born: 1917
serves as a Senior Advisor to the President. Former Ambassador and Lt. General, United States Army. Ambassador Rowny has served as a diplomat and advisor to five Presidents: Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush. From 1981 until 1984, Ambassador Rowny served as chief negotiator at the START Strategic Arms Reduction Talks; from 1985 until 1990, he was Special Advisor for Arms Control to President Reagan and Bush. Gen. Rowny served as a planner of the Inchon invasion during the Korean conflict, and was official spokesman for General Douglas McArthur. During his military career, Gen. Rowny also served in key capacities in the NATO European Command. He was instrumental admitting Poland to NATO in 1996. Amb. Rowny has been a major supporter of Polish-American historical and cultural causes.
From: Resume
General Edward L. Rowny had a long and distinguished military career serving on the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia. During World War II, Rowny fought In Italy and later was assigned to the Pentagon working on the final invasion of Japan. At the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, he became the official spokesman for the illustrious General Douglas MacArthur. Rowny subsequently was one of the planners for the Inchon Invasion, a military feat unrivaled in United States history.
In 1963, General Rowny established the Army Concept Team in Vietnam (ACTIV), where he introduced new concepts for counterinsurgency, including armed helicopters (air cavalry) -- their first use in warfare. By introducing cavalry into the sky, he wrote the most recent chapter of the United States Cavalry, which had been founded by General Casimir Pulaski.
From 1973 to 1979 General Rowny was the Joint Chiefs of Staff Representative to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II) in Geneva. He served longer than any other negotiator in SALT II -- six and a half years - and negotiated for more than 1000 hours with the Soviets. President Reagan upon his election in 1980 appointed Rowny Chief Arms Control Negotiator, with the rank of ambassador, where he served with distinction. During President Reagan's second term, Ambassador Rowny served as a roving ambassador. In 1985, President Reagan sent Rowny behind the Iron Curtain to brief military commanders of members of the Warsaw Pact. During these visits, he made contact with Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel and Pope John Paul II.
General Rowny's memoir, It Takes One To Tango, is a frank account of events at the highest level of power during the most dramatic moments of the Cold War. The Polish edition of this book. Tango z Niedzwiedziem, was released in Warsaw on March 12, 2007.
In 1992 Rowny arranged for the return of Ignacy Jan Paderewski's remains to Poland. Continuing to promote the legacy of this great Polish statesman, Rowny later founded the Paderewski Scholarship Fund, which brings Polish students to the United States for study. In 2004, Rowny resurrected the Kosciuszko Squadron at West Point, a group of Polish-American cadets dedicated to promoting the legacy of Thaddeus Kosciuszko.
Edward L. Rowny was born in Baltimore, Maryland on April 3, 1917. He graduated from John Hopkins University in 1937 and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1941. He earned two master's degrees from Yale University (Engineering and International Relations) in 1949 and a Ph.D. from the American University in 1977.
From: "2007 Annual Awards Dinner Program" National Polish Center; Washington, DC; May 5, 2007
Edward Rowny
Former ambassador and Retired Lieutenant General, US Army
Born 1917. An American general of Polish descent. General Rowny began his military career following graduation from the Johns Hopkins University and the U.S. Military Academy, two Masters degrees from Yale and a Ph.D. from the American University m Washington, D.C.
He fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, commanding units from platoon to corps size.
In the 1970s and 1980s General Rowny served as an ambassador and an advisor during the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) in Geneva and as the chief negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START).
From 1985 to 1990, he was a special advisor for arms control to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. In 1989, President Reagan awarded him the Presidential Citizens Medal, as "one of the principal architects of America's policy of peace through strength."
Since 1990 General Rowny has served as a consultant, advising government officials and private organizations on political, military and business affairs in Russia , Ukraine, Poland , China , Japan and Korea.
From: Good News 2005 - 2006. A publication of the American Institute of Polish Culture of Miami, Florida.