Dwight David Eisenhower

A US Army marshal, a hero of World War II, and the 34th president. Born on October 14th on a farm in Texas, he was the third of seven children. His brother Milton later became president of Johns Hopkins University. He grew up in Abilene, Kansas, with religious parents, and graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1915. After graduating from the Army War College, he was mainly involved in planning supply logistics at the War Department, and in 1932 he became an aide to General MacArthur, Chief of Staff of the Army. In 1935, MacArthur became a military advisor to the Philippines, and he trained the local army until 1939. During World War II, he was a decorated commander of the North African Army, and was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers in Europe at the end of 1943. He led the mixed forces well and led the Normandy landings in June 1944, liberating France and bringing about the unconditional surrender of Germany. He was promoted to Field Marshal in December 1944 and became Chief of Staff of the Army in November 1945, but retired in 1948 and became President of Columbia University. He became Commander in Chief of the North Atlantic Command in 1950, but resigned after being recommended by the Internationalist wing of the Republican Party for the 1952 presidential election, defeating conservative Taft as the Republican candidate, and in the general election he defeated former Illinois Governor Stevenson by a large margin.

His natural personality, reflected in his baby-like smile, made him one of the most popular postwar presidents. He left domestic affairs to Assistant Secretary of State Adams and foreign affairs to Secretary of State Dulles, and placed a premium on Vice President Nixon, running a cautious administration with the aloof pose of an "amateur president." His first term was supported by a booming economy, and in foreign affairs he maintained a low-key stance, not interfering with the Hungarian riots after Stalin's death, refusing to aid the French army struggling in the Indochina War, and opposing Britain and France's deployment of troops in the Suez War. After collapsing from heart disease, he was re-elected by a large margin in 1956, but he was plagued by troubles such as economic stagnation, an explosion of racial issues, being overtaken by the Soviet Union at the time in launching an artificial satellite, the miscarriage of the Paris summit due to the U-2 incident, and the cancellation of his visit to Japan in 1960 due to the Security Treaty protests. In January 1961, after a farewell speech warning of the dangers of the "military-industrial complex," he handed over to Kennedy. He died on March 28, 1969.

[Sodei Rinjiro]

"Eisenhower Memoirs, translated by Akira Naka and Kenichi Sasaki, 2 volumes (1965, 1968, Misuzu Shobo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

アメリカ陸軍元帥で第二次世界大戦の英雄、第34代大統領。10月14日テキサスの農家に7人兄弟の三男として生まれる。弟ミルトンはのちジョンズ・ホプキンズ大学学長。信仰深い両親のもとカンザス州アビリーンで育ち、1915年陸軍士官学校（ウェストポイント）を卒業。陸軍大学を経て、おもに陸軍省で補給兵站(へいたん)の立案に従事し、1932年陸軍参謀総長マッカーサーの副官となる。1935年からフィリピン軍事顧問となったマッカーサーのもとで、1939年まで現地軍の育成にあたった。第二次世界大戦で北アフリカ方面軍司令官として勲功をたて、1943年暮れヨーロッパ連合国軍総司令官に任命される。混成軍をよくまとめ1944年6月ノルマンディー上陸作戦を指揮、フランスを解放しドイツの無条件降伏をもたらした。1944年12月元帥に昇進、1945年11月陸軍参謀総長となったが、1948年に退役、コロンビア大学学長に就任。1950年北大西洋軍最高司令官となったが、1952年の大統領選挙に共和党国際派から推されたため辞任、保守派のタフトを破って共和党候補となり、本選挙では前イリノイ州知事スティーブンソンを大差で破った。

　赤ん坊のような笑顔に示される持ち前の人柄で、戦後もっとも人気のある大統領の一人といわれる。内政をアダムス補佐官、外交をダレス国務長官に多く任せ、ニクソン副大統領を重用して「素人(しろうと)大統領」の超然としたポーズで慎重な施政を行った。第1期は経済の好況に支えられ、外交面ではスターリン死後のハンガリー暴動に手出しせず、インドシナ戦争で苦戦するフランス軍への援助を拒否、スエズ戦争では英仏の出兵に反対するなど、低姿勢を取り続けた。心臓病で倒れたのち1956年に大差で再選されたが経済の停滞、人種問題の爆発、さらに当時のソ連に人工衛星打上げで先を越され、U2型機事件によるパリ首脳会談の流産、1960年安保闘争による日本訪問中止などのトラブルにみまわれた。1961年1月「軍産複合体」の危険を警告する退任演説のあとケネディに後を譲った。1969年3月28日死去。

［袖井林二郎］

『仲晃・佐々木謙一訳『アイゼンハワー回顧録』2巻（1965、1968・みすず書房）』

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