Dwight David Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, serving from January 20, 1953, to January 20, 1961. Before entering politics, he was one of the most prominent military leaders of the twentieth century. During World War II, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Western Europe between 1944 and 1945 and later became the first Supreme Commander of NATO in 1951.

Dwight David Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas, as the third of seven sons in a poor family. His nickname was “Ike.” After graduating from high school in 1909, he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1911 and graduated in 1915 as a second lieutenant.

Following his graduation, Eisenhower served in Texas, Georgia, and San Antonio until 1918. During World War I, he commanded a tank training center and was promoted to captain. For his service, he received the Distinguished Service Medal.

Between 1922 and 1924, Eisenhower served in the Panama Canal Zone. In 1926, he graduated first in his class from the Command and General Staff School and later completed his education at the Army War College. After assignments in France and Washington, he was appointed aide-de-camp to General Douglas MacArthur, the Chief of Staff of the Army, in 1933. Two years later, he accompanied MacArthur to the Philippines, where he assisted in organizing the local armed forces.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Eisenhower returned to the United States. In June 1941, he was appointed chief of staff of the Third Army with the rank of colonel. After the United States entered the war, he was assigned to the War Plans Division. In March 1942, he was promoted to brigadier general, and in June 1942, despite many senior officers outranking him, he was appointed commander of U.S. forces in Europe.

In July 1942, Eisenhower was promoted to lieutenant general and tasked with commanding Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. The Allied landings began on November 8, 1942, and concluded successfully in May 1943. During this period, Eisenhower was promoted to full general in February 1943.

On December 24, 1943, Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. He planned and directed the Normandy landings, which took place on June 6, 1944, involving nearly one million troops and approximately four thousand ships. In March 1945, Allied forces crossed the Rhine River, and on May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered, bringing the war in Europe to an end.

After the war, Eisenhower was appointed Chief of Staff of the United States Army by President Harry S. Truman. In May 1948, he retired from active military service and became president of Columbia University’s board of trustees. In early 1951, President Truman appointed him Supreme Commander of NATO, a position that required him to move to Paris.

In June 1952, Eisenhower resigned from his NATO post to seek the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. He won the primary election and selected California Senator Richard Nixon as his running mate. On January 20, 1953, Eisenhower was inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States.

Shortly after taking office, he visited Korea and, taking advantage of the political climate following Joseph Stalin’s death, successfully initiated negotiations that led to the armistice ending the Korean War in July 1953.

In 1958, Eisenhower was re-elected president. He served until January 20, 1961, when he transferred power to the newly elected president, John F. Kennedy.

After leaving office, Eisenhower was restored to the rank of general by a decision of Congress. He retired to his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he spent much of his time writing his memoirs.

In 1949, he published his book Crusade in Europe. On April 1, 1916, Eisenhower married Mamie Geneva Doud. The couple had two sons; their first son died of scarlet fever at the age of three, and their second son, John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower, was born in 1922.

Dwight David Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969, at the age of seventy-nine in Washington, D.C. He is also remembered as the first President of the United States to visit Turkey.

Source: Biyografiler.com