John Buzbee

Buzbee was born in Olathe, Kan., in 1966, and moved in high school to Hutchinson, Kan., where his father was editor and publisher of The Hutchinson News. He earned political science and journalism degrees from the University of Kansas and later graduated from Georgetown University with a Master of Arts in Arab Studies. Mr. Buzbee served as a political officer and vice consul in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; an economic officer in both Cairo and Jerusalem; and a cultural affairs officer in Cairo. In later years, he served in Washington as deputy director for Syria in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs; as a senior adviser in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs; as a researcher at the Foreign Service Institute; and as an adviser in the office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs. He also worked on Balkans issues in the Bureau of European Affairs as the deputy director for South Central Europe. He leaves his wife, Sally Buzbee, bureau chief and a vice president of The Associated Press in Washington; his two daughters, Emma and Meg; his parents, Richard and Marie Buzbee of Hutchinson, Kansas; and his brothers, Bill Buzbee of Half Moon Bay, Calif., and Jim Buzbee of Centennial, Colo., and their families. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Anne Marie Buzbee; and his brother, Bob Buzbee.