Edward Stettinius Jr. | |
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.jpg) Stettinius in 1939 | |
| 1stUnited States Ambassador to the United Nations | |
| In office January 17, 1946 – June 3, 1946 | |
| President | Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Warren Austin |
| 48thUnited States Secretary of State | |
| In office December 1, 1944 – June 27, 1945 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | Cordell Hull |
| Succeeded by | James F. Byrnes |
| 12thUnited States Under Secretary of State | |
| In office October 4, 1943 – November 30, 1944 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Sumner Welles |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Grew |
| Administrator of theOffice of Lend-Lease Administration | |
| In office March 11, 1941 – September 25, 1943 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Leo Crowley (Foreign Economic Administration) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Reilly Stettinius Jr. (1900-10-22)October 22, 1900 |
| Died | October 31, 1949(1949-10-31) (aged 49) Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Resting place | Locust Valley Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Virginia Gordon |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent | Edward R. Stettinius |
| Education | University of Virginia |
Edward Reilly Stettinius Jr. (October 22, 1900 – October 31, 1949) was an American businessman who served asUnited States Secretary of State under PresidentsFranklin D. Roosevelt andHarry S. Truman from 1944 to 1945, and asU.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in 1946.
Stettinius was born inChicago, Illinois, on October 22, 1900, the younger of two sons and third of four children ofEdward R. Stettinius and Judith Carrington. His mother was aVirginian of colonial English ancestry. His father was of German descent and was a native ofSt. Louis, Missouri.[1]
The younger Stettinius grew up in a mansion on the family's estate onStaten Island and graduated from thePomfret School in 1920, after which he attended theUniversity of Virginia until 1924. He finished very few courses and never took a degree.[2] Instead he spent his time on charitable outreach to poor families. He became a member of the secretSeven Society.[3]
In 1926, Stettinius began working atGeneral Motors as a stock clerk, but his connections made for rapid advancement. He became assistant toJohn Lee Pratt, a friend of the family, and by 1931 he had become vice president of public and industrial relations. At General Motors, he worked to develop unemployment relief programs and came into contact with New York GovernorFranklin Roosevelt.
In the 1930s, Stettinius's work in the private sector alternated with public service. He served on the Industrial Advisory Board of theNational Recovery Administration (1933). In 1934 he returned to the private sector when he joinedU.S. Steel, the nation's largest corporation; he eventually become chairman in 1938.[4]
He then returned to public service, serving on the National Defense Advisory Commission, as chairman of the War Resources Board (1939) and administrator of theLend-Lease Program (1941).[5] He held the latter position until he became undersecretary of state in 1943. In January 1944,Macmillan published his book,Lend-Lease, Weapon for Victory.[6]
The poor health of Secretary of StateCordell Hull made Stettinius the chair of the 1944Dumbarton Oaks Conference and, in December 1944, he succeeded Hull as Secretary of State.[7]
Stettinius was a member of the US delegation to the February 1945Yalta Conference.[8]
Truman thought Stettinius was too soft on communism, and had yielded too much to Moscow when he was Roosevelt's advisor at Yalta.[9][a] Truman had an old Senate friend in mind as a replacement,James F. Byrnes. Stettinius resigned as Secretary of State to accept the position of the firstUnited States Ambassador to the United Nations. He chaired the United States delegation to theUnited Nations Conference on International Organization held in San Francisco from April 25 to June 26, 1945, which brought together delegates from 50 Allied nations to create the United Nations.Charles W. Yost, who had been Under Secretary of State Stettinius' assistant in the State Department, was named Stettinius' Executive Secretary at the United Nations Conference.
Stettinius resigned in June 1946, as he became critical of what he saw as Truman's refusal to use the UN as a tool to resolve tensions with the Soviet Union.[13][14] For three years after his return to private life, Stettinius served as rector of the University of Virginia. In 1947, Stettinius and friendWilliam Tubman, the president ofLiberia, helped form the Liberia Company (nowInternational Registries), a partnership between the Liberian government and American financiers to provide funds for the development of the African nation.
On May 15, 1926, Stettinius married Virginia Gordon Wallace, daughter of a prominent family ofRichmond, Virginia. They had three children: Edward Reilly III and twins Wallace and Joseph.[7]
During his retirement, Stettinius lived at his Virginia estate, The Horseshoe, on theRapidan River.[15] He died of a coronarythrombosis on October 31, 1949, at the home of a sister inGreenwich, Connecticut, at the age of 49, and was buried in the family plot in Locust Valley Cemetery,Locust Valley, New York.
Stettinius's voluminous archive of more than 1,000 boxes resides at theAlbert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia.[16]
This is a reprint of "Venona and Alger Hiss" byJohn Lowenthal inIntelligence and National Security, Volume 15, Number 3 (Autumn 2000) [www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/private/venona-and-alger-hiss/]
Media related toEdward Stettinius, Jr. at Wikimedia Commons| Business positions | ||
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| Preceded by | Chairman of the Board ofU.S. Steel April 4, 1938 – June 4, 1940 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| New office | Administrator of theOffice of Lend-Lease Administration 1941–1943 | Succeeded byas Administrator of theForeign Economic Administration |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Under Secretary of State 1943–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of State 1944–1945 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| New office | United States Ambassador to the United Nations 1946 | Succeeded by |
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