David Ormsby Gore, Lord Harlech, 1961–65

Abstract

David Ormsby Gore, who became Lord Harlech after the death of his father in February 1964, served as Ambassador to Washington during the Conservative governments of Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home and the Labour administration of Harold Wilson. His embassy began with anxieties about Berlin and ended on the eve of the American decision to send combat troops to Vietnam. These were significant years for the Anglo-American relationship. Facing financial problems, the British re-assessed their role in the world and sought membership of the European Economic Community. Although he was Ambassador to the Johnson administration in its first 15 months, it was during the Kennedy administration of 1961–63 that Ormsby Gore made his most significant contribution, building on a unique intimacy with the President. Three issues dominated his embassy: the Cuban missile crisis; the Skybolt problem; and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.