Holmes, Julius C. (Julius Cecil), 1899-1968

Holmes, Julius Cecil (1899-1968), soldier and diplomat, was born in Pleasanton, Kansas. He combined study at the University of Kansas from 1917 to 1922 with service as an officer in the Kansas National Guard and the army reserve. In 1923 he went into the insurance business but abandoned that activity for the foreign service in April 1925. He served in various posts in Eastern Europe and on Apr. 26, 1932, married Henrietta Allen. They had three child. In 1934 Holmes was appointed assistant chief of the Division of Protocol and International Conferences, and in 1935 he served as secretary general of the inter-American conference convened to deal with the Chaco War (between Paraguay and Bolivia). He resigned from the State Department in October 1937 to accept a position with the New York World's Fair Corporation (1937-1940), and from 1941 to 1942 he headed the Latin American subsidiary of General Mills. Holmes joined Dwight D. Eisenhower's staff in 1942 and was involved in planning the invasion of North Africa. He accompanied General Mark W. Clark on his secret mission to meet with French officials to arrange for the entry of Allied troops into neutral French North Africa. Holmes and Robert Murphy later drew up the agreement with Admiral François Darlan that ended Franco-Allied hostilities. Holmes is generally identified as the father of the Allied Military Government of the Occupied Territories. He was later responsible for advising liberated governments on restoring civilian life and devised the code of military laws and ordinances for the occupation of Germany. He was selected as assistant secretary of state for administration and personnel in December 1944. From 1955 to 1956, Holmes was Diplomatic Agent, Minister to Morocco, and form 1956 to 1959, he served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for NATO Affairs. From 1959 to 1961, he was the Consul General in Hong Kong, and from 1961 to 1965 he served as Ambassador to Iran.