Charles W. Thayer
Charles W. Thayer (February 9, 1910 – August 27, 1969) was an American diplomat and author who became an expert on Soviet–American relations and led the Voice of America.
He was born in Villanova, Pennsylvania, the son of a shipbuilding engineer and his wife. Thayer attended St. Paul’s School and the U.S. Military Academy, where he played polo and graduated in 1933. He served briefly as a cavalry lieutenant, then studied Russian in the Soviet Union and joined the American Embassy in Moscow. He worked as personal secretary to Ambassador William Bullitt and later as Embassy Secretary. An embassy colleague recalled his lively energy and quick wit, and he even taught Russian cavalrymen how to play polo.
Thayer became a Foreign Service officer in 1937. In 1942, he was appointed chargé d’affaires in Kabul, Afghanistan. He spent time with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in Belgrade and worked in London on the European Advisors Committee, which helped shape Germany’s surrender terms at the end of World War II. He then studied at the Naval War College for a year.
After the war, Thayer headed the OSS in Austria and in 1946 served on the Joint United States–Soviet Commission on Korea. He helped develop the secret Office of Policy Coordination, which later became part of the CIA, and which carried out covert operations against the Soviets. He returned to the State Department and briefly served as consul general in Munich before taking charge of the Department’s International Broadcasting Division (which became the Voice of America) in 1948–49. He clashed with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover over security clearances, and Hoover’s investigation into Thayer’s secretary revealed personal and professional allegations.
During the early 1950s, anonymous letters accused Thayer of communist sympathies and other improprieties. Senate investigators scrutinized him, partly because of his connections to his brother-in-law, Charles E. Bohlen. Thayer testified that he had never engaged in homosexual acts, and he was eventually cleared, but he remained under security surveillance. In 1953, under pressure from McCarthy-era investigations, Thayer resigned so that Bohlen could be confirmed as Ambassador to Russia. He later moved to Majorca to avoid further subpoenas and noted in his diary that McCarthyism had forced his departure.
Thayer married Cynthia Dunn Cochrane in 1950, the daughter of James Clement Dunn, and they had a son named James. He was fluent in many languages, including Russian, French, German, Spanish, Serbian, Italian, Bulgarian, Slovene, and Persian. In retirement he split his time between Villanova, Munich, Philadelphia, and Salzburg. He died in Salzburg during heart surgery in 1969 and was buried in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Thayer wrote several works based on his government service.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:59 (CET).