Bohlen, Charles Eustis

Bohlen, Charles Eustis (bō'lun) [key], 1904–74, American diplomat, born Clayton, N.Y. He entered (1929) the U.S. Foreign Service and undertook several consular assignments. A specialist in Russian affairs, Bohlen served as Russian interpreter for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the Tehran and Yalta conferences and for President Harry S. Truman at the Potsdam Conference. Appointed ambassador to Russia in 1953, he was confirmed despite the opposition of a group of ultraconservative Senators. Serious differences with Secretary of State John F. Dulles led to his transfer (1957) to the Philippines. In 1959, Dulles's successor, Christian A. Herter, returned Bohlen to his primary field as special assistant for Soviet affairs. Bohlen later served (1962–68) as ambassador to France. He wrote The Transformation of American Foreign Policy (1969).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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