Charles Sawyer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 12thUnited States Secretary of Commerce | |
| In office May 6, 1948 – January 20, 1953 | |
| President | Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | W. Averell Harriman |
| Succeeded by | Sinclair Weeks |
| United States Ambassador to Belgium | |
| In office November 8, 1944 – November 20, 1945 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Ernest de Wael Mayer (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Alan G. Kirk |
| United States Ambassador to Luxembourg | |
| In office November 1, 1944 – November 20, 1945 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Winthrop Greene (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Alan G. Kirk |
| 44thLieutenant Governor of Ohio | |
| In office January 9, 1933 – January 14, 1935 | |
| Governor | George White |
| Preceded by | William G. Pickrel |
| Succeeded by | Harold G. Mosier |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1887-02-10)February 10, 1887 Cincinnati,Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | April 7, 1979(1979-04-07) (aged 92) Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Spring Grove Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | Oberlin College (BA) University of Cincinnati (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1919 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | 89th Division |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Charles W. Sawyer (February 10, 1887 – April 7, 1979) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as theUnited States Secretary of Commerce from May 6, 1948, to January 20, 1953, in the administration ofHarry Truman.
Sawyer was born inCincinnati on February 10, 1887. He was a son of Caroline (née Butler) Sawyer and Edward Milton Sawyer, a Maine Republican who moved to Ohio become a principal.[1]
He attendedOberlin College, earning aBachelor of Arts degree in 1908, followed by theUniversity of Cincinnati, where he received his law degree in 1911.[1]
He served as a member of Cincinnati City Council from 1912 until 1916 when he ran forMayor of Cincinnati losing toGeorge Puchta. Prior to his political career, he worked at the Cincinnati law firm ofDinsmore & Shohl.
In August 1917, Sawyer joined the military for World War I, and was commissioned from civilian life as acaptain ofInfantry.[2] After completing initial training atFort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, he served with the 158th Depot BrigadeCamp Sherman, Ohio and was assigned as the post'sprovost marshal.[2][3] In August 1918, he was promoted toMajor.[2] He then served in France asadjutant of the 178th Infantry Brigade, a unit of the89th Division.[2][4] After theArmistice of November 11, 1918 ended the war, Sawyer continued to serve in Europe as part of theOccupation of the Rhineland.[2] He returned to the United States in May 1919, and was discharged on 31 May.[2] Following his wartime service, Sawyer frequently participated in veterans events, and was a longtime member of theAmerican Legion andVeterans of Foreign Wars.[5]
Sawyer was also involved in several business ventures, including theAmerican Rolling Mill Company and a share of theCincinnati Reds, theCincinnati Gardens, and a chain of newspapers and radio stations (through Great Trails Broadcasting Corporation).[6][1]
Between the Wars, he was a prominentOhioDemocratic politician. In the 1930s, a faction led by Sawyer vied with a faction led byMartin L. Davey for control of the state Democratic party.[7] He was the 44thlieutenant governor of Ohio from 1933 to 1935. Sawyer authored theTwenty-first Amendment which repealed theEighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which established theprohibition of alcohol in the United States.[8] From 1936 to 1944, Sawyer served as a member of theDemocratic National Committee. In 1938, he was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Ohio.[1]
In 1944, PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt appointed Sawyer as theUnited States Ambassador to Belgium and served as was Minister to Luxembourg during the difficult period from 1944 to 1946, at the beginning of the BelgianRoyal Question concerning KingLeopold III of Belgium.[9] Two years later, President Harry Truman appointed Sawyer to theU.S. Civil Service Commission's Review Board. Sawyer had first met Truman upon the latter's arrival inAntwerp en route to Germany to attend thePotsdam Conference.[10]
In 1948, Sawyer was chosen to succeedW. Averell Harriman as the United States Secretary of Commerce.[11][12] While Secretary of Commerce, Sawyer was ordered by Truman toseize and operate the steel mills in 1952.[13] This seizure was executed to prevent alabor strike which Truman believed would hamper the ability of the United States to proceed in the war in Korea.
While Secretary of Commerce, Secretary Sawyer declared the firstNational Secretaries Week from June 1 to 7, 1952. He designated Wednesday, June 4, asNational Secretaries Day for this formerly male-dominated field of work turned female-dominated by sociocultural anamorphisms. Upon the end of Truman's term as office, Sawyer's term as Commerce Secretary also ended and he was succeeded by the RepublicanSinclair Weeks who served during the administration of PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower.[14]
When Sawyer returned to Cincinnati after serving President Truman, he joined the law firm ofTaft, Stettinius, and Hollister, which had been founded by another prominent Cincinnati politician,Robert A. Taft (the elder son of PresidentWilliam Howard Taft), and became its managing partner. Following Taft's death, Sawyer succeeded to his seat on the board of theCentral Trust Company, a Cincinnati bank.[15]
In 1968, he authoredConcerns of a Conservative Democrat which was published by theSouthern Illinois University Press. Sawyer served on the Hoover Commission on Overseas Economic Operations Task Force, theCommission on Money and Credit, and the World's Fair Site Committee.
Sawyer gave $1 million to purchase 123 acres of riverfront property in Cincinnati for what becameSawyer Point Park.[16]
On July 15, 1918, Sawyer married his first wife, Margaret Sterrett Johnston, a niece of Col.William Cooper Procter ofProcter & Gamble. Together, they had five children, two daughters and three sons, including:[16] Anne Johnston Sawyer (who married John Pattison Williams. She later married John Bradley Greene);[16] Charles W. Sawyer II; Jean Johnston Sawyer (who married the Very Rev. John J. Weaver, Dean ofDetroit Cathedral, in 1948);[17] John William Sawyer; and Edward Milton Sawyer.[16]
After Margaret's death in 1937, Sawyer married his second wife, Countess Elizabeth (née Lippelman) de Veyrac (1907–1999), on June 10, 1942.[18] Elizabeth, who was living inGlendale, Ohio, was previously married to Louis Renner of Cincinnati and then Count Robert de Veyrac.[19] They had no children.[1]
He died in April 1979, at age 92, at his home inPalm Beach, Florida. He was buried atSpring Grove Cemetery near his birthplace in Cincinnati, Ohio.[16]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Ohio 1933–1935 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Commerce 1948–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democraticnominee forGovernor of Ohio 1938 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Winthrop Greene Acting | United States Ambassador to Luxembourg 1944–1945 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Ernest de Wael Mayer Acting | United States Ambassador to Belgium 1944–1945 | |
| Chargé d'Affaires |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Minister Resident | ||
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | ||
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | ||
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | |
|---|---|
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | |
