Edwin M. Martin
Encyclopedia
Edwin McCammon Martin was an official in 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...

 and a United States 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

Edwin M. Martin was born in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

, on May 21, 1908. He was educated at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

, 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 1929. He stayed at Northwestern until 1935 as a graduate student in the political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 department, but did not receive another degree.

Martin became an economist at the Central Statistical Board in 1935. A year later, he married Margaret Milburn of Baltimore, Maryland. The Martins had a daughter and a son. From 1938 to 1940, Martin served with the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS is a governmental statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and...

.

During World War II served with the War Production Board
War Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...

 from 1940 to 1944, as Chief of the Urgency Ratings Division from 1943. In 1944, he joined the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...

 as Deputy Chief of Division. In 1945 he participated in economic planning for Japan in light of the anticipating Occupation of Japan, working in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs and as State Department
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...

 Adviser on Japanese Economic Affairs from August until October. In October 1945, he became Chief of the State Department's Division of Japanese and Korean Economic Affairs. In 1947, Martin was appointed Acting Chief of the Division of Occupied Areas Economic Affairs.

Martin remained at the State Department after the war, becoming Deputy Director of the Office of International Trade Policy in 1948; Director of the Office of European Regional Affairs in 1949; and Special Assistant for Mutual Security Affairs to United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...

 Dean Acheson
Dean Acheson
Dean Gooderham Acheson was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War...

 in 1952.

In 1953, Martin was named Deputy Chief of the United States Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations and an alternate United States member of the North Atlantic Council
North Atlantic Council
North Atlantic Council is the most senior political governing body of NATO established by Article 9 of the North Atlantic Treaty. The NAC can be held at the Permanent Representative Level , or can be composed of member states' Ministers of State, Defense, or Heads of Government. The NAC has the...

 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. He served in this post until 1957. The next two years he served at the United States Embassy in London, as Minister and then as Vice Consul.

In 1960, 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....

 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

 named Martin Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. In April 1961, he served a temporary alternate governor with the U.S. Delegation to the Inter-American Bank Meeting in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. Later that year in August, Martin served as a senior State Department representative on the United States Delegation to the Special Meeting of the Inter-American Economic and Social Council at Punta del Este, Uruguay. On November 4, Martin traveled to Hakone, Kanagawa
Hakone, Kanagawa
is a town in Ashigarashimo District in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population of 13,339 and a density of 144 persons per km². The total area was 92.82 km².-Geography:...

, as principal adviser and coordinator of Secretary of State [Dean Rusk[]] and as chief of the U.S. Delegation at the meeting of the Joint United States-Japan Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs.

In 1962, 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....

 nominated Martin as Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs and he subsequently held this office from May 18, 1962 until January 2, 1964. In that post, he helped direct new Kennedy administration policies toward Latin America, including managing U.S. involvement in the Alliance for Progress
Alliance for Progress
The Alliance for Progress initiated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1961 aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and South America.-Origin and goals:...

. Martin was responsible for Latin American affairs during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...

: he helped explain the crisis to the media and the nation, and briefed diplomats of the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...



In May 1963, he headed the U.S. delegation to a meeting of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America in Mar del Plata, Argentina. He then acted as Alternate U.S. Representative to the Inter-American Economic and Social Council Conference at the Ministerial Level in Sao Paulo, Brazil in November.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

 named Martin United States Ambassador to Argentina
United States Ambassador to Argentina
The United States Ambassador to Argentina is the official representative of the President of the United States to the head of state of Argentina....

; Martin presented his credentials to the Argentinian government on June 11, 1964 and remained ambassador until January 5, 1968.

From 1968 to 1974, he served as Chairman of the Development Assistance Committee
Development Assistance Committee
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee is a forum for selected OECD member states to discuss issues surrounding aid, development and poverty reduction in developing countries...

 of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In 1974, Martin was appointed Special Advisor to Secretary of State Development Assistance Committee
Development Assistance Committee
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee is a forum for selected OECD member states to discuss issues surrounding aid, development and poverty reduction in developing countries...

 to oversee U.S. preparations for the World Food Conference
World Food Conference
The first World Food Conference was held in Rome in 1974 by the United Nations under the auspices of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization , in the wake of the devastating famine in Bangladesh in the preceding two years....

. From 1975 to 1978, Martin served as Chairman of the Consultative Group on Food Production in Developing Countries at the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

.

Martin retired from diplomatic service. He died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

 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....

on January 12, 2002.

Others Affected

This is a story by Edwin Martin's oldest grandson discussing the powerful effect he had on saving the world from Nuclear War. http://21k12blog.net/2011/09/16/how-my-grandfather-edwin-martin-saved-the-world-a-lesson-in-character-from-the-cuban-missile-crisis/
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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