The Mutual Security Agency (1951–1953) was a US agency to strengthen European allies of

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 ...

through military assistance and economic recovery.

History

The Mutual Security Agency was established by the passing of the

Mutual Security Act The Mutual Security Act of 1951 launched a major American foreign aid program, 1951–61, of grants to numerous countries. It largely replaced the Marshall Plan. The main goal was to help poor countries develop and to containment, contain the spre ...

by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

on October 10, 1951. The purpose of the agency was, in the words of the Act, to organize "military, economic, and technical assistance to friendly countries to strengthen the mutual security and individual and collective defenses of the free world, to develop their resources in the interest of their security and independence and the national interest of the United States and to facilitate the effective participation of those countries in the United Nations system for collective security". The agency superseded the

Economic Cooperation Administration The Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) was a U.S. government agency set up in 1948 to administer the Marshall Plan. It reported to both the State Department and the Department of Commerce. The agency's first head was Paul G. Hoffman, a form ...

, which had only oversight over economic aid. The new agency was responsible for development and administration of those military and economic assistance programs not administered by the

Technical Cooperation Administration The Point Four Program was a technical assistance program for "developing countries" announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address on January 20, 1949. It took its name from the fact that it was the fourth foreig ...

. Reorganization Plan No. 7 1953 (67 Stat. 641) abolished the Mutual Security Agency on August 1, 1953. The federal organization functions were transferred to the new

Foreign Operations Administration The Foreign Operations Administration was created in 1953 under the directorship of Harold Stassen. Its purpose "was intended to centralize all governmental operations, as distinguished from policy formulation, that had as their purpose the coope ...

Directors of the MSA

The Directorship of the Mutual Security Agency was a Presidential appointment, approved by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. *

William Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce un ...

(October 19, 1951 – January 20, 1953) *

Harold E. Stassen Harold Edward Stassen (April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001) was an American politician who was the 25th Governor of Minnesota. He was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1948, considered for a ti ...

(Jan 27, 1953 – August 1, 1953)

References

External links

Notes

{{Authority control Foreign relations agencies of the United States 1951 establishments in the United States Government agencies established in 1951 Defunct agencies of the United States government

History

Directors of the MSA

See also

References

External links

Notes