Earl T. Smith

Earl Edward Tailer Smith (July 8, 1903–February 15, 1991) was a United States diplomat, ambassador to Cuba (1957–1959), mayor of Palm Beach (1971–1977), and husband of model Florence Pritchett Smith (1920–1965).

Smith was born in Rhode Island and studied at Yale University (1926–28) before becoming an investment broker and a member of the . He also became a partner in the investment brokers, Paige, Smith, and Remick (1930–1939).

In 1941 U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Smith as special assistant in the Office of Production Management (later War Production Board). He left this post to serve in the United States Army during the Second World War. He served overseas and by the end of the war reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.

As a successful businessman, he became the finance chairman of the Florida Republican Committee.

In June 1957, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Smith ambassador to Cuba, replacing Arthur Gardner. Smith was a businessman who had never held a diplomatic position and who did not speak Spanish. On arrival, Smith was urged by his staff to leave Havana in order to get a better feel of the country, which was in a state of some turmoil. On a visit to Santiago de Cuba, Smith witnessed first-hand the funeral and burial of Frank Pais, one of the leaders of the M-26-7 movement. After his death, well over 200,000 people attended the event, and that convinced Smith that something had to be done about the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Smith was also critical of what he perceived as Washington's ambivalent attitude towards the growing 26th of July movement led by Fidel Castro, feeling that the CIA were underestimating the strength of the Communist Party of Cuba.

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