Biography of Alan Keyes

Alan Keyes is a well-known personality in the political scenario of the United States. He can be described as an American diplomat, politician and commentator.

Childhood
Alan Lee Keyes was born in Long Island, New York on August 7, 1950. His father Allison Keyes was a sergeant in the US Army and mother was a school teacher. Allan was the fifth child of his parents. During his growing up years, Alan traveled with his father to various parts of the country and also to Italy because of his father's tour of duty in the military.

Education
He joined Cornell University as a student of political philosophy. Later, he was forced to leave the school when he received death threats for not participating in a public demonstration against the Vietnam War. Alan and his family strongly supported the Vietnam War and his father was part of two tours to Vietnam. Soon after the threats, Alan moved to Paris, France and stayed there for one year under a study abroad program of Cornell. Then he got an invitation from Harvard University and went on to join it. In 1972, he obtained BA Degree in Government Affairs from Harvard.

Career
In 1978, while pursuing his Ph.D, he joined the United States Department of States as a foreign service officer. In 1979, after the completion of his Ph.D, he moved to Mumbai, India as a consulate. In 1980, he was sent to Zimbabwe where he served at the US embassy there. He became a part of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff in 1981. He was assigned the responsibility of Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan. From 1985 - 88, he became Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations.

He campaigned for the US Senate in Maryland for the first time in 1988 but was not successful. He tried again for the second time in 1992 but remained unsuccessful. He tried for the nomination of President from the Republican Party twice, 1996 and 2000, but did not get any favorable outcome. In the 1996 campaign, he ran into controversy when Atlanta police detained him for forcefully entering into a debate for which he did not have any invitation. In 2000, he managed to get only twenty percent of the vote in Utah primary which turned out to be his best performance overall.

In 2004, he received an invitation from the Republican Party to run for Illinois Senate, when Republican nominee Jack Ryan had to withdraw his candidature because of some controversy. He had just 86 days for the preparation of his campaign and at the end of it he was beaten in the race by Democrat Barack Obama. In the 2008 presidential election, his hope for a Republican nomination was dashed as he could not garner enough support from his fellow Republicans.

Personal Life
Alan met his wife Jocelyn Marcel Keyes, an Indian from Calcutta, in Mumbai when he was there working at the consulate. The couple is blessed with three children - Francis, Maya and Andrew. Alan has written a book named "Masters of the Dream: The Strength and Betrayal of Black America". In this book, he has addressed problems involving the African Americans. He has formed his own political party called America's Independent Party.

Alan is an outspoken person for which he is grossly misunderstood at times. He has managed to end up in controversies on a number of occasions. However, there are several issues which he has addressed that are meant for the welfare of his country and countrymen.