Christian Archibald HERTER, Congress, MA (1895-1966)

HERTER, Christian Archibald, a Representative from Massachusetts; born in Paris, France, March 28, 1895, of American parents; attended school in Paris 1901-1904 and Browning School of New York City 1904-1911; was graduated from Harvard University in 1915; attaché of the American Embassy in Berlin, Germany, in 1916 and for two months was in charge of the American Legation in Brussels, Belgium; served in the State Department, Washington, D.C., 1917-1919; executive secretary of the European Relief Council in 1920; personal assistant to the Secretary of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 1921-1924; engaged in the publishing business at Boston, Mass., 1924-1937; visiting lecturer on government at Harvard University in 1929 and 1930; overseer, Harvard University, 1940-1944 and 1946-1952; member of the State house of representatives 1931-1943, serving as speaker 1939-1943; deputy director of the Office of Facts and Figures, Washington, D.C., in 1941 and 1942; elected as a Republican to the Seventy-eighth and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1943-January 3, 1953); was not a candidate for renomination in 1952; delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1948; was Governor of Massachusetts from January 1953 to January 1957; was not a candidate for reelection as Governor in 1956; Under Secretary of State from February 21, 1957, and Secretary of State from April 22, 1959, to January 20, 1961; chairman of the Honorary Council of the International Movement for Atlantic Union, 1961; cochairman of United States Citizens Commission on NATO in 1961, and elected president of the resulting convention in Paris in January 1962; President’s Special Representative for Trade Negotiations, February 27, 1963, until his death in Washington, D.C., on December 30, 1966; interment in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Millis, Mass.

Bibliography

Noble, George Bernard. Christian A. Herter. American Secretaries of State and Their Diplomacy, vol. 18. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, 1970.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present