Francis Hallett Johnson (November 26, 1887 – August 11, 1968) was an American career diplomat and ambassador to Costa Rica.
[3] He was the son of Jeremiah Augustus Johnson (1836–1912), a diplomat and lawyer, and his second wife, Frances "Fannie" Valeda Matthews, who were married in 1886.
[8] He was also a member of the Williams College Good Government Club which visited President Theodore Roosevelt at the White House.
[13] Source:[13] In August 1912, President William Howard Taft appointed Johnson the third secretary at the London embassy.
[14][12] Johnson said, "When I received a telegram from the State Department assigning me as Third Secretary to the London Embassy, I could not resist accepting it.
[15] While in England, Johnson was presented to the King George V and Queen Mary, attended various royal affairs, and had an interesting conversation with Prince Albert.
[18][19] This was of concern because Johnson would then have been responsible for negotiating treaties with Great Britain, including the six power loan to China and the Panama Canal free tolls.
This state of things nearly did come to pass, for Mr. Laughlin received a telegram from Knox assuming that Cressen had taken leave, telling him that unless he was confirmed, which seemed very doubtful, he should turn the Embassy over to me on the 4th of March.
[22] This was on the eve of World War I and Turks was contemplating siding with Germany—Johnson noted the number of German soldiers in Turkish uniforms was increasing.
[25] In Chile, Johnson implemented what became his diplomacy strategy: "I have always found that one can do best if it is possible to make informal friends with the highest local officials.
[25] In February 1918—after six years abroad—Johnson was transferred to Washington D.C.[26] He became the acting chief of the division of Latin American Affairs for the Department of State.
[33] the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs also disliked Moore and bypassed the ambassador to negotiate the renewal of the United States commerce agreement and tariffs with Johnson.
[33] Johnson also benefited from the ambassador's frequent trips to Paris or the United States as he received invitations to entertainments and dinners at the Royal Palace.
I received a commendation from Washington for a long summary of all the treaties France had been a party to since the end of World War I.
One of my principal reports went into great detail to show that Norwegian socialism was a comparatively healthy national brand and had no relationship or communication with Communist Russia.
[45] This time, the ambassador was Claude Bowers, a Jeffersonian Democrat who supported the Republic even though it was corrupt, and had no use for General Francisco Franco.
[46] Author Edna Ferber reported on the situation in Spain from personal experience, writing that 100 leftist soldiers—formerly civilian farmers, peasants, and factory workers—entered the Continental Palace hotel with sub-machine guns and rifles.
[52] In December 1937, Johnson was recalled from a leave of absence at his home on Bar Harbor, Maine, and was sent to Stockholm, Sweden.
As his stay in Stockholm continued, goods were not crossing into Sweden, and items such as coffee, sugar, soap, and washing materials were rationed.
[58] Later, Johnson wrote the following which was published in The Saturday Evening Post on June 19, 1943:[58]It seems that the eighty-five-year-old monarch, who still played tennis three times a week, got a telephone call from Hitler.
"[58]On June 23, 1943, the United States War Office sent Johnson a letter asking for a release to reprint and distribute his piece to the foreign press in Europe and Asia.
[60][61] A producer of bananas, coffee, and sugar, Costa Rica was considered strategic because of its location near the Panama Canal.
[62] As was his practice, he traveled across Costa Rica to get to know the country; he also became friends with president Don Teodoro Picado Michalski and often went horseback riding with him.
[62] During the riots of the Vanguardia Popular, Michalski asked Johnson to ride with him in an open car "to reassure the populace of the friendship between Costa Rica and the United States.
[62] When he realized that most Costa Ricans knew little about the United States and therefore, did not always trust his motives, Johnson met with DeWitt Wallace, the publisher of Reader's Digest.
[63] The newspaper, La Prensa Libre reported that deputy Alvaro Cubillo said, "I was greatly pleased by the democratic gesture of Ambassador Johnson.
[64] He also met monthly with an advisory committee of American businessmen, as well as with heads of United States government agencies, to improve communication and cooperation.
[4] However, he worked on a project for the United States Foreign Operations Administration, preparing a paper on the possibility of an economic union for Central American countries.
[4][69] On August 19, 1941, Johnson was one of sixteen prominent Americans who signed a statement urging the support of the 8-point plan proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, prime minister of Great Britain.