Frederick B. Dent

Frederick Dent
5th United States Trade Representative
In office March 26, 1975 – January 20, 1977
President	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	William Eberle
Succeeded by	Robert Strauss
21st United States Secretary of Commerce
In office February 2, 1973 – March 26, 1975
President	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Pete Peterson
Succeeded by	Rogers Morton
Personal details
Born	Frederick Baily Dent August 17, 1922 Cape May, New Jersey, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Millie Carrington Harrison
Children	Rick Mildred Diana Polly Mark
Alma mater	Yale University
Religion	Episcopalianism
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1943–1946
Rank	Lieutenant Junior Grade
Battles/wars	World War II

Frederick Baily Dent (born August 17, 1922) is a former American politician who served as the United States Secretary of Commerce from February 2, 1973, to March 26, 1975, during the administrations of U.S. Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, Jr.^[1] His assistant secretary, Hastings Wyman, a native of Aiken, South Carolina, became a political consultant and in 1978 the publisher of The Southern Political Report.^[2]

Dent served as the United States Trade Representative from March 26, 1975 until January 20, 1977, during the remainder of President Ford's administration.

Early life and career

Dent was born on August 17, 1922 in Cape May, New Jersey, to Edith (née Baily), and Magruder Dent. He was raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He attended Yale University to study law and served in the United States Navy from 1943 until 1946.

In the Navy, Dent was the Lieutenant Junior Grade, where he captained the USS PC 1547 and the USS PCEC 873. From 1958 until 1972 and 1977 until 1988, Dent was the president of Mayfair Mills in Arcadia, South Carolina.

He was appointed by Secretary of Commerce by President Richard Nixon, for serving from February 2, 1973 to March 26, 1975, and was the President Gerald Ford's Trade Representative, from March 26, 1975 to January 20, 1977.

He was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 1994.

Personal life

On March 11, 1944, Dent married Mildred "Millie" Carrington Harrison. They had five children, Frederick Baily "Rick", Jr., Mildred Dent Hutchinson, Diana Dent Gwynn, Pauline Harrison "Polly" Dent and Magruder Harrison "Mark" Dent. He resides in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

References

1. "Frederick Baily Dent, 1922 - twenty-first Secretary of Commerce.". NOAA Photo Library. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
2. "Hastings Wyman" (PDF). library.sc.edu. Retrieved May 4, 2014.