William Tapley Bennett Jr. (April 1, 1917 – November 29, 1994) was an American

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 interna ...

who served as Ambassador to the Dominican Republic during the 1965 civil war and who recommended that President Johnson intervene with United States troops.

Early life

Bennett was born in

Griffin, Georgia Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 23,478. Griffin was founded in 1840 and named for landowner Col. Lewis Law ...

on April 1, 1917. He was the only child of William Tapley Bennett Sr. (1891–1982) and Annie Mem (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Little) Bennett (1894–1965). His maternal grandparents were Peyton Brantley "Mem" Little and Julia Elizabeth (née Neal) Little. Bennett attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

where he was a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more t ...

fraternity. After doing graduate work at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

in Germany from 1937 to 1938, he returned to the United States and earned a law degree from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of co ...

Career

After graduation from law school, Bennett joined the

Foreign Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in 1941. He served as a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

intelligence officer 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. From 1951 to 1954, Bennett was Deputy Director to the Office of South American Affairs. From 1954 to 1955, he studied at the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Col ...

and for two years after, he served as Special Assistant to the

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs The Under Secretary for Political Affairs is currently the fourth-ranking position in the United States Department of State, after the secretary, the deputy secretary, and the deputy secretary of state for management and resources. The current un ...

. From 1957 to 1964, he acted as Counselor and Minister at the U.S. Embassies in

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, in

Vienna, Austria en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and in

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

. President

Lyndon 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 ...

appointed him Ambassador to the Dominican Republic after the previous Ambassador, John Bartlow Martin, resigned after the

Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

on the very day in which Juan Bosch, then President of the Dominican Republic, was toppled in a coup d'etat. While Ambassador, Bennett "advised President Johnson and members of Congress that the revolt was led by Communists" and recommended President Johnson intervene with United States troops during the Dominican Civil War. Bennett was heavily criticized for his report and recommendation. Reportedly "seeking relief from the tropical heat of the Dominican Republic," Johnson appointed him the Ambassador to Portugal in 1966. He served in that role until

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

became president in 1969 and he was succeeded by

Ridgway B. Knight Ridgway Brewster Knight (June 12, 1911 – August 14, 2001) was a French-born American diplomat who served as Ambassador to Syria (1961–1965), Belgium (1965–1969) and Portugal (1969–1973). Early life and career The son of American parent ...

, who up until that point was the Ambassador to Belgium. Beginning in 1972, he began to serve concurrently as Ambassador to the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...

and Deputy

United States Representative to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nation ...

. After

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 (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

became president in 1977, Bennett was appointed the

United States Permanent Representative to NATO The United States Permanent Representative to NATO (commonly called the U.S. Ambassador to NATO) is the official representative of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Representative has the rank of full ambassador a ...

, serving from 1977 through 1983, including when

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

became president in 1981. On November 14, 1983 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, serving from November 17, 1983 to January 4, 1985.

Later career

After retiring in 1985 he served as adjunct professor of international law at the

. From 1991 to 1992, he served as president of the

Atlantic Treaty Association The Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) is an umbrella organization which draws together political leaders, academics, military officials, and diplomats to support the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The ATA is an independent organization ...

Personal life

On June 23, 1945, Bennett was married to Margaret Rutherfurd White in

Bernardsville, New Jersey Bernardsville () is a borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is nestled in the heart of the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,707,

. Margaret, a Foxcroft School graduate who attended

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

and the Institute of Musical Art of the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

, was the daughter of John Campbell White (the U.S. Ambassador to Peru and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

), a granddaughter of Henry White (the U.S. Ambassador to France and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

), and a niece of

Jay Pierrepont Moffat Jay Pierrepont Moffat (January 7, 1896 – January 25, 1943) was an American diplomat, historian and statesman who, between 1917 and 1943, served the State Department in a variety of posts, including that of United States Ambassador to Cana ...

, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Together, they were the parents of five children: * William Tapley Bennett III of Washington, D.C. * John Campbell White Bennett of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, a

U.S. 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 o ...

Cmdr. * Anne B. Bennett of

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was fir ...

* Ellen Pierrepont Bennett, who married Rev. Ralph C. Godsall, the Chaplain of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, in 1980. * Victoria R. Bennett of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. He died after a long illness in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

on November 29, 1994.

References

External links

William Tapley Bennett, Jr. Papers
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, William Tapley Jr. 1917 births 1994 deaths People from Griffin, Georgia Permanent Representatives of the United States to NATO Ambassadors of the United States to the Dominican Republic Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal George Washington University Law School alumni University of Georgia faculty United States Foreign Service personnel