Joseph C. Satterthwaite
11th United States Ambassador to South Africa
In office May 22, 1961 – November 17, 1965
President	John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	Philip K. Crowe
Succeeded by	William M. Rountree
1st Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
In office September 2, 1958 – January 31, 1961
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	G. Mennen Williams
United States Consul General to Morocco
In office September 8, 1953 – May 1, 1955
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	John Carter Vincent
Succeeded by	Julius C. Holmes
2nd United States Ambassador to Ceylon
In office November 19, 1949 – July 25, 1953
President	Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	Felix Cole
Succeeded by	Maxwell Henry Gluck
6th Director General of the Foreign Service
In office May 6, 1957 – September 1, 1958
Preceded by	Raymond A. Hare
Succeeded by	Waldemar J. Gallman
Personal details
Born	Joseph Charles Satterthwaite (1900-03-14)March 14, 1900 Tecumseh, Michigan
Died	November 19, 1990(1990-11-19) (aged 90) Washington, D.C.
Alma mater	University of Michigan (B.A., M.A.)
Occupation	Diplomat

Joseph Charles Satterthwaite (March 14, 1900 – November 19, 1990) was an American career diplomat.

Sattherwaite was born in Tecumseh, Michigan on March 14, 1900. His family had first moved to that state in 1831.^[1] He attended the University of Michigan, earning a B.A. degree in 1923 and a M.A. degree in 1924. His first job with the US Foreign Service was as a clerk in the Stuttgart consulate in 1926. From there, appointments followed in Guadalajara, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Baghdad, Ankara and Damascus.^[2] As part of a State Department special diplomatic mission, Satterthwaite presented a letter from President Harry S. Truman to King Tribhuvan, recognizing Nepal's independence, on April 21 1947.^[3] This task proved difficult, as foreigners could only enter with consent of the Prime Minister, and the group had to travel by rail, road, pack train and sedan chair.^[4]

Satterthwaite served as United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka from 1949 to 1952, Head of the U.S. Legation at Tangier from 1953 to 1955, and as United States Ambassador to Burma from April 1955 to April 1957. For a brief period between May 6, 1957, and September 1, 1958, he was Director General of the Foreign Service.^[5] He then served as the first Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs between 1958 and 1961. One of his duties in that role was hosting an African Regional Conference from June 9–11, 1959 in Lourenco Marques (now Maputo).^[6]

Sattherwaite was reappointed as an ambassador, this time to South Africa, from 1961 to 1965.^[7] Following the Sharpeville massacre, President John F. Kennedy's administration was taking a renewed look at the country. Satterthwaite later recalled that Kennedy had told him "You can tell the prime minister of South Africa that I'm not sending you out there to point your finger at them, (the South Africans) but that they must realize the problems we have with their racial policy". While in South Africa, Satterthwaite learned of Kennedy's assassination from the Belgian ambassador (who had been listenening to the BBC World Service). This forced him to break off a dinner party he was holding and announce the news, bringing some of the South African guests to tears. His embassy held a Catholic memorial service shortly after.^[1]

He spoke highly of his time under the Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, saying in an interview that he "never had any pressure from the White House that was objectionable in the least. Obviously pressures were brought by Congress sometimes, but that's something else, that's just par for the course, you can expect that; but certainly not from the White House under either Truman or Eisenhower. I think this is true of Kennedy, too".^[8]

After South Africa he retired from the Foreign Service, becoming a consultant on foreign affairs.^[9]

He died in Washington, D.C., on November 19, 1990, at the age of 90, due to pneumonia.^[10]

• Letter from Joseph M Levy recalling Satterthwaite's involvement in "Action on Relief for the Jews in Syria" in 1949
• Account of his time as Ambassador to South Africa, given in oral history interview for the JFK Library