Mr.

Ramsey Clark

(
1927
2021
)
Paul, Weiss, Goldberg, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison
;
Washington, DC
Lawyer; U.S. Attorney General; Political activist
Area
Leadership, Policy, and Communications
Specialty
Public Affairs and Public Policy
Elected
1971

 

Mr. Ramsey Clark was the Former Assistant Attorney General during the Kennedy and Johnson Administration in the late 1960s. Clark was appointed AAG of the Lands Division by President Kennedy in 1961, when Clark was only 33 years old.  He has described the major issues before the Division during his tenure as including “refining our approach to the laws that related to conservation of natural resources,” particularly with respect to federal lands and resources, and the contemplation of how to deal with water and air pollution through existing or future legislation. While he was AAG of the Lands Division, Clark also was very involved in other Departmental matters, including criminal matters, antitrust cases, civil rights, Departmental litigating policies, and judicial and political appointments. Clark later played a significant role for the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations in the review and passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent civil rights legislation. After his tenure as AAG, Clark served as Deputy Attorney General from 1965 until 1967, when President Johnson appointed him the 66th U.S. Attorney General.  Clark served as the Attorney General until the end of the Johnson Administration in January 1969, and played an important role in the administration’s civil rights agenda, including supervising the drafting of the 1968 Civil Rights Act.  Following his term as Attorney General, Clark worked as a law professor and was active in the anti-Vietnam War movement.  He undertook two unsuccessful Senate campaigns in New York in 1974 and 1976.  Clark became an antiwar and civil rights activist, founding the International Action Center, and speaking out against the United States’ 1991 and 2003 military invasions of Iraq.  Clark is a recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award and the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award.

Last Updated