George V. Allen

George V. Allen (1924)

George Venable Allen (born November 3, 1903 in Durham , North Carolina , † July 11, 1970 in Bahama , North Carolina) was an American diplomat who served, among other things, from 1946 to 1948 as the United States' ambassador to Iran , from 1948 to 1948 1949 as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs head of the public relations department in the US State Department and was Ambassador to India between 1953 and 1954 . He was also Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs Head of the Middle East, South Asia and Africa Division from 1955 to 1956 and Director of the US Information Agency from 1957 to 1960 . In 1960 he was awarded the title Career Ambassador .

Life

Studies, teacher and beginning of the diplomatic career

George Venable Allen, one of six children of the businessman Thomas Ellis Allen and his wife Hallie Moore Allen, began an undergraduate degree at Duke University after attending school , which he completed in 1924 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). He then worked as a teacher at a high school from 1924 to 1928 and also completed postgraduate studies at Harvard University , which he completed in 1929 with a Master of Arts (MA). During his studies he became a member of the academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa and the student association Delta Sigma Phi .

After retiring from school he joined the US State Department as a Foreign Service Officer in 1930 and was initially Vice Consul in Kingston for a short time in 1930 and then Vice Consul in Shanghai between 1930 and 1936 . He then found employment from 1936 to 1938 as Vice Consul and Third Secretary at the Embassy in Egypt . After other activities in the Foreign Ministry, he was first deputy head of the Middle East (Assistant Chief, Division of Near East Affairs) between 1943 and 1944 and then from 1944 to 1945 head of the Middle East (Chief, Division of Middle East Affairs) . At the same time he acted as acting deputy head from 1944 to 1945 and then from 1945 to 1946 as deputy head of the Middle East, South Asia and Africa subdivision (Deputy Director, Office of Near East and African Affairs) in the Foreign Ministry.

Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State

On April 23, 1946, George V. Allen was appointed ambassador for the first time and handed over his accreditation as the United States Ambassador to Iran on May 11, 1946 as the successor to Wallace S. Murray . In this post he remained until February 17, 1948 and was then replaced by John C. Wiley . After his return, he took over on March 31, 1948 as the successor to William Burnett Benton as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and thus as head of the public relations subdivision in the US State Department. He held this position until November 28, 1949, when Edward W. Barrett succeeded him. He himself, in turn, was appointed ambassador to Yugoslavia on October 27, 1949 and presented his credentials there as the successor to Cavendish W. Cannon . He remained in this office until March 11, 1953 and was then replaced by James W. Riddleberger .

Allen was then appointed ambassador to India on March 11, 1953 and handed over his accreditation as the successor to Chester Bowles on May 4, 1954. He held this position until November 30, 1954, whereupon John Sherman Cooper took his place there. As ambassador to India he was also accredited as ambassador to Nepal between July 5, 1953 and November 30, 1954 . After his return to the USA, he succeeded Henry A. Byroade as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs and thus head of the Middle East, South Asia and Africa subdivision of the State Department on January 26, 1955 . He held this post until August 27, 1956, when he was replaced by William M. Rountree .

Then George Venable Allen was appointed Ambassador of the United States to Greece on July 26, 1956 , whereupon he surrendered his credentials again on October 12, 1956 as the successor to Cavendish W. Cannon. He remained in this ambassadorial post until November 13, 1957 and was then replaced again by James W. Riddleberger.

Director of the US Information Agency , Career Ambassador and Director of the Foreign Service Institute

After his return, Allen was on November 15, 1957 director of the US Information Agency , which was responsible for the press and public relations of the State Department and the US government, and thus successor to Arthur Larson . He held this position for more than three years until December 1, 1960 and was then replaced by the well-known journalist Edward R. Murrow . On June 24, 1960 he was awarded the title of Career Ambassador created on August 5, 1955 by an amendment of the US Congress to the Foreign Service act of 1946 , the highest grade for foreign service officers .

George V. Allen then took over as President and Executive Director of the Tobacco Institute , a trade group founded in 1958 by the US tobacco industry, between 1961 and 1966 . After that, on March 1, 1966, he succeeded George A. Morgan as director of the Foreign Service Institute , a training institution that prepared US diplomats and other professionals to represent the interests of US foreign policy at home and abroad. He held this office until November 30, 1968, when Parker T. Hart succeeded him .

George Venable Allen was married to Katharine Martin Allen until his death. He died of complications from heart failure and was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, DC after his death .

Web links

• Resume on the US State Department home page
• George V. Allen in nndb (English)
• George V. Allen in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Chiefs of Mission for Iran
2. ^ Assistant Secretaries of State for Public Affairs
3. ^ Chiefs of Mission for Yugoslavia
4. ^ Chiefs of Mission for India
5. ^ Chiefs of Mission for Nepal
6. ^ Assistant Secretaries of State for Near Eastern Affairs
7. ^ Chiefs of Mission for Greece
8. ^ Directors of the US Information Agency
9. ^ Career Ambassadors
10. ^ Directors of the Foreign Service Institute