George Kennan, Foreign Policy Architect

By Liane Hansen

Published March 19, 2005 at 11:00 PM CST

George F. Kennan, who died Thursday at 101, was one of the best-known diplomats of his time, and a deeply influential figure in American foreign policy. His famous "long telegram," sent in 1947, outlined what would become the policy of "containment" of the Soviet Union, which guided U.S. relations with the Soviet Union for 40 years. NPR's Liane Hansen interviewed Kennan in 1993.

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Liane Hansen

Liane Hansen has been the host of NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years. She brings to her position an extensive background in broadcast journalism, including work as a radio producer, reporter, and on-air host at both the local and national level. The program has covered such breaking news stories as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Columbia shuttle tragedy. In 2004, Liane was granted an exclusive interview with former weapons inspector David Kay prior to his report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The show also won the James Beard award for best radio program on food for a report on SPAM.