Dr. Wayne S. Smith is a retired diplomat, professor, and author who for many years was the last official U.S. diplomat for relations with Cuba. During his 25 years with the State Department (1957-82), he served as executive secretary of President Kennedy’s Latin American Task Force and chief of mission at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. In 1982, he resigned as head of the State Department’s Cuban Interests Section based in Havana because of his disputes with President Reagan’s foreign policy. He became a professor at Johns Hopkins University and published several books, including the well-regarded study “The Closest of Enemies: A Personal and Diplomatic History of the Castro Years” (1987). Also, he has been a senior fellow with the Center for International Policy and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His doctorate is from George Washington University.