W. Nathaniel Howell

Wilson Nathaniel "Nat" Howell (born September 14, 1939) is an American diplomat and educator. He served as the United States Ambassador to Kuwait from 1987 to 1991.
Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Nat earned a B.A. at the University of Virginia, 1961. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Government and Foreign Affairs at UVA, 1965, and entered the Foreign Service. From 1970 to 1972, he studied Arabic at the Foreign Service Institute, Beirut, Lebanon.
On May 26, 1987, President Reagan announced his intention to nominate Howell to be Ambassador of the U.S. to Kuwait. Howell was at his post awaiting reassignment when, on August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City, was declared closed by Saddam Hussein on August 24, by which time many Americans and other nationals had taken refuge on the embassy compound. Iraq's declaration of the annexation of Kuwait, by means of trumped-up historical, economic and political pretexts, was not recognized by the U.S....