BIOGRAPHIES - Class of 1945

Warren Minor CHRISTOPHER

Warren Minor CHRISTOPHER
BS LAS 20 Feb 1945
Warfare Specialty Unknown
Commissioned Ensign USN 20 Feb 1945
Further Education Unknown
Address Available
Spouse Marie CHRISTOPHER
Email wchristopher@omm.com

Biography:

Christopher, Warren Minor (b. 1925) -- also known as Warren Christopher -- Born in Scranton, Bowman County, N.Dak., October 27, 1925. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; U.S. Secretary of State, 1993. Methodist. Member, American Bar Association; Council on Foreign Relations. Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981. Still living as of 1997.

Christopher, Warren M. (Warren Minor Christopher), 1925 –, U.S.. government official, b. Scranton, N.Dak. He studied law at Stanford Univ. (1946–49) and was a clerk to Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas (1949–50). He has been in private practice several times and had been appointed to a number of government posts before serving (1967–69) as deputy attorney general under President Lyndon Johnson. As deputy secretary of state under President Jimmy Carter, he was the chief American negotiator in the 1981 talks that ended the Iranian hostage crisis. Appointed secretary of state by President Bill Clinton in 1993, he has been particularly involved in seeking Arab-Israeli peace agreements and in negotiating a peace in Bosnia.

The Hon. Warren M. Christopher, Secretary of State of the United States, became President d'Honneur of the North Atlantic Council on 18 September 1994, succeeding the Rt. Hon. Douglas Hurd, CBE MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom. Mr. Warren Christopher will serve as President d'Honneur until 17 September 1995.

He also served as chairman of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department. See his memoirs, In the Stream of History (1998) and Chances of a Lifetime (2001).

Warren M. Christopher was born on October 27, 1925 in North Dakota. He graduated from Stanford Law School, then clerked for US Supreme Court Justice William Douglas. He joined the LA law firm of O'Melveney and Meyers and became active in democratic party politics. California Governor Brown appointed Christopher as vice-president of the McCone Commission that investigated the 1965 Watts riots in LA. During the Johnson administration, Christopher served as Deputy Attorney General. President Carter appointed him Deputy Secretary of State under Cyrus R. Vance. His accomplishments in office include securing passage in Congress of the Panama Canal Treaty, and negotiating the deal with Iran that resulted in the release of US hostages on Carter's last day in office. Secretary Vance resigned in protest over the 1980 failed hostage rescue mission, and Mr. Christopher was reportedly upset at not being offered the position of Sec. of State. He was ultimately offered the job after heading President Clinton's transition to office. His style of diplomacy is best summarized by "Christopher's Rules of Good Listening: Listen hard when people restate their positions to see if they have left anything out; restate the position of the parties on more conciliatory terms to see if they agree with the milder formulation; ask people to articulate their adversary's position to discover what they consider important." His reputation is that of a facilitator who uses trust rather than fear to encourage negotiations.

Christopher has been instrumental in many of the on-going peace initiatives involving Israel and the Arab States. He has actively encouraged negotiations between Israel and Jordan that resulted in a breakthrough agreement which was tentatively agreed to Oct. 17. Although US policy in the region has historically favored the Israelis (and Jews), Christopher is not particularly sympathetic toward the Jews. For example, during a 1993 visit to the Golan Heights he received a briefing from an Israeli general on the geographical importance of the strategic plateau to Israel's border. Christopher asked the general where the border had been before Israel occupied the territory. Rather than embracing a particular party, he emphasizes dispute resolution through full consideration of each sides claims. His biggest challenge now, other than keeping his job, will be to keep all sides at the negotiating table in the face of tremendous opposition and violence. Speculation has been running high recently that Christopher, age 68, will resign as Secretary of State.

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