Andy Sundberg, A Patriot Abroad Announcement To Navy Class Of '62

by: Bertrand Huchberger

On August 30th 2012, the Class of 1962 lost a dear friend and colleague, Andy Sundberg who died following surgery.  Bracketed by an uncle in the Class of 1921, a brother in Class of 1968, and a nephew in the Class of 1996, at Navy Andy was a brilliant advocate for change and a staunch competitor on the soccer field.  He was an outstanding student and linguist, stood third in the class, and  had a unique ability to explain complex ideas.  At Navy  he was on the GE College Bowl team beating Army in 1960 and captained the team in 1961.  He founded the Naval Academy Foreign Affairs (NAVFAC) Conference that continues today.  He had a phenomenal ability to bring people together and a collegial leadership style that focused on the human touch

The year after graduation, Andy won a Rhodes Scholarship and attended Oxford  University where he earned  his 'blue' in lacrosse against Cambridge three times.      He served as a surface warfare officer in the Cuban Missile crises before being diagnosed with a career-ending condition.   Receiving a medical discharge in 1968, Andy moved to Geneva.  He became an economic and business consultant and was active in Russia after the cold war and Vietnam reconstruction.

Aside from his beloved wife Chantal, daughters Fanny and Nancy and granddaughter Manon, Andy's passion was politics.  He actively represented the interests of the six million Americans living abroad and founded of the American Children’s Citizens Rights League and American Citizens Abroad which now has members in 90 countries.   He was on a first-name basis with many government leaders throughout the world and in1988, he was drafted as 'favorite son' candidate for President by the Democratic Party contingent of Overseas Americans.  In 1995, Andy co founded an Internet Service Provider that  was later sold giving him recognition as a leading entrepreneur in Geneva.

While in Geneva, he organized the Adam Smith Society, the Burlamaqui Club, and  the Overseas American Academy as well as a series of  town hall meetings, throughout Switzerland,  addressing the interests of overseas Americans.  He still found  time to develop micro-finance projects in partnership with African diaspora groups in Europe.

Andy was a true American patriot, entrepreneur and citizen of the world.  He was one of those extraordinary people who's many contributions to world peace and global understanding will never be fully known.   He will be sorely missed by classmates, family and an enormous number of  friends and colleagues throughout the world.