The Honourable
Gordon Phelps Merriam
U.S. Ambassador to Iran
In office
1936–1937
Preceded byWilliam H. Hornibrook
Succeeded byCornelius Van Hemert Engert
Personal details
Born(1899-07-29)July 29, 1899
Lexington, Massachusetts
DiedFebruary 16, 1999(1999-02-16) (aged 99)
South Bristol, Maine
Military service
Allegiance United States
RankSecond lieutenant
Battles/warsWorld War I

Gordon Phelps Merriam (July 29, 1899 – February 16, 1999) was an American soldier and diplomat.

Biography

Merriam was born on July 29, 1899, in Lexington, Massachusetts. He would graduate from Noble and Greenough School in 1917.[1]

World War I

Merriam went to France in June 1917, serving in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps for five months. Once he returned to the United States he would get commissioned as a second lieutenant in September 1918, following completion of training in machine guns in the Student Army Training Corps at Camp Hancock, Georgia.[1]

Merriam would get commissioned as the Chargé d'affaires to Iran in March 1936, a position he would hold until May 1937.[2][3] He would also serve as the chief of the Near Eastern Division of the State Department.[4] During his service in the State Department, he would be an advocate for U.S. investments in Middle Eastern energy infrastructure.[5] He would also keep the United States informed on issues regarding the Kurds, their connections to different groups in the region and movement from Iran into Iraq.[6] He would also criticize the Balfour declaration and instead advocate for the Jews and Arabs to determine the fate of the former mandate together.[7]

Merriam died on February 16, 1999, in South Bristol, Maine.[2][8] He died following a short illness.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Americana: (American Historical Magazine). American Historical Company, Incorporated. 1919.
  2. 1 2 "Gordon Phelps Merriam - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
  3. ↑ Principal Officers of the Department of State and United States Chiefs of Mission. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs. 1978.
  4. 1 2 "Obituaries: Gordon P. Merriam" (PDF). State Magazine: 44. June 1999.
  5. ↑ Business, United States Congress Senate Special Committee to Study Problems of American Small (1948). Problems of American Small Business. U.S. Government Printing Office. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ↑ State, United States Department of (1953). Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  7. ↑ Journal of International Affairs. Vol. 58. Board of Editors of the Journal of International Affairs. 2004.
  8. ↑ State Magazine. The Department. 1999.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.