Dwight D Eisenhower

USA, 1890-1969

Dwight D Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, took office in 1953, while the Korean War languished in stalemate. A 1915 graduate of the US Military Academy, Eisenhower was a hero of World War II who commanded Allied forces in Western Europe. Eisenhower made the containment of communism one of his top priorities, and after observing the military stalemate during a visit to Korea in late 1952, he increased pressure on communist China to conclude an armistice, even considering the use of nuclear weapons if the Chinese refused substantive negotiations. The armistice, still in place today, was concluded on 27 July 1953.

Eisenhower considered both nuclear and conventional war unwinnable, but faced armistice opposition from his own political party and Rhee.