Fish was the finance director of the
Democratic National Committee and
Franklin Roosevelt's Florida Campaign Manager during the
1932 presidential election and a reputed friend of Senator
Claude Pepper.
Ambassador to Egypt Upon Roosevelt's victory, Fish received the
ambassadorship to Egypt, being appointed on September 6, 1933, and presenting his credentials December 2, 1933; because his appointment came while the
Senate was in recess, he was subsequently confirmed on January 15, 1934, and recommissioned. As part of Fish's assignment in Egypt he would try to improve relations between Egypt, the United Kingdom and United States. During this time Egypt was a protectorate of the United Kingdom. At an April 12, 1937 international conference in
Montreux, Switzerland Fish said Egypt had the right to govern and ability to do so which surprised foreign diplomats. This led to a new treaty being signed on May 8 which gave Egypt the ability to oversee its own laws and taxes without the British intervening. While serving in Egypt, Bert was seen positively because of his comment at the 1937 conference. Apart from his regular duties, he also enjoyed seeing the Egyptian pyramids and looking at "other antiquities" in his government issued
Packard Super 8 car.
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Though still residing in
Cairo, Fish was appointed the first
U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia on August 7, 1939, presenting his credentials on February 4, 1940. Roosevelt's Administration wanted to have diplomatic relations begun with Saudi Arabia before the Japanese and/or German governments could do so because of their oil interests; with both the Japanese and Germans failing to do so. In the next few months he would still have his headquarters in Cairo but did frequently go to
Jeddah. In mid-1940 he contacted Florida US Senator Claude Pepper who was on the US House Committee of Foreign Relations about being reassigned to
Turkey.
Service in Portugal Even before terminating these assignments, Fish was appointed as
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal on February 11, 1941, and presented credentials on March 26, 1941. At the time of his appointment Portugal was one of the only few countries in Europe that was neutral in World War II and in 1941 relations between the United States and Portugal were cooling down. When the United States entered the war, Secreatary of State
Cordell Hull would push Fish to concentrate on getting higher imports of
tungsten from Portugal, US landing rights in the Azores and returning Allied pilots and planes who were stuck in Portugal. Fish was not successful in getting more tungsten imports but was able to get some of the pilots who were interned out of Portugal. In June 1943 he asked Senator Pepper to give his posting the status of embassy and the position of ambassador but Roosevelt did not act on this due to Portugal's neutrality. While at his new post he became ill, and later died of a heart attack on July 21, 1943 He received a Portuguese state funeral and was buried temporarily in Lisbon. His body was repatriated later that year to the United States buried at the Oakdale Cemetery in
DeLand, Florida. == Legacy ==