Arthur Hobson Dean (October 16, 1898 – November 30, 1987) was a New York City lawyer and diplomat who was viewed as one of the leading corporate lawyers of his day, as well having served as a key advisor to numerous U.S. presidents.

Early life

Dean was a native of Ithaca, New York, and attended Ithaca High School and then Cornell University. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War I, he received both a bachelor's and LL.B degree from Cornell, in 1921 and 1923, respectively, and was the managing editor of the Cornell Law Quarterly

Career

Dean was chairman and senior partner of Sullivan & Cromwell, where he worked closely with John Foster Dulles. He was the chief U.S. negotiator at Panmunjeom where he helped negotiate the Korean Armistice Agreement, which ended the Korean War, and helped draft and negotiate the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963. Dean was a member and later served on the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Asia Society, and served as a delegate to the United Nations. He was a member of the steering committee of the Bilderberg Group and participated in 14 conferences between 1957 and 1975.

Legacy

Dean's official papers are maintained at Cornell University Library, of which he was a major patron.