Advisory Committee on Problems of Foreign Relations
Encyclopedia
The Advisory Committee on Problems of Foreign Relations was a committee created by United States Secretary of State
Cordell Hull
on December 27, 1939, to examine "overseas war measures." It came about after Leo Pasvolsky
, Hull's assistant, wrote a memorandum urging such a committee concerned with "problems of peace and reconstruction" that would review fundamental principles of a "desirable world order" and was originally called the Committee on Problems of Peace and Reconstruction. It was the first of many such committees that Hull would create, reorganize, rename or abolish. Successors included the Division of Special Research
and the Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy.
Under Secretary of State
Sumner Welles
was chairman of the fifteen member committee, which included two people from outside the State Department
, Norman Davis
of the Council on Foreign Relations
and George Rublee of the Intergovernmental Committee on Political Refugees. Pasvolsky headed the economics subcommittee. Other members from the State Department included Assistant Secretary Adolf A. Berle
, Herbert Feis
and Political Advisor Stanley K. Hornbeck. The committee came up with tentative ideas about a world organization, reviving some aspects of the League of Nations
design. The sketch included an "Executive Council" and a "General Assembly" with different powers, but the League's principle of unanimity was to be replaced by some type of majority rule. The organization was envisioned to be based on nine regional blocs represented in the assembly, and with an independent police force. After the phony war in Europe became a real one, the committee became defunct in the summer of 1940.
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...
on December 27, 1939, to examine "overseas war measures." It came about after Leo Pasvolsky
Leo Pasvolsky
Leo Pasvolsky was a journalist, economist, state department official and personal assistant to Secretary of State Cordell Hull...
, Hull's assistant, wrote a memorandum urging such a committee concerned with "problems of peace and reconstruction" that would review fundamental principles of a "desirable world order" and was originally called the Committee on Problems of Peace and Reconstruction. It was the first of many such committees that Hull would create, reorganize, rename or abolish. Successors included the Division of Special Research
Division of Special Research
The Division of Special Research was a subdivision of the U.S. State Department charged with preparing studies in the field of problems post World War II...
and the Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy.
Under Secretary of State
Under Secretary of State
The Under Secretary of State, from 1919 to 1972, was the second-ranking official at the United States Department of State , serving as the Secretary's principal deputy, chief assistant, and Acting Secretary in the event of the Secretary's absence...
Sumner Welles
Sumner Welles
Benjamin Sumner Welles was an American government official and diplomat in the Foreign Service. He was a major foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State from 1937 to 1943, during FDR's presidency.-Early life:Benjamin Sumner Welles was born in...
was chairman of the fifteen member committee, which included two people from outside the State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, Norman Davis
Norman Davis
Norman H. Davis , was a U.S. diplomat. He was born in Bedford, Tennessee. He served as President Wilson's Assistant Secretary of Treasury and later as Undersecretary of State....
of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
and George Rublee of the Intergovernmental Committee on Political Refugees. Pasvolsky headed the economics subcommittee. Other members from the State Department included Assistant Secretary Adolf A. Berle
Adolf A. Berle
Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr. was a lawyer, educator, author, and U.S. diplomat. He was the author of The Modern Corporation and Private Property, a groundbreaking work on corporate governance, and an important member of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt's "Brain Trust".-Childhood, Education, and...
, Herbert Feis
Herbert Feis
Herbert Feis was an American Author and former Economic Advisor for International Affairs to the Department of State in the Hoover and Roosevelt administrations....
and Political Advisor Stanley K. Hornbeck. The committee came up with tentative ideas about a world organization, reviving some aspects of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
design. The sketch included an "Executive Council" and a "General Assembly" with different powers, but the League's principle of unanimity was to be replaced by some type of majority rule. The organization was envisioned to be based on nine regional blocs represented in the assembly, and with an independent police force. After the phony war in Europe became a real one, the committee became defunct in the summer of 1940.