John Wesley Hanes III

Who is John Wesley Hanes III?

John Wesley Hanes III was a U.S. civil servant.

Hanes was born in New York City and graduated from Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts in 1943. His father was a New York financier. Hanes served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946 and then worked in the Office of High Commissioner for Germany for 3 years. He received a B.A. from Yale University in 1950.

Hanes began his government career with the State Department in 1950. While serving in the State Department Hanes was involved in a variety of public relations activities including media interviews and speeches. He also provided congressional testimony on State Department issues, addressed professional conferences, did a small amount of writing, and served on committees and commissions within and on behalf of the State Department. After spending approximately one and one-half years as an economic analyst he transferred to the Central Intelligence Agency. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles appointed him one of his special assistants in 1953. He handled special projects and assignments of a diverse nature for the Secretary, especially during the period 1953-1957 when serving as his Special Assistant. In the mid-1950s Hanes worked with Dulles in developing plans for the disposition of Dulles’ personal papers. As part of those activities Hanes was involved in drafting changes to Executive Order 10501 dealing with the safe-guarding of official information. After Dulles’ death Hanes actively participated in administrative duties related to the papers. He served as a member of the committee which Dulles designated for the purpose of exercising control over his papers after his death.