Harriman, W. Averell (1891-1986), was an American statesman and businessman. He was one of the leading diplomats of the mid-1900’s.
From 1941 to 1943, during World War II, Harriman oversaw the transfer of weapons and other war supplies to the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program. He served as United States ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1943 to 1946. He then served briefly in 1946 as ambassador to the United Kingdom. Still later in 1946, he became secretary of commerce under President Harry S. Truman. He held that post until 1948. From 1948 to 1952, Harriman administered the European operations of the European Recovery Program, popularly known as the Marshall Plan. Harriman made unsuccessful bids for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 1952 and 1956. He served as governor of New York from 1955 to 1958.
Harriman was assistant secretary of state for Far Eastern affairs from 1961 to 1963, when he became undersecretary of state for political affairs. In that post, he negotiated a 1963 treaty with Britain and the Soviet Union banning many kinds of nuclear tests. He resigned as undersecretary in 1965 but remained in the State Department as ambassador-at-large. He was chief U.S. negotiator at the Paris peace talks on the Vietnam War in 1968 and 1969.
William Averell Harriman was born on Nov. 15, 1891, in New York City. He inherited a fortune from his father, the railroad executive E. H. Harriman. Averell served as chairman of the board of Union Pacific Railroad from 1932 to 1946. He took his first government post in 1933, with the National Recovery Administration. He remained active in public affairs and Democratic Party politics into his 80’s. He died on July 26, 1986.
