Edward Thompson Wailes was a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

.

Biography

Edward T. Wailes was born in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 on February 16, 1903. He was educated at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

, receiving a B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in 1925 and Columbia Law School

Columbia Law School

Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...

, graduating in 1927.

Wailes then joined the United States Foreign Service

United States Foreign Service

The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...

. As a Foreign Service Officer

Foreign Service Officer

A Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...

, he alternated between field appointments and desk jobs at the United States Department of State

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

  Overseas, he was posted in Nanking 1930-33; in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 1936-39; in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 1942; and in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 1943-45. He married Cornelia Lyon on December 30, 1933.

In 1945, he served as Special Assistant to the Director of the State Department's Office of European Affairs, and then as chief of the Division of British Commonwealth Affairs 1945-48. He became a Foreign Service Inspector

Inspector

Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...

 in 1948, and Chief Inspector of the Foreign Service Inspection Corps in 1951.

In 1953, President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Harry Truman nominated Wailes as Assistant Secretary of State for Administration

Assistant Secretary of State for Administration

The Assistant Secretary of State for Administration is the head of the Bureau of Administration in the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Administration reports to the Under Secretary of State for Management....

 and, after Senate confirmation, he held this post from May 29, 1953 until June 22, 1954.

President Dwight Eisenhower named Wailes United States Ambassador to South Africa

United States Ambassador to South Africa

Before 1902, The southern part of Africa that is now South Africa was under the hegemony of Great Britain. There also were two self-proclaimed independent states: Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The British and the Boers fought two wars known as the First Boer War and the Second Boer War...

 on September 15, 1954, with Ambassador Wailes presenting his credentials on November 29, 1954 and holding that post until August 11, 1956.

Eisenhower then named Wailes United States Ambassador to Hungary

United States Ambassador to Hungary

This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to HungaryUntil 1867 Hungary had been part of the Austrian Empire, when the empire became Austria-Hungary. Hungary had no separate diplomatic relations with other nations...

, with Ambassador Wailes receiving his commission on July 26, 1956. At the time of this appointment, the People's Republic of Hungary

People's Republic of Hungary

The People's Republic of Hungary or Hungarian People's Republic was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the guidance of the Soviet Union. The state remained in existence until 1989 when opposition forces consolidated in forcing the regime to...

 was ruled by the Hungarian Communist Party

Hungarian Communist Party

The Communist Party of Hungary , renamed Hungarian Communist Party in 1945, was founded on November 24, 1918, and was in power in Hungary briefly from March to August 1919 under Béla Kun and the Hungarian Soviet Republic. The communist government was overthrown by the Romanian Army and driven...

, under Prime Minister of Hungary András Hegedüs

András Hegedus

András Hegedüs was a Hungarian Communist politician who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1955 to 1956. Hegedüs fled to the Soviet Union on 28 October, the fifth day of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956...

. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 began on October 23, 1956, with crowds demanding the return of former Prime Minister Imre Nagy

Imre Nagy

Imre Nagy was a Hungarian communist politician who was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary on two occasions...

, who had pledged to lead Hungary out of the Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...

 and promised democratic reforms. The next day, Nagy took over as Prime Minister. On the advice of Soviet Ambassador to Hungary Yuri Andropov

Yuri Andropov

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...

, Hegedüs fled to the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and signed papers asking for Soviet intervention in Hungary to stop Nagy. Wailes arrived in Hungary on November 2, 1956. Soviet tanks entered Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

 on November 4, Nagy fled, and the pro-Soviet János Kádár

János Kádár

János Kádár was a Hungarian communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, presiding over the country from 1956 until his forced retirement in 1988. His thirty-two year term as General Secretary makes Kádár the longest ruler of the People's Republic of Hungary...

 became Prime Minister of Hungary. The Hungarian Revolution ended on November 10, with the Soviets having succeeded in blocking any movement towards democratic reforms in Hungary. Wailes refused to present his credentials to the new government, stating that the government "did not represent the people." Shortly thereafter he was "recalled for consultations" and left Hungary on February 27, 1957.

Wailes spent 1957-58 as Deputy Commandant

Commandant

Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...

 of the National War College

National War College

The National War College of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. It was officially established on July 1, 1946, as an upgraded replacement for the...

. President Eisenhower then named him United States Ambassador to Iran

United States Ambassador to Iran

Prior to 1944, Iran was not served by a United States ambassador; instead, a diplomatic minister was sent instead. After the revolution in 1944, the first ambassador was then named....

 and he served in that post 1958 to 1961. President John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 then nominated him as United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia

United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia

Following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918 at the end of World War I, the Czechs, Moravians, and Slovaks united to form the new nation of Czechoslovakia...

, with Wailes presenting his credentials on July 28, 1961 and serving as ambassador until October 22, 1962.

Wailes retired in 1962 and died in 1969.