William P. Clark Jr.
| William Clark | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 44th United States Secretary of the Interior | |
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In office November 18, 1983 – February 7, 1985 |
|
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | James Watt |
| Succeeded by | Donald Hodel |
| 12th National Security Advisor | |
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In office January 4, 1982 – October 17, 1983 |
|
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Richard Allen |
| Succeeded by | Robert McFarlane |
| 6th United States Deputy Secretary of State | |
|
In office February 25, 1981 – February 9, 1982 |
|
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Warren Christopher |
| Succeeded by | Walter Stoessel |
| Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court | |
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In office March 23, 1973 – February 25, 1981 |
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| Appointed by | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Raymond Peters |
| Succeeded by | Allen Broussard |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Patrick Clark Jr. October 23, 1931 Oxnard, California, U.S. |
| Died | August 10, 2013 (aged 81) Shandon, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Brauner |
| Children | 5 |
| Education |
Stanford University (BA) Loyola Marymount University (JD) |
William Patrick Clark Jr. (October 23, 1931 – August 10, 2013) was an American rancher, judge, and public servant who served under President Ronald Reagan as the Deputy Secretary of State from 1981 to 1982, United States National Security Advisor from 1982 to 1983, and the Secretary of the Interior from 1983 to 1985.
Clark was born in Oxnard, California on October 23, 1931, the son of William Petit and Bernice Gregory Clark. He was a devout Catholic, former seminary student, rancher, lawyer, and aide to Reagan in the California gubernatorial years. Clark served as a justice of the California Supreme Court prior to his Washington appointment, and was known to long to return to California.
Clark attended Stanford University and Loyola Law School while managing his ranch. Not being able to dedicate sufficient time and resources towards completing his undergraduate and post-graduate degrees, Clark never graduated from Stanford or Loyola. Nevertheless, he scored well enough on entrance exams to gain admittance to law school, and he passed the California state bar exam without a law school degree. He also served in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps.
On May 5, 1955, Clark was married to the former Johanna M. "Joan" Brauner of Bern, Switzerland; they had five children. Joan Clark died in April 2009.
Clark was a judge of the Superior Court of California from 1969 to 1971, in Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, and was an associate justice on the California State Supreme Court from 1973 to 1981. He reached the apex of his power when appointed National Security Advisor and temporarily became preeminent among presidential aides.
A longtime rancher friend of Reagan, according to Edmund Morris's Dutch, Clark would walk into Reagan's office unannounced, an unheard-of practice for even the most senior officials. Clark even suggested to the president in light of foreign policy troubles bedeviling the United States in the mid-1980s that Reagan consider not running for reelection in 1984. By that time however, George Shultz had surpassed Clark in influence, and Reagan apparently gave Clark's suggestion no thought.
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