Earl T. Smith

Earl T. Smith

Earl Edward Tailer Smith (1903-1991) was a United States foreign diplomat, ambassador to Cuba (1957-1959) and mayor of Palm Beach (1971-1977). Husband of JFK mistress and former model, Florence Pritchett Smith (1920-1965).

Biography

Smith was born in Rhode Island and studied at Yale University (1926-28) before becoming an investment broker and a member of the New York Stock Exchange. He also became a partner in the investment brokers, Paige, Smith, and Remick (1930-1939).

In 1941 U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Smith as special assistant in the Office of Production Management (later War Production Board). He left this post to serve in the United States Army during the Second World War. He served overseas and by the end of the war reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Cuba

In June, 1957, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Smith Ambassador to Cuba replacing Arthur Gardner. At that time Smith was a successful businessman who had never held a diplomatic position and who did not speak Spanish [ [http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/havana/Fidel-2.htm] Book Excerpt The Man Who Invented Fidel: Castro, Cuba, and Herbert L. Matthews of the New York Times ] On arrival Smith was urged by his staff to leave Havana in order to get a better feel of the country, which was in a state of some turmoil. On a visit to Santiago de Cuba Smith witnessed at first hand repressive measures undertaken by the Cuban police and consequently protested to authoritarian President of Cuba Fulgencio Batista. The government in Havana denounced Ambassador Smith's actions as interfering in the internal affairs of Cuba, and relations became terse. Smith was also critical of what he perceived as Washington's ambivalent attitude towards the growing 26th of July movement led by Fidel Castro, feeling that the CIA were underestimating the strength of the Communist Party of Cuba. [ [http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cuban-rebels/kirkpatrick.htm Batista's Cuba] Lyman B. Kirkpatrick, Jr. The Real CIA. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1968]

Smith resigned his post on 20 January, 1959 to be replaced by Philip Bonsal, only three weeks after the Cuban Revolution led by Castro. In 1960 Smith testified to the Senate Committee on the subject of the "Communist threat to the United States through the Caribbean". During the hearings Smith made the following analysis of the evolving situation in Cuba and U.S. foreign policy in the region: cquote|If we are to intervene sufficiently to bring about the overthrow of dictatorships, then we should intervene to whatever extent is required to fulfill our purpose. Otherwise, in my opinion, we must wait for the normal self-development of a people and not assist revolution. And we must be prepared to receive the criticism of supporting friendly governments recognized by the United States, although they have been labeled dictatorships. To make my point more clear, let me say that, we helped to overthrow the Batista dictatorship which was pro-American only to install the Castro dictatorship which is pro-Russian.

----

External links

* [http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/us-cuba/gardner-smith.htm Communist threat to the United States through the Caribbean] Earl E. T. Smith evidence to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on 27 August, 1960.
* [http://www.yamaguchy.netfirms.com/7897401/smith/fourth_00.html The Fourth Floor] by Earl Smith, Random House, 1962.

ee also

* Cuba-United States relations
* History of Cuba

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Earl 'Chinna' Smith — Earl Smith Earl Smith Alias Melchezenick Profession(s) Producteur, musicien Genre(s) Reggae, dub Instrument(s) Guitare Années actives Depuis 1968 Site Web …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Earl Chinna Smith — Earl Smith Earl Smith Alias Melchezenick Profession(s) Producteur, musicien Genre(s) Reggae, dub Instrument(s) Guitare Années actives Depuis 1968 Site Web …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Earl chinna smith — Earl Smith Earl Smith Alias Melchezenick Profession(s) Producteur, musicien Genre(s) Reggae, dub Instrument(s) Guitare Années actives Depuis 1968 Site Web …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Earl "Chinna" Smith — Infobox musical artist Name = Earl Chinna Smith Background = non vocal instrumentalist Birth name = Alias = Born = Died = Origin = Kingston, Jamaica Instrument = Guitar Genre = Reggae Occupation = Years active = Label = Associated acts = Bob… …   Wikipedia

  • Earl Calvin Smith — Infobox MLB retired bgcolor1=darkblue bgcolor2=maroon textcolor1=white textcolor2=white name=Earl Smith position=Outfielder bats=Right throws=Right birthdate=birth date and age|1928|3|14| debutdate=April 14 debutyear=by|1955 debutteam=Pittsburgh… …   Wikipedia

  • Earl Smith — can refer to:In sports: *Earl Smith (MLB outfielder), MLB outfielder, 1916–1922 *Earl Smith (MLB catcher), MLB catcher, 1919–1930 *Earl Smith (NL outfielder), NL outfielder who played in the 1955 season *Earl (J.R.) Smith III, known as J.R. Smith …   Wikipedia

  • Earl of Derby — is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of… …   Wikipedia

  • Earl Smith — Surnom Melchezenick Activité principale Producteur, musicien Genre musical Reggae, dub Instruments Guitare Années d activité Depuis 1968 Site …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Earl Smith (catcher) — Earl Sutton Smith (February 14, 1897 in Sheridan, Arkansas June 8, 1963 in Little Rock, Arkansas), was a professional baseball player who played catcher in the Major Leagues from by|1919 by|1930. He would play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York …   Wikipedia

  • Earl (given name) — Infobox Given Name Revised name = Earl imagesize= caption= pronunciation= gender = meaning = region = origin = related names = footnotes = Earl is a popular English given name meaning warrior or nobleman [http://www.merriam… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”