Bryce Harlow (August 11, 1916 – February 18, 1987) was a congressional staff member, army officer, and businessman.
He was born in 1916 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Harlow graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1938. Harlow then went to Washington, D.C., where he served on Capitol Hill as assistant librarian of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a congressional staff member. Harlow then served in World War II from 1941-1946 as an Army officer on the staff of General George C. Marshall. After the war, Harlow returned to Capitol Hill and was a member of the professional staff of the House Committee on Armed Services from 1947-1951. In 1952, he went back to Oklahoma and became the vice president of the Harlow Publishing Company. Harlow returned to Washington D.C. the following year, where he served under President Dwight D. Eisenhower in a variety of positions, including administrative assistant to the president, special assistant to the president, and deputy assistant to the president for congressional affairs.
In 1961, Harlow established Procter & Gamble's first office in Washington, D.C. Harlow became the company's main presence in DC until his retirement in 1978. At the time of his retirement, Harlow was called the "unofficial dean of Washington corporate representatives." During his time in DC, he also took leaves of absence to work with President Richard M. Nixon from 1968–1971 and again from 1973-1974. A senior advisor to Nixon, Harlow ultimately had the title of counselor to the president with cabinet rank.
The recipient of numerous accolades, Harlow was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1977. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian award.
In 1982, the Bryce Harlow Foundation was established. The Foundation has awarded the prestigious Bryce Harlow Award to an individual who has worked to advance business-government relations and whose integrity, dedication and professionalism echo the work and life of the late Bryce Harlow. Recipients of the award have included Vice President Dick Cheney, former Senate Majority Leaders Robert Dole, Howard Baker, and Trent Lott, and Senators Richard Lugar and Daniel Inouye. Additionally, the Foundation selects a handful of Washington DC area Graduate Students each year to receive a prestigious Scholarship Award - in 2006-07, 17 students each received a $6,000 scholarship.