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Polichetti was born July 15, 1931 in The Bronx, NY, third child to Luigi and Assunta. He graduated City College of New York in 1953, then served in the 32nd Infantry Regiment in Korea after the armistice. He earned a M.A. from Columbia University, writing his dissertation on Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
In 1959, Polichetti joined the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. He transferred to the U.S. Information Agency foreign service in 1966, serving in Vietnam as field representative for the Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office, and as advisor to GVN's rural cultural drama program.
In 1968, he married his wife of 52 years, Kayleen, and posted to Bangkok, Thailand, where his son Dante was born. Polichetti served five years in Thailand as radio/TV officer, then three years as information officer in Kabul, Afghanistan, where his daughter Daria was born. He was the public affairs officer in Lilongwe, Malawi before returning stateside in 1979 to the Office of Int'l Trade in Los Angeles, CA, and then as USIA acquisitions manager for film/TV in Washington, D.C. In India from 1982-86, he coordinated cultural programing and audio-visual services in New Delhi.
Polichetti's last assignment was USIA representative to Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, headquartered in Honolulu. As director of the Pacific Islands Program Office, he worked closely with the East-West Center on its cultural exchanges throughout the Pacific.
Polichetti retired in 1991. Passionate about politics and international affairs, he also loved film and music, and was a supporting member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild.
He is survived by his wife, Kayleen, son Dante, daughter Daria Polichetti Park and her husband, Nathaniel.
For memorial donations, please consider the East-West Center at www.eastwestcommunity.org/donatenow
