Helen Eugenie Moore Anderson
Who was Eugenie Anderson?
What was Eugenie Anderson’s early life like?
What sparked Eugenie Anderson’s political awakening?
What were some achievements of Eugenie Anderson as ambassador to Denmark?
What challenges did Eugenie Anderson face as envoy to Bulgaria?
Eugenie Anderson was a woman ahead of her time. In 1949 Pres. Harry Truman appointed her ambassador to Denmark, making her the first woman to achieve the title of ambassador. Before that she was politically active in the Democratic Party, campaigning against communism and isolationism. She would go on to run for the U.S. Senate and to serve as diplomatic envoy to Bulgaria during a time of heightened political tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet bloc. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a mid-century woman, she was not interested in identity politics, advising, “Forget you are a woman and get on with the work.”
Early life
- Birth date and place: May 26, 1909; Adair, Iowa, U.S.
- Death date and place: March 31, 1997, Red Wing, Minnesota
- Education: Attended Stephens, Simpson, and Carleton colleges
- Best known for: Being the first American woman named ambassador
- Family: Married John Anderson in 1930; they had two children, Johanna and Hans.
- Quotation: “Diplomacy is not confined to senior officials. It is the people’s business.”
Helen Eugenie Moore was born in Iowa in 1909 to a Methodist minister, the Rev. Ezekial A. Moore, and his wife, FloraBelle. She grew up in Iowa along with her four siblings. A talented musician, she played piano early in life and harbored dreams of becoming a concert pianist. She attended college in Missouri and Iowa before transferring to Carleton College in Minnesota, where she met John Anderson. The two married in 1930 and would remain married until her death some 67 years later.
Political awakening
While on a trip to Germany in 1937, Eugenie Anderson became aware of the totalitarianism sweeping the country, recalling years later that she watched as young boys goose-stepped, a sight that she said “sickened and frightened” her. Back in Minnesota, she joined the League of Women Voters and became a frequent speaker focusing on foreign affairs. In 1944 she helped form the Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Party in Minnesota, joining forces with other rising Minnesota politicians including Hubert Humphrey to advocate for progressive policies including on civil rights. She served as a delegate at the 1948 Democratic National Convention and worked on Humphrey’s Senate campaign and for Truman’s presidential campaign.
Life as ambassador
In 1949 Truman nominated Anderson to become ambassador to Denmark, making her the first American woman to accept that title. (Other women had served as ministers in countries where the United States did not have ambassadors.) She excelled at the art of diplomacy on both the large and small stage. One of her first acts as ambassador was to invite all the workers and their families at the embassy to a housewarming party. She learned Danish (knowing the language of the country where an ambassador was serving was not considered important at the time) and spoke it well enough to deliver speeches, charming many Danes. She also proved to be effective in representing U.S. interests, negotiating for the United States to have military air bases in Greenland. When she resigned her post in 1953, she became the first woman to be honored by the king of Denmark with the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog.
Anderson’s political career was far from over, however. She returned to Minnesota, where she remained active in Democratic politics, running for the DFL nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1958 but losing to Eugene McCarthy. In 1962 Pres. John F. Kennedy tapped Anderson for a particularly delicate role: serving as the U.S. envoy to Bulgaria and becoming the first woman to represent the United States behind the Iron Curtain. (Because of the nature of U.S. relations with Soviet-bloc countries, this role did not carry the title “ambassador.”)
Unlike the Danes, the Bulgarians were less welcoming of Anderson. She was, however, undeterred. Certain that their dingy official residence was bugged, she and her husband communicated by passing each other notes. Protesters smashed in the windows of her offices. And when the government seized pamphlets touting the benefits of capitalism, well, here’s what Anderson told the Associated Press:
That got my dander up. So I went out front and handed them out myself. You can bet your life the police didn’t take any from me.
Anderson retired from her post in 1964 but was appointed by Pres. Lyndon Johnson as a U.S. representative to the United Nations. She died in Minnesota in 1997; she was 87 years old.
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