WARREN CHRISTOPHER

'Warren Minor Christopher'

Born	Scranton, North Dakota

'Warren Minor Christopher' (born October 27, 1925) is an American diplomat and lawyer. During Bill Clinton's first term as President, Christopher served as the 63rd Secretary of State.
Born in Scranton, North Dakota, Christopher graduated from Hollywood High School and attended the University of Redlands where he joined the local fraternity Kappa Sigma Sigma. He finished his studies at the University of Southern California where he received his undergraduate degree 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.

Contents

Professional career

In popular culture

See also

Professional career

From 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.
Christopher 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 is credited with skillfully 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 Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, on January 16, 1981.
Christopher'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 the New York Board of Trustees; Director and Vice Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations; Director, 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.
He was sworn in as the 63rd Secretary of State on January 20, 1993, and served until 1997. His most important and prone to criticism decisions include avoiding American involvement in peace-keeping activities, notably in Rwanda in 1994, when he managed to enforce the interdiction of the use of the word "Genocide" during the period of most intense slaughter in the month of April. Prior to his appointment, Secretary Christopher served as Chairman of the law firm, O'Melveny & Myers.
In 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 after which the Supreme Court in the ''Bush v. Gore'' decision decided 5-4 for George W. Bush.
Christopher is a member of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) Board of Advisors.
Christopher is married to the former Marie Wyllis. He has 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.
"Former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher will receive an honorary doctorate from the California State University Board of Trustees at Cal State L.A.’s Undergraduate Commencement exercises Saturday, June 9. The ceremony begins at 8 a.m. in the University Athletic Stadium."
(see http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/ppa/newsrel/grad2007-hondoc.htm)

In popular culture

★ Was used as a character in the Jeffrey Archer novel ''Honour Among Thieves''.

★ In ''The Simpsons'' episode "Homer's Phobia," when discussing how to fix Bart's perceived gayness, Moe says, "Time was, you send a boy off to war. Shootin' a man fix him right up. But there's not even any wars no more, thank you very much Warren Christopher."

See also

★ Timeline of United States and China relations 1995-1997

★ Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) Board of Advisors