[4] His first foray into government service came in 1960 when President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Meyer as one of six members of the National Advisory Committee on Inter-American Affairs.
[5] Meyer continued working as a Sears executive until March 1969, when President Richard Nixon appointed him Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs.
[6] As Assistant Secretary, Meyer has been accused of intervening in the 1970 Chilean election; Meyer denied that this was the case, saying that the U.S. State Department "financed no candidates, no political parties before or after September 4 [1970].
"[7] Meyer left the State Department in 1973 and returned to Sears, where he worked as an executive until his retirement in 1980.
[2] Lake Forest College awarded Meyer an honorary degree in 1983.