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.
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 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.
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 Accords, the Dayton Agreement, normalization of United States–Vietnam relations, the Rwandan Genocide, Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, and the Khobar Towers bombing.
He is survived by his wife and four children from two marriages.
(source: Wiki)
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