Barbara M. Watson
Encyclopedia
Barbara Mae Watson was a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

 who was the first black and the first woman to serve as an Assistant Secretary of State.

Biography

Barbara M. Watson was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 on November 5, 1918, the daughter of James S. Watson
James S. Watson
James Samuel Watson was one of the first two African Americans elected as a judge in the state of New York.-Biography:James S. Watson was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica on May 29, 1882. His father, James Michael Watson, was a Sergeant in the Jamaica Constabulary Force and would later work for the...

, the first black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 elected in New York State, and his wife, Violet Lopez Wilson, one of the founders of the National Council of Negro Women
National Council of Negro Women
The National Council of Negro Women is a non-profit organization with the mission to advance the opportunities and the quality of life for African American women, their families and communities. NCNW fulfills this mission through research, advocacy, national and community based services and...

. Barbara M. Wilson was the sister of James Lopez Watson
James Lopez Watson
James Lopez Watson was a judge of the United States Customs Court and of its successor, the United States Court of International Trade....

 and the cousin of J. Bruce Llewellyn
J. Bruce Llewellyn
J. Bruce Llewellyn was a prominent American businessman. His personal wealth has been estimated to exceed $160 million. In 1963 he joined others to found 100 Black Men of America, a social and philanthropic organization...

 and of Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...

. She attended Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...

, receiving a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in 1943.

After college, she took a job as an interviewer for the United Seamen's Service
United Seamen's Service
The United Seamen's Service, sometimes abbreviated as the USS, is a non-profit, federally-chartered organization founded in 1942 to promote the welfare of American seafarers and their dependents, seafarers of all nations, US government military and civilian personnel, and other persons engaged in...

. In 1946, she founded a modeling agency
Modeling agency
A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and or the head agency....

, Barbara Watson Models, serving as the agency's executive director until 1956.

Watson then returned to school, attending New York Law School
New York Law School
New York Law School is a private law school in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. New York Law School is one of the oldest independent law schools in the United States. The school is located within four blocks of all major courts in Manhattan. In 2011, New York Law School...

 and graduating with a law degree in 1962. She spent 1963-64 working as an assistant attorney in the New York City Law Department
New York City Law Department
The New York City Law Department is the branch of the municipal government of New York City responsible for most of the city's legal affairs. The Department is headed by the Corporation Counsel of New York City.-Duties of the Department:...

, then spent 1964-66 as executive director of the New York City Commission to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

.

Watson joined the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

 in 1966 as special assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Administration. She then became Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs and served as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs from 1966 to 1968. In July 1968, President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Lyndon Johnson nominated Watson as Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs and, after Senate confirmation, she held this office from August 12, 1968 until December 31, 1974. She was the first black Assistant Secretary of State and the first woman to serve as Assistant Secretary of State.

Upon leaving government service in 1975, Watson took a job with Walter Annenberg
Walter Annenberg
Walter Hubert Annenberg was an American publisher, philanthropist, and diplomat.-Early life:Walter Annenberg was born to a Jewish family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 13, 1908. He was the son of Sarah and Moses "Moe" Annenberg, who published The Daily Racing Form and purchased The Philadelphia...

's Triangle Publications
Triangle Publications
Triangle Publications, Inc. was an American media group first based at 400 North Broad Street , Philadelphia, and later at its TV Guide headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Triangle Publications was a privately-held corporation with the majority of stock owned by Walter Annenberg and his sisters...

 as a legal consultant. She also lectured at several colleges and universities.

In January 1977, President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

 asked Watson to return to the State Department as Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs; her second stint in this office lasted from April 13, 1977 until August 17, 1980. President Carter later appointed Watson United States Ambassador to Malaysia
United States Ambassador to Malaysia
-Ambassadors:* Embassy Kuala Lumpur was established on August 31, 1957, with Wright in charge.-See also:*Malaysia – United States relations*Foreign relations of Malaysia*Ambassadors of the United States-References:*-External links:* * *...

; she presented her credentials on September 25, 1980 and held this post until March 1, 1981.

Watson died at a hospital in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

on February 18, 1983 at the age of 64.
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