Irving Brown
Encyclopedia
Irving Brown was an American trade-unionist, member of the American Federation of Labor
(AFL) and then of the AFL-CIO
, who played an important role in Western Europe and in Africa, during the Cold War
, in supporting splits among trade-unions in order to counter Communist influence. At the same time a Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) agent, he founded in 1962 the American Institute for Free Labor Development
along with former Communist Party of America member and CIA agent Jay Lovestone
.
, Russian Prime minister following the February Revolution
, who had emigrated to the United States
after the October Revolution
of 1917. Born in Bronx, New York in 1911, he became a boxer
before joining a trade union, where he clashed with the Teamsters
. He studied at New York University
and at the University of Columbia.
As a lieutenant of the US Army, he was charged in 1944 by the Office of Strategic Services
(OSS) in works concerning the preparation of Operation Husky (the invasion of Sicily
), and then concerning the landing in the south of France, in Provence
.
(FO) union (which he subsidized ) by André Bergeron and Léon Jouhaux
, in 1947, and the Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions
(CISL), created in 1950. Until 1986, Brown was present at all of the annual congresses of FO. The AFL-CIO's Free Trade Union Committee
subsidized FO and other anti-Communist unions in Europe.
In 1949, alongside Jay Lovestone
, he supported the spin-off of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
(ICFTU) from the World Federation of Trade Unions
(WFTU). The ICFTU included the AFL-CIO
, the British Trades Union Congress
, the FO, the Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions
and the Spanish Unión General de Trabajadores
. Thereafter, the WFTU represented the Eastern Bloc
while the ICFTU represented the so-called "free world
". As a friend of Averell Harriman, who was in charge of the Marshall Plan
, Brown easily diverted funds from the Marshall Plan to support anti-Communist organizations.
The following year, on June 26, 1950, Brown was part of the American delegation at the founding meeting of the Congress for Cultural Freedom
in Berlin.
By 1952, his activities were already well known: he was the subject of an article by Time magazine, titled "The Most Dangerous Man." According to Time, he was charged of this mission by the AFL Free Trade Union Committee
. Brown gave financial support to anti-Communist movements which broke the 1947 strikes in Italy and France
. He also helped organize the anti-Communist coalition of free trade unions in Greece
, as well as the Mediterranean Port Committee, which wrested control of French, Italian and Greek ports from the Communists. In Marseille
, he gave his support to Pierre Ferri-Pisani, a former municipal counsellor.
Established in France, he headed the international relations of the AFL-CIO from his offices at 10, rue de la Paix in Paris. From 1951 to 1954, the CIA division headed by Thomas Braden
provided $1 million a year to Brown and Lovestone ($1,600,000 in 1954).
In 1952 he was in Helsinki
, supporting the unionists who had decided to vote to quit the World Federation of Trade Unions
(WFTU), then mainly composed of Communist unions.
During the Algerian War, he subsidized the Algerian National Movement
(MNA), founded by Messali Hadj
to oppose the National Liberation Front
(FLN).
He also participated, in Chile
, to the struggle against Communists during Salvador Allende
's presidency. In 1984, he organized demonstrations which accompanied Mikhail Gorbachev
's worldwide meetings.
In the 1980s, following the election of the Socialist Party
candidate François Mitterrand
to the presidency in 1981
, while the National Endowment for Democracy
(NED) foundation subsidized, alongside the AFL-CIO, the right-wing National Inter-University Union
(UNI), Irving Brown considered that "France... is threatened by the Communist apparatus.... It is a clear and present danger if the present is thought of as 10 years from now."
Irving Brown started suffering from serious health problems in 1986. He was decorated by US President Ronald Reagan
in 1988 of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
, and died the following year.
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
(AFL) and then of the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
, who played an important role in Western Europe and in Africa, during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, in supporting splits among trade-unions in order to counter Communist influence. At the same time a Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) agent, he founded in 1962 the American Institute for Free Labor Development
American Institute for Free Labor Development
The American Institute for Free Labor Development was founded in 1962 by the AFL-CIO in the western hemisphere. It received funding from the US government, mostly through USAID . In the 1980s, it began receiving funds from the NED , which is funded through the USAID budget of the U.S...
along with former Communist Party of America member and CIA agent Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone was at various times a member of the Socialist Party of America, a leader of the Communist Party USA, leader of a small oppositionist party, an anti-Communist and Central Intelligence Agency helper, and foreign policy advisor to the leadership of the AFL-CIO and various unions...
.
Biography
Brown was the son of a comrade of Alexander KerenskyAlexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
, Russian Prime minister following the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
, who had emigrated to the United States
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
after the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
of 1917. Born in Bronx, New York in 1911, he became a boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
before joining a trade union, where he clashed with the Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
. He studied at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and at the University of Columbia.
As a lieutenant of the US Army, he was charged in 1944 by 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...
(OSS) in works concerning the preparation of Operation Husky (the invasion of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
), and then concerning the landing in the south of France, in Provence
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
.
Cold War
He arrived in Paris in November 1945 and organized anti-Communist unions, supporting in particular the creation of the French Force ouvrièreForce Ouvrière
The General Confederation of Labor - Workers' Force is one of the five major union federations in France. In terms of following, it is the third behind the CGT and the CFDT....
(FO) union (which he subsidized ) by André Bergeron and Léon Jouhaux
Léon Jouhaux
Léon Jouhaux was a French trade union leader who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1951.Jouhaux's father worked in a match factory in Aubervilliers. His secondary schooling ended when his father's earnings were stopped by a strike. He gained employment at the factory at age sixteen and immediately...
, in 1947, and the Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions
Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions
The Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori is an Italian trade union association representing various Roman Catholic-inspired groups linked with Christian Democracy....
(CISL), created in 1950. Until 1986, Brown was present at all of the annual congresses of FO. The AFL-CIO's Free Trade Union Committee
Free Trade Union Committee
The Free Trade Union Committee was created by the American Federation of Labor At its 1944 convention in New Orleans, the AFL passed a resolution drafted by Jay Lovestone creating the FTUC. Lovestone became its executive secretary. Its mission was to assist trade unions in foreign countries,...
subsidized FO and other anti-Communist unions in Europe.
In 1949, alongside Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone was at various times a member of the Socialist Party of America, a leader of the Communist Party USA, leader of a small oppositionist party, an anti-Communist and Central Intelligence Agency helper, and foreign policy advisor to the leadership of the AFL-CIO and various unions...
, he supported the spin-off of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions , and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when it merged with the World Confederation of Labour to form the...
(ICFTU) from the World Federation of Trade Unions
World Federation of Trade Unions
The World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...
(WFTU). The ICFTU included the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
, the British Trades Union Congress
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
, the FO, the Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions
Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions
The Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori is an Italian trade union association representing various Roman Catholic-inspired groups linked with Christian Democracy....
and the Spanish Unión General de Trabajadores
Unión General de Trabajadores
The Unión General de Trabajadores is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party .-History:...
. Thereafter, the WFTU represented the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
while the ICFTU represented the so-called "free world
Free World
The Free World is a Cold War-era term often used to describe states not under the rule of the Soviet Union, its Eastern European allies, China, Vietnam, Cuba, and other communist nations. The term often referred to states such as the United States, Canada, and Western European states such as the...
". As a friend of Averell Harriman, who was in charge of the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
, Brown easily diverted funds from the Marshall Plan to support anti-Communist organizations.
The following year, on June 26, 1950, Brown was part of the American delegation at the founding meeting of the Congress for Cultural Freedom
Association for Cultural Freedom
The Congress for Cultural Freedom was an anti-communist advocacy group founded in 1950. In 1967, it was revealed that the United States Central Intelligence Agency was instrumental in the establishment and funding of the group , and it was subsequently renamed the...
in Berlin.
By 1952, his activities were already well known: he was the subject of an article by Time magazine, titled "The Most Dangerous Man." According to Time, he was charged of this mission by the AFL Free Trade Union Committee
Free Trade Union Committee
The Free Trade Union Committee was created by the American Federation of Labor At its 1944 convention in New Orleans, the AFL passed a resolution drafted by Jay Lovestone creating the FTUC. Lovestone became its executive secretary. Its mission was to assist trade unions in foreign countries,...
. Brown gave financial support to anti-Communist movements which broke the 1947 strikes in Italy and France
French Fourth Republic
The French Fourth Republic was the republican government of France between 1946 and 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Republic, which was in place before World War II, and suffered many of the same problems...
. He also helped organize the anti-Communist coalition of free trade unions in Greece
History of Greece
The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern state of Greece, as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied much through the ages, and, as a result, the history of Greece is similarly...
, as well as the Mediterranean Port Committee, which wrested control of French, Italian and Greek ports from the Communists. In Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, he gave his support to Pierre Ferri-Pisani, a former municipal counsellor.
Established in France, he headed the international relations of the AFL-CIO from his offices at 10, rue de la Paix in Paris. From 1951 to 1954, the CIA division headed by Thomas Braden
Thomas Braden
Thomas Wardell Braden was an American journalist, best remembered as the author of Eight is Enough, which spawned a popular television program, and was co-host of the CNN show Crossfire...
provided $1 million a year to Brown and Lovestone ($1,600,000 in 1954).
In 1952 he was in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, supporting the unionists who had decided to vote to quit the World Federation of Trade Unions
World Federation of Trade Unions
The World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...
(WFTU), then mainly composed of Communist unions.
During the Algerian War, he subsidized the Algerian National Movement
Algerian National Movement
The Algerian National Movement was an organization founded to counteract the efforts of the Front de Libération Nationale . It was supported and, some say, partly financed by the French who used it to validate the claim that the FLN was not the sole representative of Algerian desires.It was...
(MNA), founded by Messali Hadj
Messali Hadj
Ahmed Ben Messali Hadj was an Algerian nationalist politician dedicated to the independence of his homeland from France...
to oppose the National Liberation Front
National Liberation Front (Algeria)
The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
(FLN).
He also participated, in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, to the struggle against Communists during Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
's presidency. In 1984, he organized demonstrations which accompanied Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
's worldwide meetings.
In the 1980s, following the election of the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
candidate François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
to the presidency in 1981
French presidential election, 1981
The French presidential election of 1981 took place on 10 May 1981, giving the presidency of France to François Mitterrand, the first Socialist president of the Fifth Republic....
, while the National Endowment for Democracy
National Endowment for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is a U.S. non-profit organization that was founded in 1983 to promote US-friendly democracy by providing cash grants funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress...
(NED) foundation subsidized, alongside the AFL-CIO, the right-wing National Inter-University Union
Union Nationale Inter-universitaire
Union Nationale Interuniversitaire or "Inter-University Union" is a French right-wing union of university students, created in February 1969 under the initiative of the Service d'Action Civique, a secret service used by the right-wing gaullist movement, in particular by Robert Pandraud, Charles...
(UNI), Irving Brown considered that "France... is threatened by the Communist apparatus.... It is a clear and present danger if the present is thought of as 10 years from now."
Irving Brown started suffering from serious health problems in 1986. He was decorated by US President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
in 1988 of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
, and died the following year.