John Prior Lewis (March 18, 1921 – May 26, 2010) was an American academic and presidential advisor who was a strong advocate of aid to help build developing countries as a matter of foreign policy. Lewis was born on March 18, 1921, in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

. He was raised in

Hudson Falls, New York Hudson Falls (formerly Sandy Hill) is a village located in Washington County, New York, United States. The village is in the southwest of the town of Kingsbury, on U.S. Route 4. Hudson Falls is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

and earned his undergraduate degree from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

. Lewis later attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, from which he received a Master of Public Administration and was awarded a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in political economy and government. 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 opposing ...

he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

.Weber, Bruce
"Master of Public Administration"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', May 24, 2010. Accessed May 28, 2010. Lewis was a staff member to the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 1950 to 1953. While he was a professor at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

, he was named to serve on the three-man Council in December 1962 by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

.Burd, laurence
"KENNEDY PICKS AID, PROFESSOR AT INDIANA U."
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'', December 1, 1962. Accessed May 28, 2010. President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

named him in 1964 to head the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...

's efforts in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. From Indiana University he moved to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, where from 1969 to 1974 was the dean of

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...

and, in early 80s, supported the appointment of

Angus Deaton Sir Angus Stewart Deaton (born 19 October 1945) is a British economist and academic. Deaton is currently a Senior Scholar and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs Emeritus at the Princeton School of Public ...

. President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

named him to chair the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's development assistance committee. Lewis was bothered by inequality in the United States and around the world, and was a strong advocate of the argument that aid to developing nations was a necessary component of American foreign policy, despite the budgetary costs and the potential for misuse, a position reflected in books he wrote and co-authored, including his 1995 book ''India’s Political Economy: Governance and Reform'' and his 1997 work ''The World Bank: Its First Half Century''. He died at age 89 of natural causes on May 26, 2010 in

Montgomery Township, New Jersey Montgomery Township is a township in southern Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township’s population was 23,690, representing a 6.5% increase ...

, where he lived at the time of his death in a retirement community. He was survived by two daughters, six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His wife, the former June Estelle Ryan, died in 2009, and a daughter died in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, John P. 1921 births 2010 deaths Harvard Kennedy School alumni Indiana University faculty Death in New Jersey Military personnel from Albany, New York People from Montgomery Township, New Jersey People from Hudson Falls, New York Princeton University faculty Union College (New York) alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Council of Economic Advisers