Vance, Cyrus

Vance, Cyrus (Roberts)

(1917– ) lawyer, cabinet member; born in Clarksburg, W.Va. A corporate and government lawyer in New York (1947–61), he became secretary of the army (1961–64). As deputy defense secretary (1964–68), he went on peace missions to Panama, Santa Domingo, and Cyprus. President Carter's secretary of state (1977–80), he could not resolve the Iranian hostage crisis and resigned when Carter undertook a helicopter rescue mission against his advice. In 1992 he led a mission to negotiate peace in Yugoslavia.