Clifton Wharton
 Clifton Wharton    (diplomat) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Clifton Reginald Wharton May 11, 1899 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Died | April 25, 1990 (Age 90) Phoenix, Arizona |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Boston University School of Law |
| Children | Clifton Reginald Wharton Jr. |
| Member of | Council on Foreign Relations/Historical Members, Trilateral Commission |
US diplomat who attended the 1978 Bilderberg
| |
Clifton Reginald Wharton Sr. was an American diplomat, and the first African American diplomat to become an ambassador by rising through the ranks of the Foreign Service rather than by political appointment such as Frederick Douglass.[1] He also became the first black Foreign Service Officer to become chief of a diplomatic mission.[2] He attended the 1978 Bilderberg conference.
Life
Born in Baltimore, Wharton received his law degree in 1920 and an advanced law degree in 1923 from Boston University School of Law. He practiced in Boston before joining the United States State Department as a law clerk in the Career United States Foreign Service. Wharton went on to be Vice Consul in Monrovia (1927–1929), Consul in Las Palmas (1932–1938), Minister to Romania (1958–1961) and Ambassador to Norway (1961–1964).[3][4]
Wharton’s appointments in both Romania and Norway were in part due to the government strategy of placing prominent African-Americans in international posts in an attempt to counter the ill effects of international outrage over domestic racial discrimination.[5]
Wharton died in Phoenix, Arizona.
Wharton was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
In 1978, the State Department had a day honoring him and diplomat Lucile Atcherson Curtis, who was the first woman in what became the U.S. Foreign Service.[6][7][8]
Family
He married Harriet Banks; they had three children.[9] His son Clifton Reginald Wharton Jr. is a noted economist and executive who also worked the State Department as Deputy Secretary of State during the Clinton administration, and before that as president of Michigan State University.
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/1978 | 21 April 1978 | 23 April 1978 | US New Jersey Princeton University | The 26th Bilderberg, held in the US |
References
- ↑ U.S. Department of State: "Clifton R. Wharton: U.S. Postage Stamps Commemorate Distinguished American Diplomats"
- ↑ https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/faq/#distinguished
- ↑ Navraez, Alfonso A. (April 25, 1990). Clifton R. Wharton, 90, Is Dead; Pioneering Black U.S. Diplomat. The New York Times
- ↑ https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/wharton-clifton-reginald
- ↑ https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/wharton-sr-clifton-reginald-1899-1990/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150403081532/http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~sch01223
- ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/09/obituaries/lucile-a-curtis-dead-foreign-service-pioneer.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20060705190409/http://www.delmarvanow.com/easternshore/stories/20060705/2303567.html
- ↑ http://www.blackpast.org/aah/wharton-sr-clifton-reginald-1899-199
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