Cavendish Wells Cannon (February 1, 1895 – October 7, 1962) was a long-time United States
foreign service officer
A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...
and
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Cavendish served as the Assistant Chief of the State Department's Division of Southern European Affairs. For a time Cannon's work took him to Syria.
He served as
U.S. ambassador to Greece from 1953 to 1956 and
ambassador to Morocco from 1956 to 1958. During the late 1940s Cannon served as
ambassador to Yugoslavia Among his fellow ambassadors was the Czechoslovak Ambassador
Josef Korbel
Josef Korbel (; September 20, 1909 – July 18, 1977) was a Czech-American diplomat and political scientist. He served as Czechoslovakia's ambassador to Yugoslavia, the chair of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan, and then as a p ...
(father of
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
). Cannon spoke in favor of Korbel's pro-democratic leanings when he was trying to gain asylum in the United States.
In 1948, he was the chair of the US delegation to the
Danube River Conference of 1948
The Danube River Conference of 1948 was held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to develop a new international regime for the development and control of the Danube in the wake of World War II. It was the first postwar conference pitting the victorious Alli ...
.
Cannon was a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
.
"Church Member Nominated Ambassador to Finland"
''Ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
'', March 1975 pg. 78.
References
1895 births
1962 deaths
Ambassadors of the United States to Greece
Ambassadors of the United States to Morocco
Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal
Ambassadors of the United States to Syria
Ambassadors of the United States to Yugoslavia
20th-century American diplomats
American Latter Day Saints
Cannon family
American people of Manx descent
United States Foreign Service personnel
{{US-diplomat-stub