Richard Foote Pedersen (February 21, 1925 – July 11, 2011) was an American diplomat who was a career Foreign Service Officer in the United States State Department and President of the American University in Cairo.
Pedersen was born in Miami, Arizona and served with the 44th Infantry in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.
He served at the U.N. under five ambassadors, including Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and Adlai Stevenson.
In 1970, his phones were bugged by the Nixon White House, as part of an effort to investigate leaks about the Invasion of Cambodia.
[1] On July 24, 1973, Pedersen was appointed United States Ambassador to Hungary, and he presented his credentials on September 10, 1973.