Clifton R. Wharton Sr.
The first Black Foreign Service Officer, the first to lead a U.S. diplomatic mission, and the first African American to reach ambassador by rising through the career Service.
Service Record
| Born | May 11, 1899, Baltimore, Maryland |
|---|---|
| Education | Law degree, Boston University School of Law, 1920; LL.M., 1923 |
| Joined State Department | August 1924, law clerk |
| Appointed to Foreign Service | March 20, 1925 |
| Vice Consul, Monrovia | 1927 – 1929 |
| Consul, Las Palmas | 1932 – 1938 |
| Other posts | Liberia (repeatedly, 1930 – 1942); Tananarive, Madagascar; Oporto and Ponta Delgada, Portugal |
| Lisbon | First secretary and consul, later consul general and supervisory consul general for Portugal, from 1949 |
| Consul General, Marseille | 1953 |
| Minister to Romania | 1958 – 1960 |
| U.S. Ambassador to Norway | 1961 – 1964 |
| Retired | October 24, 1964 |
| Died | April 25, 1990, Phoenix, Arizona |
| Honor | U.S. postage stamp, Distinguished American Diplomats series, 2006 |
Overview
Clifton Wharton entered a Foreign Service that had never had a Black officer and left it, forty years later, as an ambassador. Almost every step in between was a first.
Early Life and Education
He was born in Baltimore and earned his law degree from Boston University in 1920, followed by an advanced law degree in 1923.
Breaking In
In August 1924 he joined the State Department as a law clerk, at the time the only Black professional in the Department. On March 20, 1925, he was appointed to the Foreign Service, becoming its first Black officer.
Early Career
His early assignments took him to Monrovia, Liberia, as vice consul, to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands as consul, and to Madagascar and Portugal's Atlantic outposts at Oporto and Ponta Delgada. He returned to Liberia many times between 1930 and 1942.
Rising
In 1949 he was transferred to Lisbon, becoming the first Black officer there and the first Black senior officer in the Service; he was soon made consul general with supervisory authority over Portugal and its islands. In 1953 he became the first Black consul general in Marseille. In 1958 President Eisenhower named him minister to Romania, making him the first Black officer to head a U.S. delegation in Europe and the first Black Foreign Service Officer to lead a diplomatic mission. In 1961 President Kennedy appointed him ambassador to Norway: the first African American to reach that rank by rising through the career Service rather than by political appointment. He also served as a delegate to NATO and the United Nations.
Legacy
He retired in 1964 and died in 1990 at the age of 90. In 2006 the U.S. Postal Service honored him with a stamp in its Distinguished American Diplomats series. His son, Clifton R. Wharton Jr., went on to his own distinguished career in public life.
Recognition
Envoys of Record recognizes Clifton R. Wharton Sr. as a Pioneer of the Foreign Service, whose career opened doors for every officer who followed.