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William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891 – July 26, 1986) was an American Democratic politician, banker, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman. He served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry Truman and later as the 48th Governor of New York. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952, and again in 1956 when he was endorsed by President Truman but lost to Adlai Stevenson II both times.
Harriman served President Franklin D. Roosevelt as special envoy to Europe and served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union and U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He served in numerous U.S. diplomatic assignments in the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson Administrations. He was a core member of the group of foreign policy elders known as "The Wise Men".
W. Averell Harriman in The Hot War[]
Averell Harriman (1891-1952) had built his reputation as President Harry Truman's "fix-it man" in Europe after World War II,[1] which included a stint as ambassador to the Soviet Union.[2] In 1952, Harriman tried to parley his good reputation into a bid for the White House, joining a very crowded field for the Democratic nomination.[3] Truman himself tended to favor Harriman, but he didn't publicly endorse Harriman so as to avoid harming his chances.[4]
However, the issue became moot in May 1952, when the Soviet Union successfully dropped an atomic bomb in New York City. The blast toppled the Empire State Building, which crushed a nearby hotel like a sledgehammer hitting a railroad spike. Harriman was staying in the hotel, and was among those killed.[5]
References[]
Political offices (OTL) | ||
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Preceded by Thomas Dewey |
Governor of New York 1955-1959 |
Succeeded by Nelson Rockefeller |
Preceded by Office created |
Director of the Mutual Security Agency October 31, 1951-January 20, 1953 |
Succeeded by Harold Stassen |
Preceded by Henry Wallace |
U.S. Secretary of Commerce 1946-1948 |
Succeeded by Charles Sawyer |
Preceded by John G. Winant |
U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom April 30-October 1, 1946 |
Succeeded by Lewis W. Douglas |
Preceded by William H. Standley |
U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union 1943-1946 |
Succeeded by Walter Bedell Smith |
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