Christian Herter

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He was made attaché to the Embassy of the United States, Berlin, and was briefly arrested while in Mainz as a possible spy. He was part of the US delegation to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, where he helped draft the Covenant of the League of Nations. Later, he was the assistant to Herbert Hoover in providing starvation relief to postwar Europe. Herter went on to work for Hoover when Hoover became Secretary of Commerce in the Harding Administration. Herter also participated in the 1919 meeting that resulted in creating the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations.

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 Massachusetts House of Representatives and served for 12 years. In 1942, he sought the Massachusetts 10th district seat in the US House of Representatives, held by George H. Tinkham, whose isolationist views made him vulnerable during World War II. Once Herter entered the contest, Tinkham withdrew and so opened the way for Herter to be elected. Although he was critical of Franklin D. Roosevelt's liberal New Deal, Herter distinguished himself from 1943 to 1953 primarily for his stand on foreign affairs, especially in the so-called Herter Committee in 1947; its report initiated proposals that led to Harry Truman's Marshall Plan. In those years, he refused to support the permanence of the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1947, Herter founded the Middle East Institute with Middle East scholar George Camp Keiser and then served on the board of trustees of the World Peace Foundation. He led bipartisan support for President Truman's Point Four Program giving technological help to poor countries.

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 Under Secretary of State for the second term of the Eisenhower administration; later, when John Foster Dulles became seriously ill, he was appointed Secretary of State, April 22, 1959. Dulles died a month later. Herter himself suffered from severe arthritis, forcing him to use crutches when walking.

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.

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.

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 John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson until his death.

Secretary Herter was also an active Freemason. He was a member of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Christian Herter's lifetime reputation was as an internationalist, especially interested in improving political and economic relations with Europe.

He died on December 30, 1966 at his home in Washington, D.C., at the age of 71. He is buried at the Prospect Hill Cemetery in Millis, Massachusetts.

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