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Warren (Chris) Minor Christopher (born October 27, 1925) is an American diplomat, lawyer, and public servant. During Bill Clinton's first term as President, Christopher served as the 63rd Secretary of State. He also served as Deputy Attorney General in the Lyndon Johnson administration, and as Deputy Secretary of State in the Jimmy Carter administration.
Early life, educationBorn in Scranton, North Dakota, Christopher graduated from Hollywood High School, and attended the University of Redlands, before transferring to the University of Southern California. He is a member of the college fraternity Kappa Sigma Sigma. He graduated from the University of Southern California magna cum laude in February 1945. From July 1943 to September 1946, he served in the United States Naval Reserve, with active duty as an ensign in the Pacific Theater. He attended Stanford Law School from 1946–1949, where he was the founder and President of the Stanford Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Legal career, Deputy Attorney General for JohnsonFrom October 1949 to September 1950, Christopher served as law clerk to Justice William O. Douglas of the United States Supreme Court. He practiced law with the firm of O’Melveny & Myers from October 1950 to June 1967, becoming a partner in 1958. Christopher served as Deputy Attorney General of the United States from June 1967 until January 20, 1969, after which he rejoined O’Melveny & Myers. Deputy Secretary of State for CarterChristopher was sworn in on February 26, 1977, as the Deputy Secretary of State and served in that position until January 20, 1981. As Deputy Secretary, he was involved in negotiating the release of 52 American hostages in Iran. He also spearheaded the Sino-American relations with the People's Republic of China, helped to win ratification of the Panama Canal treaties, and headed the first interagency group on human rights. President Jimmy Carter awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, on January 16, 1981. Professional work and achievementsChristopher's professional activities have included service as President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, 1974–1975; Chairman of the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary of the American Bar Association, 1975–1976; member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California 1975–1976; and Special Counsel to California Governor Edmund G. Brown in 1959. Christopher's civic activities have included the following: member and President of the Board of Trustees of Stanford University; Chairman, Carnegie Corporation of New York Board of Trustees; Director and Vice Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations; Director, Trilateral Commission, Bilderberg Group, Los Angeles World Affairs Council; Vice Chairman of the\Governor's Commission on the Watts riots in 1965-1966; President, Coordinating Council for Higher Education in the State of California; Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and Co-Chairman, Pacific Council on International Policy. In 1991, Christopher served as Chairman of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, which came to be known as the Christopher Commission. The Commission proposed significant reforms of the Los Angeles Police Department in the aftermath of the Rodney King incident (see 1992 Los Angeles riots), which were approved overwhelmingly by a public referendum. In 1992, Christopher headed the vice presidential search for Governor Bill Clinton and served as the Director of the Presidential Transition. Secretary of State for ClintonHe was sworn in as the 63rd Secretary of State on January 20, 1993, and served until 1997. Warren Christopher negotiated an end to the bloody war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, through the Dayton Peace Agreement . He negotiated a peaceful resolution to the military takeover in Haiti, and restored the democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide who, according to some, was later removed as a result of a US backed coup. However one of the sour points in the illustrious career of Warren Christoper was his handling of the Rwandan Genocide which led to the killing of half a million to a million Tutsis and their moderate Hutu Sympathizers by Hutu militants and death squads [Powell, 2001] 1997–presentIn addition to several honorary degrees, Christopher has received the following awards: the Jefferson Award from the American Institute for Public Service for the Greatest Public Service Performed by an Elected or Appointed Official; the UCLA Medal; the Harold Weill Medal from New York University; the James A. Garfield Baller Award; the Thomas Jefferson Award in Law from the University of Virginia Law School; and the Louis Stein Award from Fordham Law School. Christopher's picture hangs in the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, near pictures of John Kerry, Robert McNamara, Elmo Zumwalt, and other American dignitaries, in commemoration of his visit to Vietnam, after normalization of relations between the two countries. (see[1]) At the 1999 unveiling of his portrait at the Department of State, attended by President Clinton, Christopher remarked: "To anyone who has served in Washington, there is something oddly familiar about [having your portrait painted]. First, you're painted into a corner, then you're hung out to dry and, finally, you're framed." He was sent to supervise the contested Florida recount for Al Gore in the U.S. presidential election, 2000. Christopher is a member of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) Board of Advisors. He is an Advisory Board member for the Partnership for a Secure America, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy. Christopher is married to the former Marie Wyllis. They have four children: Lynn, Scott, Thomas, and Kristen. He has written In the Stream of History: Shaping Foreign Policy for a New Era (1998), and Chances of a Lifetime (2001). Warren Christopher is a recipient of the state of North Dakota's Roughrider Award. In popular culture
See also
NotesExternal linksCategories: United States Secretaries of State | Clinton Administration cabinet members | United States Navy officers | University of Southern California alumni | Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients | American diplomats | American lawyers | People from North Dakota | 1925 births | Stanford Law School alumni CommentsNo comments have been added. |
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