William Womack Heath, was an American lawyer, educator, and diplomat.

Background

William W. Heath was born in Normangee, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, to John Al and Runie (née Hill) Heath.

Career

As a young man, Heath attended the University of Texas law school. He was elected county attorney of Grimes County. After admission to the state bar in the fall of 1924, Heath served two terms as county attorney (1925–29) and then one term as county judge (1931–32). In 1933 he was appointed secretary of state by Governor Miriam A. Ferguson

Miriam A. Ferguson

Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson was the first female Governor of Texas in 1925. She held office until 1927, later winning another term in 1933 and serving until 1935.-Early life:...

. He was assistant attorney general under Governor James Allred from 1935 to 1937. Heath retired to private practice as insurance lawyer in 1937. In 1950 he purchased Circle Bar Ranch in Blanco County near that of his long-time friend Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

.

Heath reentered public service in 1952, when Governor Price Daniel

Price Daniel

Marion Price Daniel, Sr. , was a Democratic U.S. Senator and the 38th Governor of the state of Texas. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to be a member of the National Security Council, Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, and Assistant to the President for Federal-State...

 appointed him chairman of the Texas Board of State Hospitals and Special Schools. In 1959 he was named to the board of regents of the University of Texas, which he served as chairman from 1962 to 1966.

Ambassador to Sweden

On March 22, 1967, Heath accepted Johnson's appointment as ambassador to Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. On March 8, 1968, however, he was recalled to the United States in a demonstration of American displeasure with Swedish education minister Olof Palme

Olof Palme

Sven Olof Joachim Palme was a Swedish politician. A long-time protegé of Prime Minister Tage Erlander, Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 to his assassination, and was a two-term Prime Minister of Sweden, heading a Privy Council Government from 1969 to 1976 and a cabinet...

 in an anti-Vietnam War protest that took place on February 21. The U.S. would not appoint a new ambassador to Sweden until 1970 when Jerome H. Holland

Jerome H. Holland

Jerome H. Holland was an educational administrator and diplomat.Jerome Heartwell Holland grew up in Auburn, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1939, after being the first African American to play on its football team...

 was appointed.

Sources

• William Womack Heath on Texas State Historical Association
  Texas State Historical Association
  The Texas State Historical Association or abbreviated TSHA, is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the rich and unique history of Texas. It was founded on March 2, 1897. As of November 2008, TSHA moved from Austin to the University of North Texas in Denton.The executive...