Born Aug. 10, 1874, in West Branch, Iowa; died Oct. 20, 1964, in New York. US statesman; important industrialist. By profession a mining engineer.
Hoover was a shareholder and manager of enterprises in many countries, including tsarist Russia. From 1919 to 1923 he was head of the American Relief Administration, and from 1921 to 1928 he was secretary of commerce. A member of the Republican Party, Hoover was president of the United States from 1929 to 1933, his term of office coinciding with the world depression, which was particularly severe in the US. During the depression the Hoover government aided “big business” but did not act to ease the condition of the working people. Hoover’s foreign policy contributed to the restoration of Germany’s military-industrial potential and encouraged Japanese aggression in the Far East, with the aim of later turning Germany and Japan against the USSR. In 1938, Hoover visited fascist Germany and met with Hitler. He hailed the Munich Pact of 1938. After World War II, Hoover went abroad several times on special missions at the request of the government.
D. S. ASANOV