Livingston T. Merchant

Livingston Tallmadge Merchant ( born November 23, 1903 in New York City; † May 15, 1976 in Washington, DC) was an American diplomat, two-time United States Ambassador to Canada was not only, but as Under Secretary of State also the third- highest post held for political Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United States.

Life

After attending the Hotchkiss School Merchant began in 1922 to study at Princeton University, from which he graduated in 1926 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). His professional career began in 1930 as a partner and investment adviser of Scudder, Stevens & Clark, where he worked until 1942.

After completion of the tenure there, he entered in 1942 in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was initially of assistive chief of the department of defense materials and then from 1943 to 1944 head of the Department of blockade and supply. After a brief use as head of the Department of the eastern hemisphere, it was 1944-1945 Head of the Department for the economy in war zones and then in 1945 a special assistant to Assistant Secretary of State.

He then in 1945 Counselor for Administration at the Embassy in France, but returned in 1946 to the United States, where he became chief of the Division of Aeronautics of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This was followed in 1948 he was appointed Deputy Director of the Office of Transport and Communications, and then after a stint at the U.S. Mission in Nanjing in 1948, from 1949 to 1951 as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Far Eastern Affairs ( Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far East Affairs ).

After working as a special assistant for mutual security affairs, he was 1952-1953 Deputy U.S. Special Representative to the North Atlantic Council, established in Paris in Europe. Then he returned to the Foreign Ministry and was from 1953 to 1956 Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs. After that Merchant was 1956-1958 first ambassador to Canada and then re- Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs. After he held from 1959 to 1961 as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and the third-highest post in the U.S. State Department. Last Merchant, who also worked for the Council on Foreign Relations, succeeding Richard B. Wigglesworth 1961-1962 was again ambassador to Canada.

Later he was still 1962-1963 Special Representative for the establishment of a multilateral NATO nuclear force, and from 1965 to 1968 as the representative of the United States Executive Director at the World Bank.

His collected writings and correspondence from the years 1944 to 1972 are located in the library of Princeton University.