Christian Herter
Christian Herter | |
---|---|
Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives | |
In office 1939–1943 | |
Preceded by | Horace T. Cahill |
Succeeded by | Rudolph King |
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 5th Suffolk district | |
In office 1931–1943 | |
Preceded by | Henry Lee Shattuck |
Succeeded by | Henry Lee Shattuck |
Personal details | |
Born | Christian Archibald Herter March 28, 1895 Paris, France |
Died | December 30, 1966 (aged 71) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Resting place | Prospect Hill Cemetery |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Mary Pratt (m. 1917) |
Education | Harvard University (BA) Columbia University |
Signature | |
Christian Archibald Herter (March 28, 1895 – December 30, 1966) was an American diplomat and
Early life
Herter was born in Paris, France, to American artist and expatriate parents,
Herter married the wealthy heiress Mary Caroline Pratt (1895–1980) in 1917. She was the daughter of
Diplomatic career
He was made attaché to the
Herter hated working for the scandal-ridden administration of President Harding, and returned to Boston, where he was a magazine editor and lecturer on international affairs.
Political career
In 1930, Herter was first elected to the
Herter served five terms in Congress. In 1952, he ran successfully for governor of Massachusetts, narrowly defeating incumbent Governor Paul A. Dever.
Herter was re-elected governor in 1954, defeating Massachusetts House Minority Leader Robert F. Murphy. He chose not to seek a third term in 1956.
Diplomatic career
On February 21, 1957, Herter was appointed
Herter's main diplomatic challenges included escalating crises over the status of West Berlin in the Cold War; difficult negotiations with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, especially regarding the Soviet downing of the U-2 spy plane; the collapse of the Paris Summit conference; and the early stages of American efforts to divert Fidel Castro's Cuban revolution away from communism. There were smaller crises around the world including a Civil War in the Congo. Herter's careful, cautious approach matched Eisenhower's preferences, emphasizing negotiation in response to bellicosity from the Kremlin. Despite the soft language, Herter supported strong policies against Cuba, and a refusal to compromise on Berlin. During his visit to West Berlin in July 1959, Herter was enthusiastically celebrated by over 100,000 people in the streets.[5]
After leaving office he chaired a blue ribbon committee on State Department personnel, and was one of President John F. Kennedy's representatives for trade negotiations.[6]
As an unemployed "elder statesman" after the election of 1960, Herter served on various councils and commissions, and was a special representative for trade negotiations, working for both
Secretary Herter was also an active
Christian Herter's lifetime reputation was as an
He died on December 30, 1966, at his home in Washington, D.C., at the age of 71.[1] He is buried at the Prospect Hill Cemetery in Millis, Massachusetts.
Legacy
In 1943, with Paul Nitze (a distant cousin by marriage), Herter co-founded the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), which incorporated with the Johns Hopkins University in 1950.
In 1968, the American Foreign Service Association established its Christian A. Herter Award to honor senior diplomats who speak out or otherwise challenge the status quo. In 1948 Herter received an LL.D. from Bates College.
The World Affairs Council of Boston ("WorldBoston" as of 2002), which Christian Herter helped organize in the 1940s, also has a Christian A. Herter Award honoring individual contributions to international relations.
The Christian A. Herter Memorial Scholarship Program is a sponsored by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to recruit 10th and 11th grade students whose socio-economic backgrounds and environmental conditions may inhibit their ability to pursue higher education. Each year, 25 students in the 10th and 11th grades are selected to receive awards of up to 50 percent (50%) of their calculated need at the college of their choice within the continental United States.
Herter Park in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts is named in Herter's honor. A University of Massachusetts Amherst building devoted to the teaching of history and other liberal arts is named "Herter Hall" after the statesman as well.
Herter was the last serving Secretary of State born in the 19th century.
Books
- Christian Herter, Toward an Atlantic Community (1963)
See also
- Herter Committee
- Massachusetts legislature: 1953-1954, 1955–1956
- Massachusetts House of Representatives' 5th Suffolk district
- List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States
References
- ^ a b c "Christian Herter Is Dead at 71. Secretary of State, 1959-1961. Ex-Massachusetts Governor, Dalles's Successor, Devoted Life to Public Service Christian Herter, Former Secretary of State, Dies". The New York Times. January 1, 1967.
- ^ "Christian A. Herter (1959–1961) | Miller Center". millercenter.org. October 4, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
- ^ "Final Report on Foreign Aid of the House Select Committee on Foreign Aid" (PDF). Marshall Foundation. May 1, 1948. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ Bernard Lemelin, "An International Republican in a Time of Waning Bipartisanship: Congressman Christian A. Herter of Massachusetts and the Point Four Program, 1949–1950". The New England Journal of History (2001) 58#1 pp. 61-90.
- ISBN 978-0-521-85824-3, pp. 50‒51.
- ^ Bruce W. Jentleson and Thomas G. Paterson, eds. Encyclopedia of US foreign relations. (1997) 2:295.
Further reading
- Burr, William. "Avoiding the Slippery Slope: The Eisenhower Administration and the Berlin Crisis, November 1958–January 1959". Diplomatic History 18.2 (1994): 177–205.
- George Bernard Noble, Christian A. Herter (Cooper Square, 1970), Originally published as Volume XVII of The American Secretaries of State and Their Diplomacy: Christian A. Herter (1967) online (registration required)
- "Herter, Christian Archibald" (subscription required), Vincent A. Lapomarda, in American National Biography, 2000, American Council of Learned Societies
External links
- Papers of Christian A. Herter, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
- United States Congress. "Christian Herter (id: H000548)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Column on Herter's life as an example of liberal Republicanism, Edward L. Glaeser
- A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with Rep. Christian A. Herter (December 19, 1951)" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive