Henry Catto

Henry Catto is Vice Chairman of The Aspen Institute and Chairman Emeritus of The Atlantic Council of the United States. He began his diplomatic career as Ambassador to El Salvador, a position which he held from 1971 to 1973. Catto served as Ambassador to the UN in Geneva from 1976 to 1977. Following that post, he became Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Pentagon Spokesman. Catto was Ambassador to Great Britain from 1989 to 1991 and Director of the US Information Agency from 1991 to 1993. He was also a partner in the insurance brokerage firm Catto & Catto from 1955 to 2000. From 1997 to 1999, Catto was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas. Catto’s memoir, Ambassadors at Sea, was published by the University of Texas Press in 1997. Catto is a member of the Council of American Ambassadors, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Smithsonian National Board. He is a Diplomat-in-Residence at the University of Texas and serves on the Advisory Board of Direct Relief International. Catto received his B.A. from Williams College in 1952.