John W. Limbert

American diplomat (born 1943)

John W. Limbert (born 1943) is an American diplomat. He is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran in the US State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. He is a veteran U. S. diplomat and a former official at the U. S. Embassy in Tehran, where he was held captive during the Iran hostage crisis.

Limbert was born in Washington, D. C., where he graduated from public school. He received his B. A., M. A., and Ph. D. all from Harvard University. His Ph. D. was in History and Middle Eastern Studies. In 1962, Limbert first traveled to Iran while his parents were working there for USAID. Before joining the U. S. Foreign Service, Limbert returned to Iran as a Peace Corps volunteer (1964–66) and as an English instructor at Pahlavi University (1969–72, later renamed Shiraz University). He speaks Persian fluently. Limbert's wife, Parvaneh, is a naturalized American citizen of Iranian descent, and since 1980 she has been a resident of Stockbridge, Vermont. and a son named Shervin. Mrs. Limbert is a painter and has had her work featured in art galleries.

Ambassador Limbert joined the Foreign Service in 1973. His overseas postings included Algeria, Djibouti, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. From 2000–2003, he was Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. While still Ambassador, he was one of the first civilian officials to enter Baghdad in April 2003 with the Organization of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. Among his earlier positions, he served as Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the State Department (2000). Limbert retired from the Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor.

In 1979, Limbert was a newly appointed Foreign Service officer posted to the U. S. Embassy in Tehran when it was overrun by Iranian students. He had arrived as a diplomat only 12 weeks before the embassy's capture. Along with 52 other Americans, he would be held captive for more than a year. Asked about how his experience as a hostage in Iran changed him, Limbert said, "I think I got a new appreciation for our own profession – that is, the profession of diplomacy. And the idea of how do you solve problems between nations and between people?" Limbert also remarked that he was wrong about the 1979 Islamic Revolution: "I admit that I called it wrong really from the beginning and in the direction that it went. The direction that it went – this rather harsh and brutal and intolerant direction that it went – certainly surprised me. I didn't expect it. Nor did I expect that we and the Iranians would remain estranged for as long as we have."