David K. E. Bruce, 1961–69

Young, John W.

Abstract

According to his diary, David Bruce virtually selected the London Embassy for himself: before his inauguration as President, John F. Kennedy told the veteran diplomat and Democratic Party supporter that he could have any post he wanted and Bruce had no hesitation in opting for London.1 The appointment was entirely without controversy. Indeed, while Bruce was a political appointee rather than a career diplomat, it is difficult to imagine anyone better suited to the post. He was a long-standing member of the American foreign policy hierarchy during the first decades of the Cold War, with a particular expertise in relations with Western Europe, serving under both Democratic and Republican administrations. Not only did he have experience as a soldier, journalist, lawyer, investment banker and, in 1923–25 Democratic member of the Maryland House of Delegates, but also in 1926–27 he had, albeit briefly, served as a professional diplomat in Rome. Before his appointment to London, he had taken a leading role in administering the Marshall Plan (as Chief of the European Cooperation Administration in Paris, 1948–49) and acted as Ambassador to both France (1949–53) and West Germany (1957–60). He was also well acquainted with key policy-makers of the 1960s like George Ball, Dean Rusk and Dean Acheson. Acheson had even urged Kennedy to make Bruce his Secretary of State before Rusk was selected.

Citation

Young, J. W. (2012). David K. E. Bruce, 1961–69. In J. S. Rofe, & A. R. Holmes (Eds.), The Embassy in Grosvenor Square: American Ambassadors to the United Kingdom, 1938–2008 (153-170). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137295576_9

• Publication Date: 2012
• Deposit Date: Aug 23, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 23, 2019
• Journal: The Embassy in Grosvenor Square
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Pages: 153-170
• Book Title: The Embassy in Grosvenor Square: American Ambassadors to the United Kingdom, 1938–2008
• ISBN: 9781349327775; 9781137295576
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137295576_9
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2482738
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137295576_9