Governor George Leader appointed Major General Anthony J. Drexel Biddle as Adjutant General of Pennsylvania in April 1955.
Prior to his service as Adjutant General, General Biddle had a distinguished career as a diplomat and Army officer. As a diplomat, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Norway and Poland prior to World War II, and, during the war, he served as Ambassador or Minister to the governments in exile of France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Greece, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Luxembourg. He also served on General Eisenhower's staff as Chief, Allied Contact Section.
After the war, General Biddle served on General Eisenhower's staff at NATO (SHAPE) headquarters as Executive of National Military Representatives. He continued to serve in this position under General Matthew Ridgway. He was appointed as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, when General Ridgway served as Chief of Staff.
Returning to Pennsylvania, General Biddle served as Adjutant General from 1955 until 1961. As Adjutant General, he was instrumental in convincing then Governor Leader that the planned interstate highway in Lebanon County (now I-81) should be aligned in a way so as not to affect the capabilities of Fort Indiantown Gap. General Biddle served as national president of the Association of the United States Army, and the Biddle Award remains one of AUSA's highest honors. While Adjutant General, he authored several articles dealing with NATO, Soviet expansionism, the Cold War and the role of our allies.
In 1960, General Biddle was named one of the "Best Dressed Men in the United States" in an article published in Esquire Magazine.
General Biddle was
appointed as U.S. Ambassador to Spain in 1961.
He died in November 1961, and he is interred in Arlington National
Cemetery.
