Warren Minor Christopher served as secretary of state during the first Clinton administration (1993-1997), deputy secretary of state under President Carter (1977-1981), and deputy attorney general from 1967 to 1969.

A native of Scranton, North Dakota, Christopher was born in 1925. During World War II and for a short time thereafter, he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve (1943-1946), earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California in February 1945 and seeing time thereafter in the Pacific theater.

Returning to the United States, Christopher earned a law degree from Stanford University in 1949. Immediately after law school, he clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas (1949-1950). He joined the law firm O'Melveny & Myers in 1950 and practiced with that firm for many years. From 1982 to 1992, Christopher served as chairman of the firm.