Clarence Lorenzo Simpson Sr. (1896–1969) was a leading twentieth century

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

n politician who served as the 22nd

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

and the speaker of the House of Representatives. He served also as Secretary of State during much of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(1934–1943) under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Edwin Barclay, and later as Liberia's ambassador to the United States.

Early life

Clarence Lorenzo Simpson was born in Liberia to Alpha D. Simpson, an

Americo-Liberian Americo-Liberian people or Congo people or Congau people in Liberian English,Cooper, Helene, ''The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood'' (United States: Simon and Schuster, 2008), p. 6 are a Liberian ethnic group of Afric ...

and Kamah Gray, a Vai woman who was the grand-daughter of the Great Vai King Long Peter from

Grand Cape Mount Grand Cape Mount is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has five districts. Robertsport serves as the capital ...

, Liberia . Alpha D. Simpson was a son of John Simpson, who was born in slavery in Florida, and Julia Ann Simpson, née Russell, a daughter of Liberian President

Alfred Francis Russell Alfred Francis Russell (25 August 1817 – 4 April 1884) was an Americo-Liberian missionary, planter, and politician who served as tenth president of Liberia from 1883 to 1884 after serving as vice-president under Anthony William Gardiner, whom h ...

Political career

Before becoming Secretary of State, Simpson had served as Post Master General and

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

Liberian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the bicameral legislative branch of Liberia, and together with the Senate comprises the Legislature of Liberia. The number of seats is fixed by law at 73, with each county being apportioned ...

from 1931 to 1934. After leaving the Department of State in 1943, Simpson was one of the six candidates in that year's election. He lost to

William Tubman William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (29 November 1895 – 23 July 1971) was a Liberian politician. He was the 19th president of Liberia and the longest-serving president in the country's history, serving from 1943 Liberian general election, his e ...

.Front Door or Back?
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' He served as the

Vice President of Liberia The vice president of the Republic of Liberia is the second-highest executive official in Liberia, and one of only two elected executive offices along with the president. The vice president is elected on the same ticket with the president to a ...

from 1944 to 1952 under Tubman. Simpson was the Liberian delegate to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

in 1934 and headed the Liberian delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in 1945. Simpson also held the following positions:

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the

Court of St. James A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

-London, England; Ambassador to the United States, Washington, D.C;, Grand Master of Masons, Republic of Liberia, and Head of the National

True Whig Party The True Whig Party (TWP), also known as the Liberian Whig Party (LWP), is the oldest political party in Liberia and one of the oldest parties in Africa. Founded in 1869 by primarily darker-skinned Americo-Liberians in rural areas, its historic ...

of Liberia, a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

that ruled Liberia for over 100 years.

Autobiography

Simpson, Clarence L. ''The Memoirs of C.l. Simpson: The Symbol of Liberia''. London: Diplomatic Press and Pub. Co, 1980.

Personal life

Clarence Simpson was married and had several children including Hilaria Simpson-Adams, Clarice Simpson-Abdallah, Clarence Lorenzo Simpson Jr. and Amanda Simpson.

Sources

*New Liberian Ambassador, Her Only One, Lands Here Today To Take Up Post In U.S. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 20 April 1952 Americo-Liberian people People of Americo-Liberian descent Simpson family (Liberia) 1896 births 1969 deaths Liberian Freemasons Vice presidents of Liberia Foreign Ministers of Liberia World War II political leaders Speakers of the House of Representatives of Liberia Permanent Representatives of Liberia to the United Nations Permanent Representatives of Liberia to the League of Nations Ambassadors of Liberia to the United States True Whig Party politicians 20th-century Liberian diplomats 20th-century Liberian politicians {{Liberia-politician-stub