Abshire was a Republican and the author of seven books, the most recent being A Call to Greatness: Challenging Our Next President, which was published in 2008. Abshire was married and had five children.
In 1962, Abshire and AdmiralArleigh Burke founded the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).[5] In 1988, as President of CSIS, he merged the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum into his organization to give it more input from the Asia-Pacific region. Dr. Abshire served as Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations from 1970 to 1973 and later as Chairman of the U.S. Board of International Broadcasting (1975–77). He was a member of the Murphy Commission (1974–75), the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (1981–1982), and the President's Task Force on U.S. Government International Broadcasting (1991).[10]
Abshire was married to Carolyn Lamar Sample. He had four daughters and one son: Anna Lamar Bowman, Mary Lee Jensvold, Phyllis d'Hoop, Caroline Hall and Lupton Abshire.[7]
Ambassador to NATO
In 1983–1987 Abshire was Ambassador to NATO where, in reaction to the threat posed by Soviet SS-20 missiles, he was appointed to oversee the deployment of Pershing and Cruise missiles. For his service, he was given the Distinguished Public Service Medal.[11]
Special Counselor to President Reagan
Abshire was recalled as the Iran-Contra Affair unfolded to serve as Special Counselor to President Reagan with Cabinet rank.[12] His charge was to assure a full investigation of the sale of arms to Iran so as to restore the confidence of the nation in the Reagan presidency.
Honors
Doctor of Humane Letters from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1992.[13]
Doctor of Civil Law, honoris causa, from the University of the South in 1994.
John Carroll Award for outstanding service by a Georgetown University alumnus.[14]
Distinguished Graduate Award of the United States Military Academy.[13]
1994 U.S. Military Academy's Castle Award
Gold Medal of the Sons of the American Revolution[13]
Doctor of Civil Law, honoris causa, from the University Georgetown in 2006.[13]
Death
Abshire died on October 31, 2014, of pulmonary fibrosis in Alexandria, Virginia.[17][18] He is survived by his wife of 56 years, the former Carolyn Sample, his son, Lupton, his daughters Anna Bowman, Mary Lee Jensvold, Phyliis d'Hoop and Carolyn Hall. He has 11 grandchildren.[4]
Books
National Security: Political, Military, and Economic Strategies in the Decade Ahead, 1963. LCCN63-17834.
The South Rejects a Prophet: The Life of Senator D. M. Key, 1824–1900, Praeger, 1967. OCLC1283029.
International Broadcasting: A New Dimension of Western Diplomacy, 1976. ISBN0803906579. OCLC2401630.
^ProfileArchived 2010-12-01 at the Wayback Machine, Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress], thepresidency.org; accessed October 31, 2014.
^Mykleby, Mark; Doherty, Patrick; Makower, Joel (2016). The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America's Prosperity, Security, and Sustainability in the 21st Century. New York. p. 190.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ abcdeGlenn, Justin (2016). The Washingtons. Volume 9: The Presidential Branch: Six Wright Lines. p. 389.