Willkie, Wendell

(1892-1944) American politician, lawyer and business executive. In 1940 he ran for president of the United States and although he lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt, he polled over 22 million votes. Willkie favored removing controls and changing the tax system to encourage business expansion which was in opposition to President Roosevelt's domestic programs. He supported the president's foreign policy though, and in 1942 he toured England, the Middle East, the Soviet Union and China as a personal emissary of the president. He then wrote One World (1943), the story of his trip, which was a powerful argument against isolationism and an appeal for postwar cooperation among nations. These views caused the Republican party to withdraw support of his renomination in 1944. Shortly thereafter his health began to fail and he died several months later.

See also One World in this glossary.