He worked with presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

He also served as professor of international relations and director of the Center for the Global South at American University in Washington, D.C.. Clovis Maksoud was born in Bristow, Oklahoma, on December 17, 1926, to Lebanese parents.

His mother was an Orthodox Christian, and his father, a Maronite Catholic, had settled in Oklahoma working in the petroleum exploration industry.

[2] In 1944 at the age of 18 Clovis Maksoud enrolled at the American University of Beirut (AUB), to study political science and economics.

[3] "In my student days, towering academic figures such as Constantin Zureiq and Charles Malik espoused competing narratives that sought to define the meaning and national purpose of the Arab region this University serves."

During debates at the Oxford Union Clovis Maksoud was known to have used extremely long sentences to make his point which led to someone in the audience eventually shouting "Full Stop."

"[4] Clovis Maksoud's writings and pan-Arab ideals led to his nomination in 1961 as Ambassador of the Arab League to India and Southeast Asia, where he had the reputation of being the most influential foreign diplomat.

The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union had led India's first Prime Minister Nehru to adopt a strategy of "Non-Alignment" in order to maintain relations with both superpowers.

As the League's representative he embarked on innumerable journeys across the US addressing civic organizations, think tanks, church groups and universities.

[7] In 1974 Clovis Maksoud met Hala Salaam (the niece of late Lebanese Prime Minister Saeb Salam) who was to be his second wife, at a conference in Beirut.

In his role as Ambassador to the United States he was faced with the challenge of dispelling a deeply established negative Arab stereotype in the American media.