Lister, George Aveling, of the Engineer's Office Mersey Dock Estate

Epithet: of the Engineer's Office Mersey Dock Estate

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000621.0x0000f0

George Lister, who has been referred to as "Mr. Human Rights," served in the United States Department of State for sixty years, and throughout his career he championed human rights and the importance of human rights as a tool for fighting Communism. He worked during the 1950s and 1960s as a Foreign Service Officer with appointments in Warsaw, Moscow, Germany, Columbia, and most notably, in Italy (1957-1961) as Embassy First Secretary.

Mr. Lister played a major role in establishing contact with the Italian Socialists and persuading them to disassociate themselves from the Communist party. In the 1970s Mr. Lister worked with Congressmen Don Fraser and Tom Harkin to establish human rights as an important goal of United States foreign policy, and in 1974 George Lister became the first Human Rights Officer ever appointed to the Department of State's Bureau of Inter-American Affairs. Lister received formal recognition for his work in the form of several awards, including one from the government of Chile in 1992, one from the U.S.-Baltic Foundation in 1996 for "his outstanding work as the State Department's Baltic Country Officer," and an award from the United Nations in 1998.

From the description of George Lister papers, 1887-2004 1936-2003. (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 76834882