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The Office as Expedient Chester Bowles and David M. Kennedy: Presidential Advisers

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Ambassador at Large: Diplomat Extraordinary

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Abstract

Averell Harriman had given distinguished status to the office of Ambassador at Large during his tenure and had significantly expanded its range of functions. With the appointment of Chester Bowles as his successor in 1962, and the subsequent appointment of David M. Kennedy some nine years later, however, the office again took on a different meaning, and the scope of activities was somewhat less than those engaged in by Harriman.

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References

  1. The “shake-up” also included the appointments of: George W. Ball from Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs to Under Secretary of State; George C. McGhee from Counselor and Chairman of the Department of State Policy Planning Council to succeed Ball; Walt W. Rostow from the White House to succeed McGhee; W. Averell Harriman from Ambassador at Large to Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs; Frederick G. Dutton from the White House to Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations; and Richard N. Goodwin from the White House to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs.

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  2. M. Schlesinger, Jr., A Thousand Days (Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Pub., Inc., 1965), pp. 405–414.

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  3. Theodore C. Sorensen, Kennedy (New York: Bantam Books, Inc., 1966), pp. 322–325.

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  4. The New York Times, November 27, 1961, p. 24.

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  6. Ibid., p. 404.

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  7. Roger Hilsman, Jr., To Move A Nation: The Politics of Foreign Policy in the Administration of John F. Kennedy (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1967), p. 37. In fact, Bowles was among those considered as Secretary of State by the President-elect before he was given the Under Secretary post. Besides liking Bowles, President Kennedy was politically indebted to him because he “had been the first nationally known liberal to support him for the nomination and had served as a nominal ‘foreign policy adviser’ during the campaign.”

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  8. Schlesinger, A Thousand Days (Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Pub., Inc., 1965), p. 135.

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  9. Chester Bowles, Promises to Keep: My Years in Public Life, 1941–1969 (New York: Harper & Row Pub., Inc., 1971), pp. 288–289, 294.

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  12. Ibid.

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  13. “Bowles Must Go,” The Nation, Vol. 193 (July 29, 1961), p. 42.

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  14. Ibid.

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  18. Ibid.

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  25. For example, see The New York Times, July 18, 1961; Washington Post, July 18, 1961, and Washington Daily News, July 18, 1961.

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  28. Bowles indicated that “under no condition would I accept a vaguely defined ‘roving ambassadorship,’”but that “the only post that would appeal to me was one that involved specific responsibilities working on the formulation and administration of foreign policy directly with the President.” Bowles, op. cit., p. 364.

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  30. “First Shake-up on the New Frontier: Its Meaning,” U.S. News, December 11, 1961, p. 46.

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  31. The New York Times, November 27, 1961, p. 1; November 28, 1961, p. 1; and “Memorandum of Understanding,” from Theodore Sorensen to Dean Rusk, reproduced by the Department of State; hereafter cited as “Memorandum.”

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  33. Ibid.

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  34. For interim appointment, see Department of State Bulletin, Vol. 46 (January 15, 1962), p. 118. For confirmation, see ibid. (February 19, 1962), p. 306.

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  35. See Appendix A for Chester Bowles’ background, and Appendix B for his principal publications.

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  36. See Appendix C for a summary of Bowles’ activities as Ambassador at Large.

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  37. For some examples, see Bowles, op. cit., pp. 379–438. One notable example, in January, 1962, and instigated by the President’s suggestion, regarded the China problem. The specific focus was on China’s food problems, their implications for the future and the steps the United States might take to help solve them. Proposing a relaxation in our relations with China, Bowles suggested the possibilities of bilateral commercial transactions, third party sales, or some form of a World Food Bank where the United States might participate. According to Bowles, the President was receptive to this proposal, and attempted to implement it. However, the plan floundered largely because of pressure from many Administration officials who “persisted in their belief that any change whatsoever in our China policy was dangerous.”

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  38. Bowles, Ibid., p. 403.

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  39. Bowles, Ibid., p. 432.

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  40. See Appendix C for an indication of the speeches Bowles gave as Ambassador at Large. The following is a sampling of the articles he wrote as Ambassador at Large: “Toward a New Diplomacy,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 40 (January, 1962), pp. 244–351; “The Future of the UN,” Yale Political, Vol. 1 (February, 1962), pp. 22+; “The Forces of Our Times: No Period Has Ever Provided Such Dangers and Opportunities,” New Leader, Vol. 45 (April 2, 1962), pp. 18–21; “Foreign Policy Under President Kennedy,” Progressive, Vol. 26 (April, 1962), pp. 10–13; “Counters for Russia’s Maneuvers,” The New York Times Magazine, July 29, 1962, p. 1; “Is Communist Ideology Becoming Irrelevant?,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 40 (July, 1962), PP. 553–565; and “Record Shows Substantial Progress,” U.S. News, October 29, 1962, pp. 115–118.

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  41. Public Papers of the Presidents, 1961, op. cit., p. 798.

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  42. For descriptions of the trip, speeches given by both sides, and communiqués issued, see The New York Times, December 16, 17, 18, 1961; Department of State Bulletin, Vol. 46 (January 15, 1962), pp. 89–94; Public Papers of the Presidents, 1961, op. cit., pp. 803–816.

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  43. Bowles, op. cit., pp. 368–369.

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  44. Chester Bowles, “A Balance Sheet on Asia,” Department of State Bulletin, Vol. 46 (April 23, 1962), p. 674.

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  45. Bowles, op. cit., p. 369.

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  46. Department of State Bulletin, Vol. 46 (February 12, 1962), pp. 251–252. The Baguio Meeting followed a two-day Far East Chiefs-of-Mission Meeting, also at Baguio, on March 10 and 11, under the joint chairmanship of Bowles and W. Averell Harriman, who was then Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs.

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  47. For a personal account of the trip, see Bowles, Promises to Keep...,op. cit., pp. 369–378.

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  48. Bowles, “A Balance Sheet on Asia,” op. cit., p. 676.

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  49. Ibid.

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  50. Bowles indicated that “the attendance of the ambassadors’ wives was an important innovation. As every Foreign Service officer knows, a wife sensitive to local problems, aware of our government’s interests and objectives and eager and able to help can be a tower of strength in any overseas mission, large or small. For better or for worse, it is the ambassador’s wife who sits beside the highest officials of foreign governments at dinners and formal functions. Thus, to broaden their knowledge and understanding of our objectives and operations, the wives attended all but the most highly classified discussions.” Bowles, Promises to Keep...,op. cit., p. 324.

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  51. As Under Secretary, Bowles had chaired previous meetings. See Department of State Bulletin, Vol. 45 (August 17, 1961), p. 246; Department of State Bulletin, Vol. 45 (October 23, 1961), p. 678.

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  54. Bowles, Promises to Keep...,op. cit., pp. 324–325.

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  55. Ibid., p. 377. Bowles’ success turned out to be illusory, however, as he reports: “When first the Shah and then a mission from Ethiopia arrived in Washington a few months later, they were clearly resigned to this switch in the nature of U.S. assistance and ready to accept it. However, the Shah, reasoning that there was no harm in making one more try, asked the Pentagon for new supersonic planes and, instead of getting the turndown that he expected after his talk with me, was told that his request would be granted. The Ethiopians, to their surprise, also received a favorable answer.

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  56. “This goes to show that within the vast expanse of the United States Government the most misguided policies generate a momentum of their own which even senior officials, presumably speaking for the President himself, find it difficult, if not impossible, to stop.” Ibid., p. 378.

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  57. Ibid., pp. 418–429.

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  58. The New York Times, October 18, 1962, p. 10.

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  59. Chester Bowles, “A Close Look at Africa,” Department of State Bulletin, Vol. 47 (December 31, 1962), p. 1003. In Nigeria, he represented the United States in Nigeria’s first International Trade Fair.

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  60. The New York Times, October 31, 1962, p. 19.

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  61. Bowles, Promises to Keep...,op. cit., p. 418.

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  62. Bowles, “A Close Look at Africa,” op. cit., p. 1004.

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  63. Ibid.

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  65. Hilsman, op. cit., p. 246.

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  66. From an entry in Bowles’ notebook in early December, 1961, cited in Bowles, Promises to Keep...,op. cit., p. 369.

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  67. Ibid., p. 430.

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  68. Ibid., p. 433.

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  69. The New York Times, April 7, 1963, p. 1.

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  70. Schlesinger, op. cit., p. 412.

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  71. Ibid.

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  72. Ibid., p. 410.

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  73. The New York Times, April 7, 1963, p. IV:12.

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  74. The New York Times, December 15, 1970, p. 1.

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  75. Ibid.

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  76. Ibid., p. 12.

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  77. Washington Post, December 15, 1970, p. 12; also in an interview with Rex Beach, Special Assistant to Ambassador at Large Kennedy, March 29, 1971; hereafter cited as “Rex Beach Interview.”

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  78. Washington Post, December 15, 1970, p. 12.

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  79. According to Rex Beach, Kennedy had only wanted the Secretary’s position for two years anyway, and offered his letter of resignation on October 31, 1970.

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  80. The New York Times, December 15, 1970, p. 12; and “Rex Beach Interview.”

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  81. “Rex Beach Interview.”

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  82. The New York Times, December 15, 1970, p. 1.

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  83. “Rex Beach Interview.”

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  84. Washington Post, December 15, 1970, p. B3.

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  85. Washington Post, February 12, 1971, p. 2. The ceremony was held February 11, 1971, at the White House. The official meetings the President referred to were numerous briefings to prepare the Ambassador at Large for his forthcoming trip to Southeast Asia.

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  86. The account of the trip is from the interview with Rex Beach.

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  87. Letter from Chester Bowles, dated January 19, 1971.

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Authors
  1. Lee H. Burke
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© 1972 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands

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Burke, L.H. (1972). The Office as Expedient Chester Bowles and David M. Kennedy: Presidential Advisers. In: Ambassador at Large: Diplomat Extraordinary. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-0466-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-0466-9_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-015-0008-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-0466-9

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