After the war he embarked on a diplomatic career serving as US ambassador to Belgium, the Soviet Union and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

He was Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence from March 1941 but, obstructed and opposed by Rear Admiral Richmond Turner, he was unable to develop the office into an effective centre along the lines of the British Royal Naval Operational Intelligence Centre (which he had seen while in London).

He was decorated with Legion of Honour by the Provisional Government of the French Republic for his World War II service.

As a former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, he oversaw the recruitment of emigres in New York City and Munich, a group that would later form the core of Radio Liberty's staff.

[6] Alan Goodrich Kirk died on October 15, 1963 in New York at the age of 74 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.