Eisenhower Ten

The Eisenhower Ten or E-10 were a group of U.S. citizens who were secretly tasked by President Eisenhower in 1958 to serve as administrators in the event of a national emergency. There were actually nine positions, but one administrator-designate resigned and was replaced. Eisenhower discussed the issues with each appointee and then personally sent letters of invitation on March 6, 1958. The selection and appointment of these administrator-designates was classified Top Secret.^[1][2]

In an emergency, each administrator was to take charge of a specifically activated agency to maintain the continuity of government. These agencies would be subordinate to the Director of the Office of Emergency Resources. Gordon Gray, the director of the Office of Defense Mobilization, coordinated meetings.

In May 1961, Fred Dutton, special assistant to President Kennedy, discovered copies of the letters and informed National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy.

Agency	Administrator-designate
Emergency Censorship Agency	Theodore F. Koop Vice President of CBS
Emergency Communications Agency	Frank Stanton President of CBS
Emergency Energy and Minerals Agency	John Ed. Warren Senior Vice President of First National City Bank
Emergency Food Agency	Ezra Taft Benson Secretary of Agriculture
Emergency Housing Agency	Askel Nielsen President of Title Guaranty Company
Emergency Manpower Agency	James P. Mitchell Secretary of Labor
Emergency Production Agency	Harold Boeschenstein President of Owens-Corning
Emergency Stabilization Agency	William McChesney Martin, Jr. Chairman of the Federal Reserve
Emergency Transport Agency	Frank Pace Executive Vice President, General Dynamics resigned January 8, 1959
	Dr. George Pierce Baker Harvard Business School appointed January 8, 1959

References

1. "This Letter Will Constitute Your Authority: the Eisenhower Ten". CONELRAD.com.
2. "Continuity Of Government, Then And Now". Secrecy News. Federation of American Scientists. December 17, 2003.