Necrology

Karl Imants Danga '69

Aug. 11, 1947-Nov. 11, 2022

Karl Imants Danga ’69 died at his home in Christiansted, St. Croix, on Nov. 11, 2022. Born in Uppsala, Sweden, on Aug. 11, 1947, Karl emigrated with his parents and sister to the United States in 1959 and settled in Norwich, N.Y., when his father took a job at Norwich Pharmaceuticals (now Norwich Pharma). Karl came to Hamilton from Norwich High School with an interest in international law. 

On the Hill, he majored in government, was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and Root-Jessup Council, and joined WHCL. By the beginning of his sophomore year, Karl was honored with a Charles Dana Foundation Scholarship in recognition of his “scholarship, leadership, and extracurricular activities.” In the second semester of his junior year, he seized the opportunity to participate in a semester-long Washington study group created by Colgate University; Karl was the only non-Colgate student to participate.

In the course of his studies at Hamilton, Karl turned away from his original interest in international law because, as he noted in his 25th reunion yearbook: “Professor [of International Relations] Channing B. Richardson got me interested in Africa and in a career in the foreign service.” His interest in Africa was heightened when, after graduating with honors in government, Karl joined the Peace Corps and was sent to the West African nation of Dahomey, then a self-governing French colony and now the Republic of Benin.

 As his Peace Corps assignment was coming to an end in 1971, Karl learned that he had been awarded a Herbert H. Lehman Fellowship to support graduate study in international affairs. He used it to pursue a master’s degree in that field at Columbia University, concentrating in African studies. Degree in hand and prior to joining the State Department in March 1973, he worked for a time as a bartender at Club Med in Tunisia and as a tour director for Travcoa, leading tours in Southern and East Africa.

It wasn’t until 1985 that Karl was assigned to a post in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically as consul general in Lubumbashi, Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His prior posts included tours in Cebu in the Philippines; Tripoli, Libya; Seoul, South Korea; Bridgetown, Barbados (as consul general); and Washington, D.C. (as management analyst for the assistant secretary for consular affairs). From Zaire, Karl moved on to become chargé d’affaires in Moroni, the capital of a small archipelago off the coast of Mozambique known as the Union of the Comoros. Thereafter, he became regional consular officer in Johannesburg, South Africa, and then deputy chief of mission in Asmara, Eritrea.

Asmara was his last posting as a full-time employee of the State Department, and Karl retired in September 1995 after 23 years of service. He then made his home on St. Croix, purchasing a condo on the north side of the island in Christiansted. In retirement, he occasionally attended meetings of the local Rotary Club. By nature footloose, Karl continued to travel, including at least one trip with his family to his parents’ birthplace in Latvia and to do temporary assignments for the State Department in various countries, including the Ivory Coast and Nigeria, where he adjudicated visa applications for those seeking to emigrate to the United States. He also renewed his association with the tour company Travcoa, leading tours to Turkey, Syria, Ethiopia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

In his later years, Karl battled both cancer and heart disease, but in spite of these challenges, had no interest in returning to the continental United States for treatment and chose to remain on St. Croix until the end. Through his estate, he provided a gift to support Hamilton’s Africana Studies program.

Karl I. Danga ’69 is survived by his sister, a niece, and a nephew.

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