After graduating Wisner worked as a Wall Street lawyer. He had been elected as President of Guatemala in March, 1951. It was a warm summer night. At Arlington Cemetery, Frank Wisner was buried as a naval commander, his wartime rank. Hector and I smiled at each other as Brad flushed with pleasure. Accepting that further resistance would only bring more deaths he announced his resignation over the radio. "[15], During the early 1950s, Wisner was the subject of FBI inquiries in connection with his wartime work in Romania, including the claim that he had an affair with Tanda Caradja, daughter of Romanian princess Catherine Caradja during the war; Caradja was alleged in FBI reports to be a Soviet agent. Britain and France were both initially in favour but eventually buckled under United States pressure and agreed to abstain. During his absence Wisner's job was covered by his chief of operations, Richard Helms. [18], J. Edgar Hoover and U.S. and a LL.B. Kermit Roosevelt, the grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, was put in charge of what became known as Operation Ajax. Five thousand refugees volunteered to be part of a post-nuclear guerrilla force, which was just what it sounds likeFallout: New Stalingrad. However, in 1947, he was recruited by Dean Acheson, to work under Charles Saltzman, at the State Department's Office of Occupied Territories. Frank Gardiner Wisner was one of the founding officers of the Central Intelligence Agency and played a major role in CIA operations throughout the 1950s. While in Germany he served under Allen W. Dulles. He was prescribed psychoanalysis and shock therapy (electroconvulsive treatment). Others like Stewart Alsop, Joseph Alsop and James Reston, were recruited from within the Georgetown Set. Wisner's FBI file tells scurrilous tales of his wild life during and after World War II. . You've averted a Soviet beachhead in our hemisphere." Over the next few weeks riots took place in Poland and East Germany. In 1948 Frank Wisner was appointed director of the Office of Special Projects. All the top officials of the agency, from director on down, were in attendance. The Office of Policy Coordination (OPC) was funded by siphoning of funds intended for the Marshall Plan. Iranians took to the streets against Mohammed Mossadegh. The agents whom he and Burke infiltrated into Romania, Poland, the Baltic states and East Germany all disappeared; most were probably killed. They also produced three films on Guatemala for showing free in cinemas. He wanted to start yet another secret agencythis one accountable to virtually no one. The most active element of this special staff came from the CIA's clandestine Air Division which at that time was under the control of Dick Helms. At this time Wisner began plotting the overthrow of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran. As a result the resolution was defeated by 5 votes to 4. As one of the agents involved in Operation Bloodstone, Harry Rositzke, pointed out, Wisner was willing to use anyone "as long as he was anti-communist". He later claimed that Wisner had become obsessed with the Soviet Union: "He was already mobilizing for the cold war. He retired in 1963, and committed suicide with a shotgun in 1965. In March 1945, Wisner was transferred to Wiesbaden, Germany. In the 1950s and early 1960s the CIA's top leaders - men like Allen Dulles, Frank Wisner, Richard Bissell, Tracy Barnes, and Desmond Fitzgerald - were profoundly devoted to covert action. He pointed out that they had spent a great deal of money on Radio Free Europe "to get these people to revolt". In Hungary the prime minister Imre Nagy removed state control of the mass media and encouraged public discussion on political and economic reform. Wisner managed to get a copy of the speech that Nikita Khrushchev made at the 20th Party Congress in February, 1956, where Khrushchev launched an attack on the rule of Joseph Stalin. He was a good sprinter and hurdler and in 1936 was asked to compete in the Olympic trials. During World War II, Wisner and his wife Polly became close friends with Philip Graham and his wife Katharine Graham who after the war became publishers of The Washington Post. [16], On August 23, 1951, Wisner succeeded Allen W. Dulles and became the second Deputy Director of Plans, with Richard Helms as his chief of operations. The company wanted $16 million for the land. He persuaded President Harry S. Truman that the OSS in peacetime would be an "American Gestapo". We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Funded with money from the CIA and MI6, the pro-monarchy forces quickly gained the upper hand. It was a warm summer night. All the top officials of the agency, from director on down, were in attendance. However, he got bored and enlisted in the United States Navy six months before Pearl Harbor. By this time Operation Mockingbird had a major influence over 25 newspapers and wire agencies. [14], According to its secret charter, the OPC's responsibilities include "propaganda, economic warfare, preventive direct action, including sabotage, antisabotage, demolition and evacuation procedures; subversion against hostile states, including assistance to underground resistance groups, guerrillas and refugee liberation groups, and support of indigenous anti-communist elements in threatened countries of the free world. Four months later he agreed to retire from the CIA. Mussadegh in Iran was left-wing and had indulged in talks with Russian diplomats about possible alliances and treaties. post-template-default single single-post postid-2835 single-format-standard. A close friend, Avis Bohlen said he "was so depressed about how the world was going he felt we were losing the Cold War.". The New York Times reported that he was a personal friend of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Members of what was later called the Georgetown Ladies' Social Club included Katharine Graham, Mary Pinchot Meyer, Sally Reston, Polly Wisner, Joan Braden, Lorraine Cooper, Evangeline Bruce, Avis Bohlen, Janet Barnes, Tish Alsop, Cynthia Helms, Marietta FitzGerald, Phyllis Nitze and Annie Bissell. He was educated at Woodberry Forest School in Orange and the University of Virginia. "The cable was from Des FitzGerald. This included former members of the Nazi Party such as Gustav Hilger and Hans von Bittenfield. He whispered a number of questions: "Who is that? It was later discovered that one commander accepted $60,000 to surrender his troops. ", In December, 1956, Wisner had a mental breakdown and was diagnosed as suffering from manic depression. However, the CIA Voice of Liberation successfully convinced Arbenz's supporters that two large and heavily armed columns of invaders were moving towards Guatemala City. He worked tirelessly during the Hungarian Uprising in 1956 to roll back Soviet expansion, but was largely ignored for fear of triggering a nuclear war. The Director turned to me "They tell me you know how to write. [citation needed], Wisner married Mary Ellis 'Polly' Knowles (19122002) and they had four children: Elizabeth Wisner, Graham Wisner, Ellis Wisner, and Frank G. Wisner who entered into diplomatic service. The only thing theyre proving is the law of gravity, said one CIA officer. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The whole arrangement of American power in the world from the nineteenth century was based on commercial concerns and methods of operation his had given America a material empire through the ownership of foreign transport systems, oil fields, estancias, stocks, and shares. Wisner was disappointed by the US government's reaction to this news and he was forced to advise the Romanian royal family to go into exile. As previously described at Mental Floss, one of their more brilliant, but alas, never executed, operations involved airdropping enormous condoms labeled medium behind the Iron Curtain, as a way of demonstrating the anatomical superiority of the American fighting man.). He gained support for this from James Forrestal, the Defense Secretary. Hector (Rip Robertson) said only one, a courier . Traduzioni in contesto per "revel fue" in spagnolo-italiano da Reverso Context: Lo que revel fue mucho ms. Death Frank Wisner reportedly committed suicide with one of his son's shotguns on October 29, 1965. Who made that decision?". Another historical falsehood is that becoming a leader at CIA hinges on membership in Skull and Bones, the secret society at Yale. Manage Settings Wisner, one of the early members of the Central Intelligence Agency, helped build, and was the . Also involved was Richard Bissell, head of the Directorate for Plans, an organization instructed to conduct covert anti-Communist operations around the world. Hulda Wisner (Hermann) 74, of Lodi, died Thursday morning in a local hospital after a short illness. The Defense Mobilization Support Planning Activity? President Dwight Eisenhower responded by claiming that Guatemala had a "communist dictatorship.. had established an outpost on this continent to the detriment of all the American nations". We drank iced tea as we sat around a garden table in Dulles' back yard. Over the next few weeks thousands were arrested on suspicion of communist activity. Arbenz, on the other hand, had simply been trying to reform his country and had not sought foreign help in this. According to Alex Constantine (Mockingbird: The Subversion Of The Free Press By The CIA), in the 1950s, "some 3,000 salaried and contract CIA employees were eventually engaged in propaganda efforts". Mussadegh in Iran was left-wing and had indulged in talks with Russian diplomats about possible alliances and treaties. Perhaps he had made up his mind to kill himself. Frank Gardner Wisner was born in Laurel, Mississippi, in 1910. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. "Incredible". After leaving the OSS Wisner joined the Wall Street law firm, Carter Ledyard. [21], In 1962, Wisner retired from the CIA. He was Richard Nixon, the Vice President. President Dwight Eisenhower was delighted with this result and asked Wisner to arrange for Kermit Roosevelt to give him a personal briefing on Operation Ajax. Carlos Castillo and his collection of soldiers now crossed the Honduran-Guatemalan border. Two months later he moved on to Romania where his main task was to spy on the activities of the Soviet Union. Desmond FitzGerald, a deputy director of the CIA, remembered him as a watchmaker in Detroit on whose shoulders it fell far more than any other man, to build our defenses from the ground up and with all speed., 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. They were the patricians of the modern age, the paladins of democracy, and saw no contradiction in that. Wisner remained concerned about the spread of communism and began lobbying for a new intelligence agency. This resulted in the religious community turning against Mossadegh. In the darkness I could see only a silhouette of the person entering the room; when the door closed it was dark again, and I could not make out the features of the man standing next to me. We drank iced tea as we sat around a garden table in Dulles' back yard. What right do we have to help someone topple his government and throw him out of office?" . In July 19, 1954, he created the National Committee of Defense Against Communism and decreed the Preventive Penal Law Against Communism to fight against those who supported Arbenz when he was in power. This included former members of the Nazi Party such as Gustav Hilger and Hans von Bittenfield. The DPP now accounted for three quarters of the CIA budget and 60% of its personnel. "He just has many, many friends in. Would the National Security Council really want to explain to the press why some official had to be bribed or some foreign election had to be subverted? OSS agents penetrated the Romanian Communist Party and Wisner was able to discover that the Soviets intended to take over all of Eastern Europe. David Atlee Phillips was appointed to run the propaganda campaign against Arbenz's government. In all, some 1,700 American POWs were transported. Wisner moved to Washington where he associated with a group of journalists, politicians and government officials that became known as the Georgetown Set. Hoover also passed to McCarthy details of an affair that Wisner had with Princess Caradja in Romania during the war. Frank G. Wisner, an ex-OSS man, was brought in from the State Department to head it, with a cover title of his own invention. Samuel Zemurray, United Fruit Company's largest shareholder, with the help of Tommy Corcoran, organized an anti-Arbenz campaign in the American media. Frank George Wisner II (born July 2, 1938) is an American businessman and former diplomat who had served as acting United States Secretary of State for a few hours following the resignation of the previous acting United States Secretary of State Arnold Kanter at noon on January 20, 1993 until the confirmation by the United States Senate and swearing in of Warren Christopher as United States Secretary of State later that day. Frances Stonor Saunders, the author of Who Paid the Piper: The CIA and the Cultural Cold War? He later claimed that Wisner had become obsessed with the Soviet Union: "He was already mobilizing for the cold war. While in Germany he served under Allen W. Dulles. 1930s. Kermit Roosevelt, the grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, was put in charge of what became known as Operation Ajax. In this position, he was instrumental in supporting pro-American forces that toppled Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran in 1953[citation needed] and Jacobo Arbenz Guzmn in Guatemala in 1954. Unlike most members of the Georgetown Crowd, Meyer now abandoned his liberal views. What right do we have to help someone topple his government and throw him out of office?" . With the help of George Kennan, the Office of Special Projects was created in 1948. When this failed he put pressure on Security Council members to vote against the resolution. ", Wisner, who had been involved in creating this propaganda, told friends that he felt the American government had let Hungary down. In 1951 Allen W. Dulles persuaded Cord Meyer to join the CIA. Wisner was obviously too sick to go to Spain. The UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold was so upset by the actions of the USA that he considered resigning from his post. (Mockingbird wasnt the OPCs only psychological operation, and Wisners office had a great sense of humor. In early 2011, the Obama administration asked Wisner to carry views to Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, including advice that Mubarak should resign to defuse the crisis. By Nicholas Thompson. Arbenz began to tackle Guatemala's unequal land distribution. Accepting that further resistance would only bring more deaths he announced his resignation over the radio. Four days later, after a day in which Mubarak allies took violent reprisal against democracy activists, Wisner spoke to a security conference in Europe and called it "crucial" that Mubarak stay on in the interest of "stability." Under this innocuous title, the United States was now fully in the business of covert political operations. In late 2002, Wisner co-chaired an independent working group that developed a model for the US's post-conflict role in Iraq, should an invasion occur. In addition, regardless of the principles being professed, when direct action was taken (whether clandestine or not), the interests of American business would be a consideration: if the flag was to follow, it would quite definitely follow trade. She moved to Lodi in 1934. Wisner was disappointed by the US government's reaction to this news and he was forced to advise the Romanian royal family to go into exile. When he finished Alien Dulles said, "Brad, I've never heard such crap." To get better results, add more information such as Birth Info, Death Info and Locationeven a guess will help. Aid Groups Warn of "Secondary Disaster" as Death Toll from Turkey . The military now joined the opposition and Mossadegh was arrested on August 19, 1953. In August, 1952, the Office of Policy Coordination and the Office of Special Operations (the espionage division) were merged to form the Directorate of Plans (DPP). He was assigned as a vice consul at the American Consulate General in Tangier, Morocco. Members are only revealed after their death - a wreath of black magnolias shaped like '7' is laid at the gravesite. I saw Frank three days before he died and he seemed in good spirits. Wisner's friends believed the illness was triggered by the failure of the Hungarian Uprising. I myself was no great admirer of the Soviet Union, and I certainly had no expectation of harmonious relations after the war. Wisner leaked details of the speech to the New York Times who published it on 2nd June, 1956. [2] After graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1934,[3] Wisner began working as a Wall Street lawyer for Carter, Ledyard & Milburn. It was not successful and still suffering from depression, he was released from hospital in 1958. Dulles decided that Richard Bissell rather than Richard Helms should become the new head of the DPP. He worked in the Navy's censor's office before managing to get a transfer to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Bissell replaced Wisner as Deputy Director of Plans. In 1953 the brothers helped out Edward Lansdale and the CIA in the Philippines: "Wisner actively courted the Alsops, along with a few other newsmen he regarded as suitable outlets. . During the war William Donovan as head of the OSS, had built up a team of 16,000 agents working behind enemy lines. It is doubtful that many of the lawmakers who voted for the 1947 Act could have envisioned the scale on which the CIA would engage in operational activities all over the world. During the Hungarian Uprising an estimated 20,000 people were killed. His work involved planning a coup in Guyana, a country that had a left-wing government. Henry Breck, a junior CIA officer out of Groton and Harvard, watched his grim-faced elders as they mourned. American diplomat and politician (born 1938), Genevieve Jeanne Marie du Fresne de Virel, Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs, United States Ambassador to the Philippines, The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, "The extended family of Nicolas Sarkozy (de Nagy-Bocsa)", "La Giustizia amministrativa: Raccolta completa contenente le decisioni tutte della IV sezione del Consiglio di Stato, le decisioni pi importanti della Corte dei conti in materia di conti comunali, provinciali ed erariali, e di pensioni, le pi importanti sentenze della Corte di cassazione di Roma in materia elettorale e di competenza e monografie relative a questioni amministrative", "Nomination of Frank G. Wisner To Be United States Ambassador to Egypt", "Guiding Principles for U.S. Post-Conflict Policy in Iraq", "Ambassador Frank G. Wisner Joins Ergo's Advisory Board", "Frank Wisner, the Diplomat Sent to Prod Mubarak", Obama Egypt Envoy Frank Wisner Says Mubarak Should Stay, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, United States Ambassadors to the Philippines, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frank_G._Wisner&oldid=1135372820, Ambassadors of the United States to the Philippines, Ambassadors of the United States to India, Ambassadors of the United States to Egypt, Ambassadors of the United States to Zambia, United States Under Secretaries of Defense for Policy, People of the Egyptian revolution of 2011, Acting United States Secretaries of State, People associated with Squire Patton Boggs, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles needing clarification, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from October 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 January 2023, at 07:44.