Warren Christopher
Encyclopedia
Warren Minor Christopher (October 27, 1925 – March 18, 2011) was an American
lawyer
, diplomat
and politician. 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. At the time of his death, he was a Senior Partner at O'Melveny & Myers in the firm's Century City, California, office. He also served as a professor in the College Honors Program at the University of California at Los Angeles.
, the son of Ernest Christopher, a bank manager, and his wife Catherine, Christopher graduated from Hollywood High School
, and attended the University of Redlands
, before transferring to the University of Southern California
. He was a member of the college fraternity Kappa Sigma Sigma
. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California
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
.
to become a law clerk
for a United States Supreme Court Justice
when he served as law clerk to Justice William O. Douglas
from October 1949 to September 1950. He practiced law with the firm of O'Melveny & Myers from October 1950 to June 1967, becoming a partner in 1958 and serving as special counsel to Governor Pat Brown
. Christopher served as United States Deputy Attorney General
from June 1967 until January 20, 1969, after which he rejoined O'Melveny & Myers.
, and securing 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.
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
(The McCone Commission) in 1965-1966; President, Coordinating Council for Higher Education in the State of California; Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
; and Chairman Emeritus, 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 at the ballot box. In 1992, Christopher headed the vice presidential search for Governor Bill Clinton and served as the Director of the Presidential Transition.
, the Dayton Agreement
, normalization of United States–Vietnam relations
, the Rwandan Genocide
, Operation Uphold Democracy
in Haiti
, and the Khobar Towers bombing
.
as he spoke at Kuwait University
. Secretary Christopher, among others, urged President Clinton to make a retaliatory strike against Iraq. On June 26, 1993, the United States launched 23 Tomahawk missiles against the Baghdad intelligence headquarters.
drew up the Oslo Accords
, which created the Palestinian Authority in exchange for Palestinian recognition of Israel's right to exist. Secretary Christopher accepted Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres
's offer to host the signing ceremony. The ceremony took place in Washington D.C. on 13 September 1993, with Yasser Arafat
signing for the Palestine Liberation Organization
and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
signing for the State of Israel. It was witnessed by Secretary Christopher for the United States and Andrei Kozyrev for Russia, in the presence of President Clinton. Christopher was one of main visionaries
and proponent of an integrated Middle East
.
with minimal backlash from Russia, Secretary Christopher promoted the Partnership for Peace
program as a stepping-stone into full NATO membership. Against protests from the Pentagon, Christopher avidly supported NATO expansion as a means of protecting Eastern Europe against a possible Russian resurgence. President Clinton supported the program and Partnership for Peace was launched January 10, 1994. Despite much debate, the Czech Republic
, Hungary
, and Poland
signed on as Partnership members that year and became full NATO members in 1999.
. Over the course of approximately 100 days, from the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana
on 6 April up until mid July, between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Tutsis were killed by Hutu militia.
, then-candidate Clinton blasted President George H. W. Bush for giving China
low-tariff trading privileges despite its human rights abuses. Secretary Christopher agreed with this view and believed that the US should use economic pressure to force China to improve its human rights record. However, on May 26, 1994, President Clinton renewed China's low-tariff trading privileges, effectively delinking the human rights issue from China's trade relations with the US. U.S.-Sino relations improved as a result, with President Jiang Zemin
visiting the U.S. in November 1997 and President Clinton visiting China in June 1998.
's popularly elected President Jean-Bertrande Aristide to power after a coup had unseated him. The US military effort, known as Operation Uphold Democracy
, was largely the product of Colin Powell
's diplomatic efforts, with little role played by Christopher.
, but to no avail.
, in 1994 Secretary Christopher began actively promoting the normalization of United States–Vietnam relations
. At the time, the U.S. had not had an embassy in Vietnam since 1975. The main obstacle to normalization came from veterans and POW/MIA support groups who were convinced that Hanoi was not fully cooperating in the search for the remains of US soldiers in Vietnam. However, after Secretary Christopher convinced President Clinton that the Vietnamese government was fully cooperating in these searches, the President announced the formal normalization of diplomatic relations with Vietnam on July 11, 1995.
, Secretary Christopher—working with Assistant Secretary Richard Holbrooke
--negotiated peace talks between President of Serbia
Slobodan Milošević
, President of Croatia
Franjo Tuđman, and President of Bosnia Alija Izetbegović
. The result was the November 1995 Dayton Agreement
, which put an end to the Bosnian War
.
, Secretary Christopher traveled to Saudi Arabia to witness the site of the attack. In Dhahran (the home of the Khobar Towers), Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal allegedly promised Christopher that the FBI would have the full cooperation of the Saudi government. Eventually, however, the Saudi government and the FBI repeatedly conflicted during the course of the investigation.
; 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.
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. In the 2008 film Recount
, which covers the days following the controversial election, Christopher was portrayed by British actor John Hurt
.
He was a member of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
(WINEP) Board of Advisors.
He was 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.
Former Secretaries of State James A. Baker, III and Christopher served as Co-Chairs of the Miller Center's National War Powers Commission. Baker and Christopher testified on March 5 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the War Powers Consultation Act of 2009 – the statute that the Commission unanimously recommended in its July 2008 report. The statute is designed to replace the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and provide for more meaningful consultation between the president and Congress on matters of war.
From 2003 until his death, Christopher taught a small seminar course on international affairs as part of the Honors Program at UCLA.
Roughrider Award
.
He was a Senior Partner at O'Melveny & Myers.
. The World Justice Project
works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law
for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.
President Obama described Christopher as a "resolute pursuer of peace" for his work in the Middle East and the Balkans. Hillary Clinton described Christopher as a "diplomat's diplomat – talented, dedicated and exceptionally wise". He was described as "the best public servant I ever knew" by President Jimmy Carter
in his memoirs. On March 19, 2011, Carter stated that "[America] has lost a great and revered leader".
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and politician. During Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's first term as President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, Christopher served as the 63rd Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
. He also served as Deputy Attorney General
United States Deputy Attorney General
United States Deputy Attorney General is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. In the United States federal government, the Deputy Attorney General oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department of Justice, and may act as Attorney General during the...
in the Lyndon Johnson administration, and as Deputy Secretary of State in the Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
administration. At the time of his death, he was a Senior Partner at O'Melveny & Myers in the firm's Century City, California, office. He also served as a professor in the College Honors Program at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Early life, education
Born in Scranton, North DakotaScranton, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 304 people, 125 households, and 86 families residing in the city. The population density was 343.6 people per square mile . There were 139 housing units at an average density of 157.1 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 99.01% White, 0.33% Native...
, the son of Ernest Christopher, a bank manager, and his wife Catherine, Christopher graduated from Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
, and attended the University of Redlands
University of Redlands
The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts and sciences university located in Redlands, California. The university's campus sits on near downtown Redlands. The university was founded in 1907 and was associated with the American Baptist Church. The land for the university was donated by...
, before transferring to the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. He was a member of the college fraternity Kappa Sigma Sigma
Kappa Sigma Sigma
ΚΣΣ is a local fraternity which was founded in 1916 at the University of Redlands. The fraternity headquarters is known as the "Bird House" and it is located at 1235 Sylvan Blvd. Kappa Sigma Sigma currently has 25 active members and a well organized alumni association of over 1,000...
. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
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
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
. He attended Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
from 1946–1949, where he was the founder and President of the Stanford Law Review
Stanford Law Review
The Stanford Law Review is a legal journal produced independently by Stanford Law School students. The journal was established in 1948 with future U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as its first president...
and was elected to the Order of the Coif
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. A student at an American law school who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the...
.
Legal career, Deputy Attorney General for Johnson
Christopher became the first graduate of Stanford Law SchoolStanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
to become a law clerk
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
for a United States Supreme Court Justice
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
when he served as law clerk to Justice William O. Douglas
William O. Douglas
William Orville Douglas was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. With a term lasting 36 years and 209 days, he is the longest-serving justice in the history of the Supreme Court...
from October 1949 to September 1950. He practiced law with the firm of O'Melveny & Myers from October 1950 to June 1967, becoming a partner in 1958 and serving as special counsel to Governor Pat Brown
Pat Brown
Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown, Sr. was the 32nd Governor of California, serving from 1959 to 1967, and the father of current Governor of California Jerry Brown.-Background:...
. Christopher served as United States Deputy Attorney General
United States Deputy Attorney General
United States Deputy Attorney General is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. In the United States federal government, the Deputy Attorney General oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department of Justice, and may act as Attorney General during the...
from June 1967 until January 20, 1969, after which he rejoined O'Melveny & Myers.
Deputy Secretary of State for Carter
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 was involved in negotiating the Algiers AccordsAlgiers Accords
The Algiers Accords of January 19, 1981, were brokered by the Algerian government between the United States and Iran to resolve the Iran hostage crisis. The crisis arose from the takeover of the American embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, and the taking hostage of the American staff there...
, and securing the release of 52 American hostages in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. He also spearheaded the Sino-American relations
Sino-American relations
For the article on U.S.-Taiwan relations, see Republic of China – United States relations.Sino-American or People's Republic of China–United States relations refers to international relations between the United States of America and the government of People's Republic of China...
with the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, helped to win ratification of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
treaties, and headed the first interagency group on human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
, the nation's highest civilian award, on January 16, 1981.
Professional work and achievements
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
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
; Chairman, Carnegie Corporation of New York Board of Trustees; Director and Vice Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
; Director, Trilateral Commission
Trilateral Commission
The Trilateral Commission is a non-governmental, non-partisan discussion group founded by David Rockefeller in July 1973 to foster closer cooperation among the United States, Europe and Japan.-History:...
, Bilderberg Group
Bilderberg Group
The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an annual, unofficial, invitation-only conference of approximately 120 to 140 guests from North America and Western Europe, most of whom are people of influence. About one-third are from government and politics, and two-thirds from...
, Los Angeles World Affairs Council
World Affairs Councils of America
The World Affairs Councils of America represents and supports the largest national non-partisan network of local councils that are dedicated to educating, inspiring and engaging Americans in international affairs and the critical global issues of our times. The network consists of 94 councils in 40...
; Vice Chairman of the Governor's Commission on the Watts riots
Watts Riots
The Watts Riots or the Watts Rebellion was a civil disturbance in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California from August 11 to August 15, 1965. The 5-day riot resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and 3,438 arrests...
(The McCone Commission) in 1965-1966; President, Coordinating Council for Higher Education in the State of California; Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
; and Chairman Emeritus, Pacific Council on International Policy
Pacific Council on International Policy
The Pacific Council on International Policy is a non-partisan organization headquartered in Los Angeles with members and activities throughout the West Coast of the United States and internationally....
.
In 1991, Christopher served as Chairman of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
, which came to be known as the Christopher Commission
Christopher Commission
The Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, informally known as the Christopher Commission, was formed in July 1991, in the wake of the Rodney King beating, by then-mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley. It was chaired by attorney Warren Christopher...
. The Commission proposed significant reforms of the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
in the aftermath of the Rodney King
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
incident (see 1992 Los Angeles riots
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots or South Central Riots, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest were sparked on April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white and one hispanic Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a...
), which were approved overwhelmingly at the ballot box. 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 Clinton
Serving as Secretary of State from January 20, 1993 until January 17, 1997, Christopher's main goals were expanding NATO, establishing peace between Israel and its neighbors, and using economic pressure to force China's hand on human rights practices. The major events transpiring during his tenure included the Oslo AccordsOslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
, the Dayton Agreement
Dayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on...
, normalization of United States–Vietnam relations
United States–Vietnam relations
After a 20-year hiatus of severed ties, President Bill Clinton announced the formal normalization of diplomatic relations with Vietnam on July 11, 1995. Subsequent to President Clinton's normalization announcement, in August 1995, both nations upgraded their Liaison Offices opened during January...
, the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
, Operation Uphold Democracy
Operation Uphold Democracy
Operation Uphold Democracy was an intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide...
in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, and the Khobar Towers bombing
Khobar Towers bombing
The Khobar Towers bombing was a terrorist attack on part of a housing complex in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, located near the national oil company headquarters of Dhahran. In 1996, Khobar Towers was being used to house foreign military personnel.Al-Qaeda has incorrectly been described by...
.
Assassination attempt on George H. W. Bush, April 1993
On April 13, 1993, eleven Iraqi intelligence agents smuggled a car bomb into Kuwait in an attempt to kill former President George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
as he spoke at Kuwait University
Kuwait University
Kuwait University was established in October 1966, five years after Kuwait's independence from British Colonization. KU started with only two faculties, namely the Faculty of Science, Arts and Education; and a Women's College. The university had 418 students enrolled and 31 faculty members. By ,...
. Secretary Christopher, among others, urged President Clinton to make a retaliatory strike against Iraq. On June 26, 1993, the United States launched 23 Tomahawk missiles against the Baghdad intelligence headquarters.
Oslo Accords, September 1993
In August 1993, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators meeting in NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
drew up the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
, which created the Palestinian Authority in exchange for Palestinian recognition of Israel's right to exist. Secretary Christopher accepted Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
's offer to host the signing ceremony. The ceremony took place in Washington D.C. on 13 September 1993, with Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
signing for the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
signing for the State of Israel. It was witnessed by Secretary Christopher for the United States and Andrei Kozyrev for Russia, in the presence of President Clinton. Christopher was one of main visionaries
Visionary
Defined broadly, a visionary, is one who can envision the future. For some groups this can involve the supernatural or drugs.The visionary state is achieved via meditation, drugs, lucid dreams, daydreams, or art. One example is Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century artist/visionary and Catholic saint...
and proponent of an integrated Middle East
Middle East economic integration
Middle East economic integration has been envisioned, proposed or implemented by various parties in recent history.The stated rationale is that peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East can only be sustained over the long-run through intra-regional economic cooperation.Governance,...
.
Partnership for Peace NATO expansion, January 1994
In order to initiate further enlargement of NATOEnlargement of NATO
Enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is the process of including new member states in NATO. NATO is a military alliance of states in Europe and North America whose organization constitutes a system of collective defence. The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article...
with minimal backlash from Russia, Secretary Christopher promoted the Partnership for Peace
Partnership for Peace
Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...
program as a stepping-stone into full NATO membership. Against protests from the Pentagon, Christopher avidly supported NATO expansion as a means of protecting Eastern Europe against a possible Russian resurgence. President Clinton supported the program and Partnership for Peace was launched January 10, 1994. Despite much debate, the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
signed on as Partnership members that year and became full NATO members in 1999.
Rwandan Genocide, April 1994
In what is recognized as Christopher's greatest foreign policy mistake, the US and UN failed to react quickly enough to the unrest in Kigali which eventually exploded into the Rwandan GenocideRwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
. Over the course of approximately 100 days, from the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi...
on 6 April up until mid July, between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Tutsis were killed by Hutu militia.
China: Delinking human rights and trade status, May 1994
During the 1992 presidential campaignUnited States presidential election, 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....
, then-candidate Clinton blasted President George H. W. Bush for giving China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
low-tariff trading privileges despite its human rights abuses. Secretary Christopher agreed with this view and believed that the US should use economic pressure to force China to improve its human rights record. However, on May 26, 1994, President Clinton renewed China's low-tariff trading privileges, effectively delinking the human rights issue from China's trade relations with the US. U.S.-Sino relations improved as a result, with President Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
visiting the U.S. in November 1997 and President Clinton visiting China in June 1998.
Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, September 1994
On September 19, 1994, a US-led coalition returned HaitiHaiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
's popularly elected President Jean-Bertrande Aristide to power after a coup had unseated him. The US military effort, known as Operation Uphold Democracy
Operation Uphold Democracy
Operation Uphold Democracy was an intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide...
, was largely the product of Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
's diplomatic efforts, with little role played by Christopher.
Israel-Jordan peace treaty, October 1994
In the wake of the 1993 Oslo Accords, Secretary Christopher encouraged Jordan's King Hussein to make a peace treaty with Israel. Christopher eventually offered Hussein $200 million in military equipment and $700 million in debt forgiveness to sweeten the deal. On October 27, 1994, Prime Minister Rabin and Prime Minister Abdelsalam al-Majali signed the Israel–Jordan peace treaty. The signing was witnessed by President Clinton and Secretary Christopher. Christopher sought to obtain a similar treaty between Rabin and Syrian President Hafez al-AssadHafez al-Assad
Hafez ibn 'Ali ibn Sulayman al-Assad or more commonly Hafez al-Assad was the President of Syria for three decades. Assad's rule consolidated the power of the central government after decades of coups and counter-coups, such as Operation Wappen in 1957 conducted by the Eisenhower administration and...
, but to no avail.
Vietnam: Normalizing relations, July 1995
Working with Senator John McCainJohn McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, in 1994 Secretary Christopher began actively promoting the normalization of United States–Vietnam relations
United States–Vietnam relations
After a 20-year hiatus of severed ties, President Bill Clinton announced the formal normalization of diplomatic relations with Vietnam on July 11, 1995. Subsequent to President Clinton's normalization announcement, in August 1995, both nations upgraded their Liaison Offices opened during January...
. At the time, the U.S. had not had an embassy in Vietnam since 1975. The main obstacle to normalization came from veterans and POW/MIA support groups who were convinced that Hanoi was not fully cooperating in the search for the remains of US soldiers in Vietnam. However, after Secretary Christopher convinced President Clinton that the Vietnamese government was fully cooperating in these searches, the President announced the formal normalization of diplomatic relations with Vietnam on July 11, 1995.
Dayton Agreement, November 1995
In Dayton, OhioDayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, Secretary Christopher—working with Assistant Secretary Richard Holbrooke
Richard Holbrooke
Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke was an American diplomat, magazine editor, author, professor, Peace Corps official, and investment banker....
--negotiated peace talks between President of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
, President of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
Franjo Tuđman, and President of Bosnia Alija Izetbegović
Alija Izetbegovic
Alija Izetbegović was a Bosniak activist, lawyer, author, philosopher and politician, who, in 1990, became the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000...
. The result was the November 1995 Dayton Agreement
Dayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on...
, which put an end to the Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
.
Khobar Towers bombing, June 1996
In the wake of the Khobar Towers bombingKhobar Towers bombing
The Khobar Towers bombing was a terrorist attack on part of a housing complex in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, located near the national oil company headquarters of Dhahran. In 1996, Khobar Towers was being used to house foreign military personnel.Al-Qaeda has incorrectly been described by...
, Secretary Christopher traveled to Saudi Arabia to witness the site of the attack. In Dhahran (the home of the Khobar Towers), Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal allegedly promised Christopher that the FBI would have the full cooperation of the Saudi government. Eventually, however, the Saudi government and the FBI repeatedly conflicted during the course of the investigation.
Retirement
In addition to several honorary degrees, Christopher 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 UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
; the James A. Garfield Baller Award; the Thomas Jefferson Award in Law from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
Law School; and the Louis Stein Award from Fordham Law School.
Christopher's picture hangs in the War Remnants Museum
War Remnants Museum (Ho Chi Minh City)
The War Remnants Museum is a war museum at 28 Vo Van Tan, in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It primarily contains exhibits relating to the American phase of the Vietnam War....
in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
, near pictures of John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
, Elmo Zumwalt, and other American dignitaries, in commemoration of his visit to Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, after normalization of relations between the two countries.
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
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
in the U.S. presidential election, 2000. In the 2008 film Recount
Recount (film)
Recount is a 2008 made-for-TV film about the 2000 Presidential election in the United States. The political drama was written by Danny Strong, directed by Jay Roach, and produced by Kevin Spacey, who also stars in the film....
, which covers the days following the controversial election, Christopher was portrayed by British actor John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
.
He was a member of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy is a think tank based in Washington, D.C. focused on United States foreign policy in the Middle East. It was established by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 1985...
(WINEP) Board of Advisors.
He was an Advisory Board member for the Partnership for a Secure America
Partnership for a Secure America
The Partnership for a Secure America is a policy center in the United States. It describes its mission as "recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy."...
, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy.
Former Secretaries of State James A. Baker, III and Christopher served as Co-Chairs of the Miller Center's National War Powers Commission. Baker and Christopher testified on March 5 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the War Powers Consultation Act of 2009 – the statute that the Commission unanimously recommended in its July 2008 report. The statute is designed to replace the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and provide for more meaningful consultation between the president and Congress on matters of war.
From 2003 until his death, Christopher taught a small seminar course on international affairs as part of the Honors Program at UCLA.
Family
Warren Christopher married twice. First for six years to Joan Southgate Workman with whom he had a daughter, Lynn. The couple later divorced. He was married to Marie Wyllis from 1956 until his death; the couple had two sons: Scott and Thomas, and a daughter, Kristen. He wrote In the Stream of History: Shaping Foreign Policy for a New Era (1998) and Chances of a Lifetime (2001).Other
Christopher was a recipient of the state of North Dakota'sNorth Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
Roughrider Award
Roughrider Award
The Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award is an award presented by the governor of the state of North Dakota. It is bestowed upon prominent North Dakotans.-Recipients:Note: date in parentheses indicates date of award...
.
He was a Senior Partner at O'Melveny & Myers.
World Justice Project
Christopher served as an Honorary Co-Chair for the World Justice ProjectWorld Justice Project
-Mainstreaming:The World Justice Project holds action-oriented meetings with leaders from a range of fields to mainstream rule of law advancement and make strengthening the rule of law as fundamental to the thinking and work of all professionals as it is to lawyers...
. The World Justice Project
World Justice Project
-Mainstreaming:The World Justice Project holds action-oriented meetings with leaders from a range of fields to mainstream rule of law advancement and make strengthening the rule of law as fundamental to the thinking and work of all professionals as it is to lawyers...
works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.
Death
Christopher died at his home in Los Angeles on March 18, 2011, from complications of kidney and bladder cancer. He was survived by his wife and four children from two marriages.President Obama described Christopher as a "resolute pursuer of peace" for his work in the Middle East and the Balkans. Hillary Clinton described Christopher as a "diplomat's diplomat – talented, dedicated and exceptionally wise". He was described as "the best public servant I ever knew" by President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
in his memoirs. On March 19, 2011, Carter stated that "[America] has lost a great and revered leader".