Robert Walter Scott McLeod (1914-1961) was United States Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs from 1953 to 1957 and United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1957 to 1961.
R. W. Scott McLeod was born in Davenport, Iowa on June 17, 1914. He was educated at Grinnell College, graduating with a B.A. in 1937.
After college, McLeod took a job selling advertising for the Des Moines Register and Tribune. In 1938, he took a job as a reporter for the Cedar Rapids Gazette. He joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1942 and worked as an F.B.I. agent until 1949. During his time as an F.B.I. agent, he also served as an administrative assistant for Sen. Styles Bridges (R—NH).
When John Foster Dulles became United States Secretary of State in 1953, he was adamant that he did not want another Alger Hiss case in the United States Department of State. On the recommendation of Under Secretary of State for Management Donold Lourie, Dulles designated McLeod as the first-ever Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs, holding this office from March 3, 1953 until March 9, 1957. McLeod fired some 300 State Department employees on suspicion they were Communist sympathizers. McLeod was critical of the decision to appoint Charles E. Bohlen as United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union, echoing criticisms made by Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R—WI). However, McLeod denied charges that he had ever been personally close with McCarthy.
During the backlash against McCarthyism in the late 1950s, several Washington figures called for McLeod to be fired. President Dwight Eisenhower appointed McLeod United States Ambassador to Ireland. McLoeod held this post from July 17, 1957, until March 15, 1961, when President John F. Kennedy chose Edward G. Stockdale as his replacement.
McLeod died of a heart attack in Concord, New Hampshire on November 6, 1961, at the age of 47.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New Office |
Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs March 3, 1953 – March 9, 1957 |
Succeeded by Roderic L. O'Connor |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by William Howard Taft III |
United States Ambassador to Ireland July 17, 1957 – March 15, 1961 |
Succeeded by Edward G. Stockdale |