Sumner Welles

Sumner Welles (1892-1961), American diplomat and writer, born in New York City, and educated at Harvard University. He entered the diplomatic service of the U.S. government in 1915. After periods of duty in various countries of South America and the Caribbean region, he became the principal authority in the State Department on Latin American affairs. Welles was assistant secretary of state from 1933 to 1937 and undersecretary of state from 1937 until his resignation in 1942. The diplomat was also one of the chief architects of the so-called Good Neighbor policy proclaimed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.