Ralph Earle II (September 26, 1928 - January 13, 2020) was an American diplomat and arms control negotiator. He was a key architect of several major international arms control accords. He served as the United States' chief negotiator at the SALT II round of talks on nuclear disarmament from 1978 to 1979, as director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) between 1980 and 1981 and as deputy director at the ACDA from 1994 to 1999.
Earle was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, on September 26, 1928. He was the son of the former Governor of Pennsylvania, George H. Earle III and Huberta Potter Earle Sheaffer. He attended Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania and graduated from Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts[1] in 1946.[2] He graduated with a Bachlors degree in history from Harvard College in 1950[3] and Harvard Law School and served in the United States Army during the Korean War.[1] Earle is a member of the influential Van Leer family. His paternal second great-grandfather was American Revolutionary War captain Samuel Van Leer.[4]
In 1968, he was appointed to be Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs and was a protege of Paul Nitze.[6] Earle served as the Defense Advisor to the US Mission to NATO from 1969 to 1972.[3] He joined the U.S.-Soviet SALT II negotiations as an alternate to chief negotiator Paul Warnke. Soviet diplomat Vladimir Semyonov was initially frustrated to meet often with the second in command negotiator, but their relationship strengthened through a mutual appreciation of classical music and shared experiences of both having teenage daughters.[7]
In 1978, after the resignation of Warnke, Earle was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as the United States' chief negotiator at the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II) with the Soviets and given the rank of Ambassador. He served as Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) from 1980 to 1981.[8] Earle received the Distinguished Honor Award from the ACDA for his role in the SALT II negotiations.[9] He re-joined ACDA from 1994 to 1999 as its deputy director.[3]
He was an active member of the Lawyers' Alliance for World Security (LAWS) and served on the Arms Control Association Board of Directors from 1987 to 1994.[7]
Earle was married first to Eleanor Forbes Owens Earle and then to Julie von Sternberg Earle. He had five children: Eleanor Earle Mascheroni, Ralph Earle III, Duncan Owens Earle, Amanda Earle Ciccarelli, and Caroline Earle Walsh.[3]
He died on January 13, 2020, from complications due to Parkinson's disease[1] and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery on August 25, 2021.[12]
