William Albert Wilson (November 3, 1914 – December 5, 2009) was an American diplomat and businessman from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. From 1984 to 1986, he served as the first
U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.
Early life and education
Wilson's father was an engineer in the oil-tool business and his mother a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
. Wilson attended college at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, where he earned a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
in 1936 and a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree in mechanical engineering in 1937. While attending Stanford, he met his wife, Elizabeth "Betty" Johnson, the daughter of Pennzoil co-founder Luther Johnson. They married in 1938 and he converted to her religion, Catholicism. Together, they went on to have two daughters. She later died in 1996.
During
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 ...
, Wilson served as a captain in the
Army Ordnance Corps. He later was employed by his family's business, Web Wilson Oil Tools, and went on to become its president, until the company's sale in 1960. After that, Wilson had a successful career as a real estate developer, cattle rancher, and investor.
Political career
A close friend of
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 ...
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
, Wilson was appointed on the 11th of February 1981 as the personal representative of the President to the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
, when the United States still did not have full diplomatic relations with the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
. At the time, a 1867 U.S. Anti-Catholic law which had prevented the U.S. from establishing relations with the Vatican, was still in effect. In 1984, the law was repealed. Following this, Reagan nominated Wilson as the first
United States Ambassador to the Holy See
The ambassador of the United States to the Holy See is the Ambassadors of the United States, official representative of the United States, United States of America to the Holy See, the leadership of the Catholic Church. The official representatio ...
on January 10.
As Ambassador, he became involved with a scandal after being reprimanded, following his contact with
Marc Rich
Marc Rich (born Marcell David Reich; December 18, 1934 – June 26, 2013) was an international commodity, commodities Trader (finance), trader, hedge fund manager, financier, businessman, and financial criminal. He founded the commodities company ...
, a commodities trader who had fled to Switzerland to avoid prosecution for racketeering, fraud, and tax evasion. He also had relations with Archbishop
Paul Marcinkus
Paul Casimir Marcinkus (; January 15, 1922 – February 20, 2006) was an American archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church and president of the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, from 1971 to 1989.
Early ...
, head of the
Vatican Bank
The Institute for the Works of Religion ( it, Istituto per le Opere di Religione; la, Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution situated inside Vatican City and run by a ...
during the midst of a financial scandal.
In January 1986, Wilson flew to Libya for an unauthorized secret meeting with
Moammar Kadafi, just several days after terror attacks in Vienna and Rome had reportedly killed 20 people. U.S. officials believed Libya was responsible for the attacks and had urged the international community to isolate Kadafi. U.S. Secretary of State
George Shultz
George Pratt Shultz (; December 13, 1920February 6, 2021) was an American economist, businessman, diplomat and statesman. He served in various positions under two different Republican presidents and is one of the only two persons to have held fou ...
called Wilson's actions an “embarrassment.”
Following this, Wilson submit his resignation, with the state department stating that he resigned to return to private life. They refused to say whether his resignation was tied to the Kadafi meeting.
Death
Wilson died of cancer in his home on the 5th of December 2009, aged 95. According to his daughter, Marcia Wilson Hobbs, he passed at approximately 1 AM.
He was survived by his two daughters, six grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren.
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan.
Reagan was born in N ...
issued a statement in response, saying "I am deeply saddened at the death of Bill Wilson. He was a dear friend for many years and a close advisor to my husband."
References
External links
William A. Wilson Papers''
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
Libraries'' Special Collections
The Hon. William Wilson1999 profile from ''
Thomas Aquinas College
Thomas Aquinas College is a Private Roman Catholic liberal arts college with its main campus in Ventura County, California. A second campus opened in Northfield, Massachusetts in 2018. Its education is based on the Great Books and seminar meth ...
''
Amb. William A. Wilson, Director profile from ''Commodore Applied Technologies, Inc.''
*Carl Bernstein
''
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 ...
'', February 24, 1992
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, William A.
1914 births
2009 deaths
Stanford University School of Engineering alumni
Ambassadors of the United States to the Holy See
Amateur radio people
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
20th-century American diplomats