Paul H. Boeker (May 2, 1938 St. Louis, Missouri - March 29, 2003) a former United States ambassador to Jordan (1984 to 1987) and Bolivia (1977 to 1980). Boeker was director of the Foreign Service Institute from 1980 to 1983. While in Jordan, he arranged secret meetings between Jordanian and Israeli officials on issues such as telecommunications, counterterrorism and water sharing. Because he protected American lives during a Bolivian military coup d'état in 1979, he received the State Department's Superior Honor Award. Boeker was president and chief executive of the Institute of the Americas at the University of California, San Diego, a networking organization between Western Hemisphere countries in multiple economic sectors. for the last 14 years of his career.