Clifford Alexander Jr.

This article is about the American lawyer and public servant. For the American basketball player, see Cliff Alexander.

Clifford Alexander Jr.
13th United States Secretary of the Army
In office February 1977 – January 1981
President	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Martin R. Hoffmann
Succeeded by	John Otho Marsh Jr.
Chairperson of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
In office August 4, 1967 – May 1, 1969
President	Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Stephen N. Shulman
Succeeded by	William H. Brown, III
Personal details
Born	Clifford Leopold Alexander Jr. (1933-09-21) September 21, 1933 New York City, New York
Spouse	Adele Logan
Alma mater	Harvard University, Yale Law School
Occupation	lawyer, businessman, government official
Military service
Branch/service	New York National Guard
Unit	369th Field Artillery Battalion

Clifford Leopold Alexander Jr. (born September 21, 1933) is an American lawyer, businessman and public servant from New York City. He was the first African-American Secretary of the Army.

Life and career

Clifford Alexander Jr was born in New York City in 1933 to Clifford Leopold Alexander and his wife. He attended its private Ethical Culture and Fieldston Schools. Alexander graduated from Harvard College in 1955 and from Yale Law School in 1958. He enlisted in the New York National Guard in 1958 and served briefly with the 369th Field Artillery Battalion at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

He married Adele Logan in 1959. She became a professor at George Washington University after earning her doctorate in history and has specialized in African-American history. They have a daughter, Elizabeth Alexander (born in 1962) and son Mark C. Alexander (born 1965).

After being admitted to the bar, Alexander served as an assistant district attorney for New York County, 1959–1961. He became executive director of the Manhattanville Hamilton Grange Neighborhood Conservation Project. He next served as program and executive director of Harlem Youth Opportunities. He also practiced law in New York City.

In 1963 during the John F. Kennedy administration, Alexander was called to Washington to serve as a foreign affairs officer on the National Security Council staff. He served next as deputy special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson, associate special counsel, and deputy special counsel on the White House staff, 1964–1967. Alexander was appointed as chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1967–1969. Acting as a special representative of the President, he headed the U.S. delegation to ceremonies marking the independence of the Kingdom of Swaziland in 1968.

Leaving government service after Republican Richard M. Nixon was elected to the presidency, Alexander practiced law with the Washington firm of Arnold and Porter between 1969 and 1975. He was a television news commentator in Washington, D.C., 1972–1976; and also taught as a professor of law at Howard University, 1973–1974. In 1974 he ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for mayor of the District of Columbia.

Alexander returned to law, becoming a partner in the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand in 1975.

Alexander returned to public service as Secretary of the Army under the Carter Administration, serving from February 14, 1977, to January 20, 1981. During this time he concentrated upon making the all-volunteer Army work, stressed programs to enhance professionalism, and emphasized the award of contracts to minority businesses to fulfill the federal commitment to encourage diversity. Alexander has been outspoken in his opposition to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. He called for its repeal by Congress. Rachel Maddow interviewed him on her MSNBC television shows on May 11, 2009 and June 28, 2013.

He formed the consulting firm of Alexander and Associates in 1981. In addition, he serves on the boards of directors of several national corporations and is a member of the Board of Governors of the American Stock Exchange. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Family

His and Adele's daughter Elizabeth Alexander became a poet and professor of English at Yale University. She was commissioned to present a poem for President Barack Obama's presidential inauguration; he is the first African American to be elected to this office. Alexander recited the poem "Praise Song for the Day" on January 20, 2009. Their son Mark C. Alexander is the incoming dean at the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. He has also served as an advisor to Bill Bradley, Ted Kennedy, and President Obama.

External links

• Clifford Alexander's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project