W. Averell Harriman

W. Averell Harriman
Harriman in 1952
4th Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
In office
April 4, 1963 – March 17, 1965
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded byGeorge C. McGhee
Succeeded byEugene V. Rostow
7th Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs
In office
December 4, 1961 – April 4, 1963
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Preceded byWalter P. McConaughy
Succeeded byRoger Hilsman
48th Governor of New York
In office
January 1, 1955 – December 31, 1958
LieutenantGeorge DeLuca
Preceded byThomas E. Dewey
Succeeded byNelson Rockefeller
Director of the Mutual Security Agency
In office
October 31, 1951 – January 20, 1953
PresidentHarry S. Truman
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byHarold Stassen
11th United States Secretary of Commerce
In office
October 7, 1946 – April 22, 1948
PresidentHarry S. Truman
Preceded byHenry A. Wallace
Succeeded byCharles Sawyer
United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom
In office
April 30, 1946 – October 1, 1946
PresidentHarry S. Truman
Preceded byJohn Winant
Succeeded byLewis Douglas
United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union
In office
October 23, 1943 – January 24, 1946
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Preceded byWilliam Standley
Succeeded byWalter Bedell Smith
Personal details
Born
William Averell Harriman

(1891-11-15)November 15, 1891
New York City, U.S.
DiedJuly 26, 1986(1986-07-26) (aged 94)
Yorktown Heights, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Kitty Lanier Lawrance
(m. 1915; div. 1929)
(m. 1930; died 1970)
(m. 1971)
Children
Parents
RelativesMary Harriman Rumsey (sister)
E. Roland Harriman (brother)
EducationYale University (BA)
Signature

William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891 – July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was a founder of investment bank, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman, and was the 48th governor of New York. He sought the Democratic Party nomination for president in 1952 and 1956 but was unsuccessful. Throughout his career, he was a key foreign policy advisor to Democratic presidents.

Harriman was born to a wealthy family as the son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman. While attending Groton School and Yale University, he made contacts that led to creation of a banking firm that eventually merged into Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. He owned parts of various other companies, including Union Pacific Railroad, Merchant Shipping Corporation, and Polaroid Corporation. During the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harriman served in the National Recovery Administration and on the Business Advisory Council before moving into foreign policy roles. After helping to coordinate the Lend-Lease program, Harriman served as Roosevelt's personal envoy to the United Kingdom, then as the ambassador to the Soviet Union, and attended the major World War II conferences. After the war, he became a prominent advocate of George F. Kennan's policy of containment. He also served as Secretary of Commerce, and coordinated the implementation of the Marshall Plan.

In 1954, Harriman defeated Republican Senator Irving Ives to become the Governor of New York. He served a single term before his defeat by Nelson Rockefeller in the 1958 election. Harriman unsuccessfully sought the presidential nomination at the 1952 Democratic National Convention and the 1956 Democratic National Convention. Although Harriman had Truman's backing at the 1956 convention, the Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson II in both elections.

After his gubernatorial defeat, Harriman became a widely respected foreign policy elder within the Democratic Party. He helped negotiate the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty during President John F. Kennedy's administration, and was deeply involved in the Vietnam War during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. After Johnson left office in 1969, Harriman became affiliated with various organizations, including the Club of Rome and the Council on Foreign Relations.