Charles W. Sawyer

Charles W. Sawyer

Charles W. Sawyer (* 10. February 1887 in Cincinnati , Ohio ; †  7. April 1979 in Palm Beach , Florida ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party , which the cabinet of US President Harry S. Truman as trade minister belonged .

After attending Oberlin College , he graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a law degree in 1911 . Sawyer also worked as a lawyer in his hometown, before embarking on a political career and serving on the Cincinnati City Council from 1912 to 1916.

In the period between the world wars Charles Sawyer rose to become a leader within the Democratic Party of Ohio. The faction he led quarreled with the supporters of Martin Davey for supremacy within the party in the 1930s . Sawyer held the post of Lieutenant Governor of Ohio under Governor Davey from 1933 to 1935 ; In 1938 he was nominated as a Democratic candidate for governor, but he was defeated by Republican John W. Bricker .

In 1944 Sawyer was appointed US Ambassador to Belgium by President Franklin D. Roosevelt ; at the same time he acted as envoy in Luxembourg . In 1945 he left this office. Two years later, Roosevelt's successor Harry S. Truman appointed him to the Civil Service Commission's Review Board . Finally, in 1948, he joined the Federal Cabinet as Minister of Commerce. In 1952 he was commissioned by President Truman to take over administrative control of the steel mills in the USA. This action was deemed necessary to prevent a steel workers 'strike that would have impaired the United States' ability to act in the Korean War .

After Truman's tenure as president ended, Charles Sawyer also left the government in January 1953. He returned to Cincinnati, where he joined a law firm founded by former US Senator Robert A. Taft . Sawyer became their managing partner. He was still active in local politics.

Charles W. Sawyer married Margaret Sterrett Johnston on July 15, 1918. There were five children from the marriage (Anne Johnston, Charles II, Jean Johnston, John William and Edward Milton). John Sawyer co-founded the Cincinnati Bengals NFL football team in 1967 . Margaret died in 1937. On June 10, 1942, he married Elizabeth De Weyrac.

Web links

Commons : Charles W. Sawyer  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• Biography at the Ohio Historical Society
• Jesse M. Donaldson in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)