Richard W. Reuter

Richard Ward Reuter (1918–2005) was an American executive known for working at relief agencies. A pacifist and a conscientious objector,[1] he worked with the American Friends Service Committee during World War II.[2] He joined CARE in 1946 and served as its Executive Director from 1955 to 1962.[2] In that role he led a revitalizing and repurposing of the organization.[2][3][1] He also worked in conjunction with the start of the Peace Corps.[3] He was then appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 to serve as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Food for Peace, succeeding the founding director, George McGovern.[2] He stayed in that role through 1965 when, under President Lyndon B. Johnson, the program was subsumed under the United States Department of State.[2] There he became Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Food for Peace,[3] until he left in 1966, reportedly dismayed by the direction the food program was taking.[2] After leaving the government, he worked for Kraft Foods from 1967 to 1984, becoming a vice president and director of purchasing.[3]

Richard W. Reuter (left) during his swearing in ceremony as director of Food for Peace.