The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
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 (1993–97) by President Bill Clinton, Christopher was particularly involved in seeking Arab-Israeli peace agreements and in negotiating a peace in Bosnia. He also served as chairman of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department.
