Douglas MacArthur II

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Douglas MacArthur II
Edwin Reischauer
Counselor of the United States Department of State
In office
March 30, 1953 – December 16, 1956
PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byCharles E. Bohlen
Succeeded byG. Frederick Reinhardt
Personal details
Born(1909-07-05)July 5, 1909
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedNovember 15, 1997(1997-11-15) (aged 88)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Spouse
Laura Louise Barkley
​
​
(m. 1934; died 1987)​
Parent
EducationYale University
OccupationDiplomat

Douglas MacArthur II (July 5, 1909 – November 15, 1997) was an American diplomat. During his diplomatic career, he served as

United States ambassador to Japan, Belgium, Austria, and Iran, as well as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs. He was the nephew of the U.S. general Douglas MacArthur.[1]

Early life and education

MacArthur's parents were Captain

General Douglas MacArthur, he was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, in 1909.[2]

MacArthur graduated from

Alben Barkley.[2]

He married Laura Louise Barkley, the daughter of President Harry S. Truman's vice president Alben W. Barkley in 1934. They had a daughter named Laura MacArthur, two grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.[3]

Diplomatic career

After serving as an Army officer, MacArthur began his Foreign Service career in 1935 with a post in Vancouver. He was assigned to Vichy France during the early years of World War II, served as secretary of the U.S. Embassy there from 1940 to 1942, and was interned in Baden Baden, Germany with other U.S. diplomatic staff and civilians for two years after the U.S. broke relations with the Vichy government. Following an internee exchange in March 1944, he served as part of General Dwight Eisenhower's political staff and then led the political section of the U.S. Embassy in Paris until 1948.[4] He went on to become chief of the State Department's Division of Western European Affairs in 1949, where he assisted in the formation of NATO, and served as Counselor of the State Department from 1953 to 1956, where he led the U.S. negotiations for the SEATO treaty.[2][5]

Ambassador to Japan

MacArthur was appointed as U.S. Ambassador to Japan in December 1956 and presented his credentials in February 1957.[5]

During his four years in Tokyo, MacArthur oversaw the re-negotiation of the

U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, known as "Anpo" in Japanese. MacArthur appeared on the cover of the June 27, 1960, issue of Time magazine, in which he was characterized as "the principal architect of present-day U.S. policy toward Japan."[6]

However, the new treaty was met with the massive

Anpo Protests in Japan, and was only ratified with great difficulty.[7] As the protests grew in size in June 1960, MacArthur summoned the heads of major newspapers and television station NHK to his office and demanded more favorable coverage of the treaty.[8]

Then on June 10, MacArthur deliberately provoked the so-called "

U.S. Marines helicopter.[10] MacArthur had hoped that by provoking the incident, he would force the Japanese government to carry out a more forceful police response to suppress the protests ahead of Eisenhower's planned arrival. However, MacArthur's gambit backfired, as widespread shock at the Hagerty Incident helped force prime minister Nobusuke Kishi to cancel Eisenhower's visit, for fears that his safety could not be guaranteed.[11]

It was revealed in 1974 that MacArthur had negotiated a secret agreement with the Japanese foreign minister Aiichiro Fujiyama to allow the transit of American nuclear weapons through Japanese territory.[2] It was also revealed, through documents declassified in the 2000s, that MacArthur pressured the Japanese judiciary, including Chief Justice Kōtarō Tanaka, to uphold the legality of the United States military presence in Japan after a lower court decision found it unconstitutional.[12]

Other posts

Following his time in Japan, MacArthur served as Ambassador to

Mojahedin-e Khalq, an Iranian dissident organization in 1970.[2][4][13]

Later life and death

MacArthur died in Washington, D.C., in 1997.[2]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0674984424
    .
  2. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  3. ISSN 0190-8286
    . Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Pearson, Richard (November 16, 1997). "MACARTHUR II DIES AT 88". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Douglas MacArthur II – People – Department History – Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "The TIME Vault: 1960".
  7. ISBN 978-0674984424
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0674984424
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0674984424
    .
  10. ISBN 978-0674984424
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0674984424
    .
  12. ISSN 0447-5763
    . Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  13. ^ Abedin, Mahan. "Mojahedin-e-Khalq: Saddam's Iranian Allies". jamestown.

External links

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
United States Ambassador to Japan

1957–1961 		Succeeded by
Edwin Reischauer
Preceded by
United States Ambassador to Belgium

1961–1965 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
James W. Riddleberger
United States Ambassador to Austria

1967–1969 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
United States Ambassador to Iran

1969–1972 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs
March 14, 1965 – March 6, 1967 		Succeeded by
William B. Macomber, Jr.
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