Robert Prather Joyce was born on October 17, 1903, in Los Angeles. He received his B.A. degree from Yale in 1926, and then studied at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques in Paris. Joyce joined the United Services Foreign Service in June 1928, and later held posts in Shanghai, China, and La Paz, Bolivia. During his time with the Foreign Service, he also held the posts of Third Secretary at the United States Embassy in Panama; the Third Secretary and Consul in Belgrade, 1938; and Second Secretary and then Consul in Havana, 1940. In November 1943, he resigned from the Foreign Service and joined the Office of Strategic Services. He rejoined the Foreign Service in 1947 as Consul General in Trieste, Italy. The next year he joined the State Department's Policy Planning Staff. Joyce later served as counselor at the United States Embassy in Paris, 1952, and at the American Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, 1956; special assistant and then acting director, 1958, in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research; and Consul General in Genoa, Italy, 1959. He retired from public service in 1962. Joyce died in London on February 8, 1984.
From the guide to the Robert P. Joyce papers, 1962-1980, (Manuscripts and Archives)
