Cyrus Vance

Vance, Cyrus (1917– ), U.S. public official. A Wall Street lawyer, he was secretary of the army (1962–63) and deputy secretary of defense (1964–67). An experienced diplomatic troubleshooter, he served as President Carter's secretary of state (1977–80), resigning in protest over the abortive attempt to rescue U.S. diplomatic hostages in Iran. In 1993 Vance and Lord Owen (former Brittish foreign minister) devised a peace keeping plan for Yugoslavia, which was rejected by the Bosnian Serbs. After several futile attempts to establish peace in former Yugoslavia, Vance resigned as EU-mediator.