior advisor for [[Albright Stonebridge Group]], an international strategic consulting firm.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.com/story/2012/05/clinton-sends-ambassador-to-communist-vietnam-076051 | author=Andrew Glass | date=May 9, 2012 | website=Politico | title=Clinton sends ambassador to Communist Vietnam}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Peterson's first wife died in 1995. Two weeks after his installation in [[Hanoi]], he met Vi Le, Australia's senior trade commissioner, born in Vietnam, whom he married. In 2002, he moved to [[Melbourne]], Australia, so they could be closer to her family.<ref name="webb"/>

In 2009, Peterson acquired Australian citizenship.<ref name="webb"/>

==See also==
{{Portal bar|Biography|Vietnam|Politics}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{CongBio|P000259}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080707032851/http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter1/in111800ppc.html All POW-MIA InterNetwork]
*{{C-SPAN|843}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-par|us-hs}}
{{Succession box|before=[[James W. Grant|Bill Grant]] |title=[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]<br />[[Florida's 2nd congressional district]] |years=1991–1997 |after=[[Allen Boyd]]}}
{{S-dip}}
{{Succession box|before= new office |title=[[List of ambassadors of the United States to Vietnam|United States Ambassador to Vietnam]] |years=1997–2001
|after=[[Raymond Burghardt]]}}
{{s-prec|usa}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bill Schuette]]|as=Former US Representative}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]]<br/>''{{small|as Former US Representative}}''|years=}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Joe Scarborough]]|as=Former US Representative}}
{{S-end}}

{{US Ambassadors to Vietnam}}
{{U.S. Florida Representatives}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Pete}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida]]
[[Category:Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska]]
[[Category:People from Van Buren County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Iowa]]
[[Category:University of Tampa alumni]]
[[Category:Central Michigan University alumni]]
[[Category:Florida State University faculty]]
[[Category:United States Air Force colonels]]
[[Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:American prisoners of war in the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:Shot-down aviators]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Vietnam]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Australia]]
[[Category:Presidential Citizens Medal recipients]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Silver Star]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]