Sumner Welles

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Benjamin Sumner Welles (born October 14, 1892 in New York City , † September 24, 1961 in Bernardsville , New Jersey ) was an American diplomat and Deputy Secretary of State of the United States ( United States Under Secretary of State ) from 1937 to 1943 in at the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency.

Ascent

Coming from a wealthy family, the first name comes from an ancestor known in the USA ( Charles Sumner ), he became acquainted with the Roosevelts at an early age and a friend of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He graduated from Harvard University in 1914 , went into the diplomatic service and initially got a position in Tokyo . In 1915 he married Esther Slater from an entrepreneurial family in Massachusetts. Two sons come from this marriage. One became his biographer.

His first focus was Latin America and he was posted to Argentina in 1919 . In 1920 he was already deputy head of the Latin America department in the State Department in Washington. He temporarily resigned in 1922 because he was at odds with Republican tax policies and the bureaucracy. Foreign Secretary Charles Evans Hughes brought him back for three years as Special Commissioner with the rank of Minister for the Dominican Republic .

Cuba

During the first Cuban crisis in 1920, he was sent there by President Woodrow Wilson . Welles had to mediate between the two conflicting parties (General Herrera, Colonel Castillo, Delgado, and later President Gerardo Machado ). In 1933, he served briefly as the United States Ambassador to Cuba; he urged the dictatorial ruling Machado to resign after lengthy mediation efforts with the opposition in August 1933 and supported the interim presidency of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada , who in turn was ousted on September 5 by a military coup led by Fulgencio Batista .

The Stimson Doctrine

In 1940 he rejected the Soviet annexation of the three Baltic states as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between the German Reich and the Soviet Union. Many countries followed this position.

Second World War

Welles' speech in Panama on the neutrality of American states, 1939

In World War II, Welles often served as a consultant Franklin Roosevelt in the State Department. The design for the United Nations is attributed to him (see also Cordell Hull ). Because of an alleged homosexual affair, he had to leave office in 1943. But he remained a prominent US commentator and author on foreign policy for many years.

Private

Welles was first married to Esther Slater from 1915 and had two children:

  • Benjamin Welles (1916–2002), foreign correspondent for the New York Times
  • Arnold Welles (1918-2002).

In his second marriage he married Mathilde Scott Townsend (1885-1949) in 1925. In January 1952 he was married to Harriette Appleton Post for the third time.

In 1947 Welles was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Works

  • The time for decision . Harper & Brothers , New York NY 1944
    • in French: L'heure da la décision. 2 vols. Brentanos's, New York NY 1946
  • To Intellegent American's Guide To the Peace , Dryden Press, New York 1945
  • Laurence Duggan 1905-1948: In Memoriam , Overbrook Press, Stamford (CT) 1949

Literature on Sumner Welles

  • Michael J. Devine: Welles, Sumner . In: American National Biography Online (Feb. 2000) online (Engl.)
  • Irwin F. Gellman: Secret Affairs: Franklin Roosevelt, Cordell Hull, and Sumner Welles. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995 (English)
  • Stephen C. Schlesinger: The Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations . 2004. ISBN 0813332753 (English)
  • Benjamin Welles: Sumner Welles: Fdr's Global Strategist. A biography . Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute Series on Diplomatic and Economic History. St. Martin's Press. 1997. ISBN 0-312-17440-3 (English)

Web links

Commons : Sumner Welles  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sumner Welles, in: American National Biography Online , accessed on May 14, 2014 (English)
  2. ↑ New York Times: SOl, HER WELLES WEDS MRS. POST OFFICE; Former Diplomat and Daughter of Late Banker Married at Her Home on Fifth Ave.
  3. ^ Members of the American Academy. Listed by election year, 1900-1949 ( PDF ). Retrieved October 11, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Welles, Sumner
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Welles, Benjamin Sumner (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 14, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH September 24, 1961
Place of death Bernardsville , New Jersey