Warren Christopher was not known as a joker, but colleagues treasured the moments when the secretary of state’s sober façade cracked. One day in 1994, Christopher flew into Miami from multilateral talks in Europe. Greeting him, a junior American diplomat cheerfully assured him that he’d be thrilled with the day’s agenda. Wearily rubbing his eyes, Christopher said with a groan, “That’s what they told me in Budapest.”
An “early and traumatic experience” may have shaped Christopher’s “ever-cautious character,” said the London Guardian. Born in 1925 in Scranton, N.D., Christopher was 11 when his father suffered a stroke after the bank he owned collapsed.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Christopher’s next stop was the Los Angeles law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, where he would remain for the rest of his life, apart from his stints in Washington, said the Los Angeles Times. He got his first taste of international diplomacy in 1977 as an assistant secretary of state. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter chose him to negotiate for the release of the Americans taken hostage during the 1979 Iranian revolution. He succeeded, but the crisis had fatally weakened the Carter presidency. The hostages were released the same day Ronald Reagan was sworn in as Carter’s successor.
Christopher’s career reached its pinnacle when he served as Bill Clinton’s secretary of state from 1993 to 1997, said The New York Times. Although often overshadowed by his colleague Richard Holbrooke, Christopher played a vital role in negotiating an end to the civil war in Bosnia. His final turn in the spotlight came while representing Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore during the disputed Florida recount following the 2000 election. When Gore’s opponent, George W. Bush, emerged victorious, some Democratic activists faulted Christopher for being too gentlemanly in the fight. Gore did not. Following his friend’s death, he called Christopher “one of the great statesmen of our era.”
-
6 of the world’s most accessible destinationsThe Week Recommends Experience all of Berlin, Singapore and Sydney
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
Catherine O'Hara: The madcap actress who sparkled on ‘SCTV’ and ‘Schitt’s Creek’Feature O'Hara cracked up audiences for more than 50 years
-
Bob Weir: The Grateful Dead guitarist who kept the hippie flameFeature The fan favorite died at 78
-
Brigitte Bardot: the bombshell who embodied the new FranceFeature The actress retired from cinema at 39, and later become known for animal rights activism and anti-Muslim bigotry
-
Joanna Trollope: novelist who had a No. 1 bestseller with The Rector’s WifeIn the Spotlight Trollope found fame with intelligent novels about the dramas and dilemmas of modern women
-
Frank Gehry: the architect who made buildings flow like waterFeature The revered building master died at the age of 96
-
R&B singer D’AngeloFeature A reclusive visionary who transformed the genre
-
Kiss guitarist Ace FrehleyFeature The rocker who shot fireworks from his guitar
-
Robert Redford: the Hollywood icon who founded the Sundance Film FestivalFeature Redford’s most lasting influence may have been as the man who ‘invigorated American independent cinema’ through Sundance
