Benjamin Sumner Welles - Nominee
Following the advice of family friend Franklin D. Roosevelt, Welles took the Foreign Service examination in 1915 and entered the diplomatic corps. Welles used his relatively privileged birth, intelligence and dignified public presence to rise quickly through the ranks. His diplomatic work focused on Latin America and the Caribbean, where he was instrumental in developing Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor" policy. He served briefly as US Ambassador to Cuba in 1933, but his public and controversial attempts to undermine the liberal regime there led to his ouster. In 1937 he was promoted to Undersecretary of State and was one of Roosevelt's most trusted diplomatic advisors, playing a leadership role in the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1941. At the onset of World War II Welles was the natural choice to succeed ailing Secretary of State Cordell Hall, but suspicions that Welles was a homosexual prompted an official investigation by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, which confirmed the rumors. As homosexuals were deemed a security risk, Roosevelt had no choice but to accept Sumner Welles resignation. Excluded both formally and informally from the foreign policy establishment for life, Welles resignation robbed the U.S. of its likely Secretary of State in the middle of World War II, underscoring the damage homophobia did to mid-century American foreign policy. Welles continued to write and publish commentary on international affairs, articulating his vision for a multilateral global community. He died in 1961 at the age of 68.
Sexual Orientation Gay
Ethnicity Caucasian/White
Era/Epoch Cold War (1945-1991) Great Depression (1929-1939) Progressive Era (1890-1920) Roaring Twenties (1920-1929) World War II (1939-1945)
Commemorations & Honors
Welles' Papers Held at the National Archives at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, New York
Welles Source of Winston Churchill's Famous "No comment" Phrase
Benjamin Sumner Welles Later Years Headshot
Benjamin Sumner Welles Time Magazine Cover
Confidential Magazine Cover Expose of Benjamin Sumner Welles
America Prepared World War II British Pathe Newsreel (1941)
Mr. Sumner Welles' European Tour British Pathe Newsreel (1940)
Mr. Sumner Welles at the Pan American Conference British Pathe Newsreel (1942)
Mr. Sumner Welles in London AP and British Movietone Newsreel (1940)
Gellman, Irwin, Secret Affairs: Franklin Roosevelt, Cordell Hull, and Sumner Welles. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995.
Johnson, David K., The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government. University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Wentink, A. M. "Haines, (Charles) William ('Billy')." Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History from Antiquity to World War II. Robert Aldrich and Garry Wotherspoon, eds. London and New York: Routledge, 2001. 197-198.
http://www.documentstalk.com/wp/welles-benjamin-sumner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumner_Welles
http://www.gutenberg-e.org/osc01/frames/fosc08.html
http://www.reformation.org/welles-confidential-magazine.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelangelo-signorile/the-roosevelts-ken-burns_b_5866998.html