Office of the Historian

124.90H/68½

The Under Secretary of State (Welles) to President Roosevelt 5

Washington, March 25, 1942.

My Dear Mr. President: A few days ago you expressed to me the desire that we appoint immediately a Minister to Afghanistan.

I should like to recommend to you for your consideration the desirability of your appointment of Cornelius Van H. Engert as Minister to that country. You will remember that Mr. Engert was Minister Resident in Abyssinia up to the time of the Italian conquest. He has served subsequently as Chargé d’Affaires in Tehran and more recently as Consul General in Beirut. In all these assignments I feel that he has served most creditably.

I may add that Mr. Engert is intimately familiar with Afghanistan since he spent several months there some years ago. I know of no one in the Foreign Service as well qualified to serve in Kabul at this time.

Mr. Engert is, of course, a Foreign Service Officer of Class I.

Believe me [etc.]

Sumner Welles
  1. Marginal note: “OK FDR”.↩