Raymond Henry Norweb (May 31, 1895 – October 4, 1983) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

diplomat with posts in various countries, including

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

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, The Dominican Republic,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. In 1943 he was sent to Portugal, with the personal rank of Ambassador, to close the negotiations for the agreement between the United States and Portugal that allowed the United States to obtain a military base in the Azores, the Lajes Field, in time for the Azores to play a substantial role in the Far Eastern campaign.

Biography

Raymond Henry Norweb was born in England and moved to Elyria, Ohio with his family in 1907. He graduated from Harvard in 1916. He was a career diplomat, starting in 1917, in Paris, as second secretary to Ambassador

William Graves Sharp William Graves Sharp (March 14, 1859 – November 17, 1922) was an American lawyer, manufacturer, three-term congressman, and diplomat. Biography Sharp was born in Mount Gilead, Ohio on March 14, 1859. He moved to Elyria, Ohio with his mot ...

. He was assigned to diplomatic posts in various countries, including France, Japan, the Netherlands, the Dutch East Indies, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Portugal and Bolivia. His last assignment was as ambassador to Cuba, 1945–1948. During World War II, in 1943 he was sent to Portugal, with the personal rank of Ambassador, to head the negotiations for establishing the United States air base in the Azores. Norweb had already negotiated rights to military bases in Peru and the Germans press tagged him a "famous American base stealer". The negotiations for the agreement between the United States and Portugal, conducted initially by George Kennan Chargé d’Affairs in Portugal, were long and complex. The final agreement was signed on November 28, 1944 between Norweb and Portuguese ruler Salazar. When Norweb arrived to Lisbon the US diplomatic representation was just a legation, under Norweb it became so important a place that it was made an Embassy. He retired to Cleveland in 1948 from his post as Ambassador to Cuba. Henry Norweb and his wife Emery were both noted experts on world and U.S. coins. R. Henry Norweb Sr. was a member of the American Numismatic Society, the Royal Numismatic Society, the Canadian Numismatic Association, and the New York Numismatic Club. He was a member of the American Numismatic Society, serving on that body's Council from 1960 until 1978. In the latter year Henry Norweb was appointed an honorary Life Councillor to the ANS. The Norwebs owned a specimen of the 1913 Liberty Head nickel, which they donated to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

's National Numismatic Collection in 1978 to commemorate their sixtieth wedding anniversary.The Norweb specimen is one of two 1913 Liberty Head nickels that have ended up in museums. He was a life member of the James Smithson Society, receiving the Society's gold medal, together with his wife, in 1978. Mr. Norweb served as president of the John Huntingdon Fund for Education, and was a trustee of

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is ...

and the Western Reserve Historical Society. Their son, R. Henry Norweb Jr. (1918-1995), carried on the family tradition and served as American Numismatic Society president from 1990 to 1994.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Norweb, Raymond Henry 1890s births 1983 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Cuba Ambassadors of the United States to Peru Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal Harvard University alumni People from Elyria, Ohio Ambassadors of the United States to the Dominican Republic American numismatists United States Foreign Service personnel

Biography

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