Raphel was born March 16, 1943, in Troy, New York, into a Jewish family, the son of Harry and Sarah (Rote-Rosen) Raphel.[1]
As a boy, Raphel was already interested in diplomacy and international affairs. At age 12, he wrote to the then Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, regarding his interest in diplomacy. Dulles wrote back in reply, advising him to "study hard, work hard and we’ll see you in ten years."[1] Raphel graduated from Hamilton College (B.A., 1964) and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University (M.A., 1966).[2]
Career
Raphel joined the US State Department in 1966. He held a variety of positions throughout his career until his death in 1988. He was mainly a diplomat for the US Government.[3]
Raphel was married three times. His first wife was Myrna Feigenbaum, by whom he had one daughter, Stephanie.[1] In 1978, he married fellow diplomat Robin Raphel; the marriage, which was childless, ended in divorce two years later. In 1987, he married another fellow diplomat, Nancy Halliday Ely-Raphel.[1] They had been married for around a year when he died in an aircrash in August 1988.
Death
Raphel was serving as US ambassador to Pakistan, and was traveling in the plane with President Zia-ul-Haq on August 17, 1988, when the plane crashed, resulting in the death of 30 people, including him and President Zia.[7]
Raphel was 45 years old. He was survived by both his parents, who were living in retirement by then in Atlantic City, N.J., and by his only daughter Stephanie, who was living with her mother, Myrna Feigenbaum, in Orlando, Florida. Raphel was also survived by his third wife, Nancy.
See also
Adolph Dubs, the previous US ambassador to die in the line of duty
