John P. Lewis

Who was John P. Lewis?

John Prior Lewis was an American academic and presidential advisor who was a strong advocate of aid to help build developing countries as a matter of foreign policy.

Lewis was born on March 18, 1921, in Albany, New York. He was raised in Hudson Falls, New York and earned his undergraduate degree from Union College. Lewis later attended Harvard University, from which he received a Master of Public Administration and was awarded a Ph.D. in political economy and government. During World War II he served in the United States Navy.

Lewis was a staff member to the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 1950 to 1953. While he was a professor at Indiana University, he was named to serve on the three-man Council in December 1962 by President John F. Kennedy. President Lyndon B. Johnson named him in 1964 to head the United States Agency for International Development's efforts in India. From Indiana University he moved to Princeton University, where from 1969 to 1974 was the dean of Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and, in early 80s, supported the appointment of Angus Deaton. President Jimmy Carter named him to chair the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's development assistance committee.