Charles W. Duncan, Jr.
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Charles William Duncan Jr. (September 9, 1926 – October 18, 2022) was an American businessman, administrator, and politician best known for serving as
U.S. Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...
in the Cabinet of President Jimmy Carter from 1979 to 1981. He had previously served as Carter's United States Deputy Secretary of Defense during the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
. Earlier, Duncan had run the family business, Duncan Coffee Company of Houston, Texas, for seven years, until the Coca-Cola Company acquired it in 1964. After seven years on the Coke board, Duncan became the corporation's president.


Early years

Duncan was born on September 9, 1926, in Houston, Texas. He was the older of two children. Duncan prepped at the
Sewanee Military Academy St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School is a private, coeducational, Episcopal, boarding and day college preparatory school serving 216 students in grades six through twelve. It is located in Sewanee, Tennessee on the Cumberland Plateau between Nashvill ...
in Sewanee, Tennessee, and served two years in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He graduated from Rice University in 1947 with a degree in chemical engineering. Duncan also pursued two years of graduate work in business administration at the University of Texas and worked briefly as a roustabout and
chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...
for Humble Oil and Refining Corporation (now
Exxon ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
)."To All High Emprise Consecrated": In Recognition of Charles W. Duncan Jr., a Guiding Compass of Rice University, May 1996.


Duncan Coffee Company

In 1957, Duncan joined his family's coffee business, which had been founded by his uncle and father in 1918. Duncan Coffee's early brands, notably Admiration and Bright & Early, had become grocery staples in Texas and surrounding states. Duncan rose steadily through the ranks and attained the presidency in 1958. Under his leadership, the company expanded into the production of instant coffee—a new and popular beverage—by acquiring plants in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Duncan also acquired several regional brands of ground coffee, including Butternut Foods of Nebraska and Fleetwood Coffee of Tennessee. He developed Maryland Club Coffee, which was marketed as a premier, upscale blend rivaling Maxwell House.


The Coca-Cola Company

On May 8, 1964, Duncan Coffee merged with the Coca-Cola Company, and Duncan joined the Coke
board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
.Allen, Frederick. Secret Formula: How Brilliant Marketing and Relentless Salesmanship Made Coca-Cola the Best-Known Product in the World, Harper Collins, 1995 He ran the newly formed Coca-Cola Foods Division, which included the coffee and citrus (
Minute Maid Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but which now extends to soft drinks of different kinds, including Hi-C. Minute Maid is sold under the Cappy brand in Central Europe and under the bran ...
) divisions of Coke. Three years later the company dispatched him to London to serve as chairman of Coca-Cola Europe. There Duncan supervised the operation and expansion of almost 300 Coca-Cola bottling plants throughout Europe and Asia, including ones in Eastern Europe, Southwest Asia, and North Africa. The first Eastern Europe introduction into Bulgaria made The Coca-Cola Company the first U.S. consumer marketing company to penetrate the Iron Curtain. In 1970, Duncan returned to Atlanta and the following year became Coca-Cola's president. During his tenure from 1971 to 1974, the company enjoyed extensive growth. It also modernized its advertising. During this period Duncan bought the TE Ranch, southwest of Cody, Wyoming—a working cattle ranch established in 1895 by William F. "
Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...
" Cody, from Coca-Cola's R. W. Woodruff. In 1974, Duncan left Coca-Cola to head back to Houston, where he became the chairman of both Rotan Mosle Financial Corp. and Robertson Distribution Systems.


Carter administration

Charles Kirbo Charles Hughes Kirbo (March 5, 1917 – September 2, 1996) was an American lawyer and longtime advisor to Jimmy Carter. He served as the Chairman of the Democratic Party in Georgia for two years from 1972-1974. Early life and legal career Ki ...
, an advisor to Jimmy Carter, recommended Duncan to Carter for a position in his
presidential administration The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to the jurisdiction under which it operates. In general terms, administration can be described as a decision making body. United States In American usage, the ter ...
. Carter nominated Duncan to be the Deputy Secretary of Defense. In the role, Duncan advocated to U.S. Congress to end the prohibition of women in combat. The
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
occurred during his tenure, encompassing political changes that marked that nation's transformation from a monarchy under the pro-western Shah Mohammed
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 October ...
to a so-called republic under the
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
. Duncan's duties involved multiple trips to several countries, including Iran, some of which were undergoing considerable turmoil. Duncan's military advisor was a young colonel named
Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
, who considered Duncan a mentor and good friend. In July 1979, President Carter nominated Duncan to succeed James Schlesinger as Secretary of Energy. The appointment drew some criticism, as Duncan had little experience in the oil business, but he developed the reputation of a strong manager. The experience strengthened Duncan's belief in conservation measures of all kinds, in addition to enhancing production. Duncan imposed quotas on oil imports, encouraged weatherization of homes, and obtained subsidies for
gasohol Several common ethanol fuel mixtures are in use around the world. The use of pure hydrous or anhydrous ethanol in internal combustion engines (ICEs) is only possible if the engines are designed or modified for that purpose, and used only in autom ...
, helping to mitigate the worst impacts of the energy shortage.


Corporate and state service

Leaving Washington DC at the end of Carter's term, Charles Duncan again returned to Houston, in January 1981. There he founded—with his brother, John H. Duncan—Gulf Partners, a private investment firm. He also served on the boards of The Coca-Cola Company, J. P. Morgan Chase, Texas Eastern, American Express, United Technologies, and more. Duncan also served as Limited Partner of Houston NFL Holdings, LP and as treasurer and director of The Methodist Hospital. Additionally, he was a director of The Welch Foundation until October 2004. At the request of Texas Governor Mark White and billionaire politician
Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...
, Duncan joined the Select Committee on Public Education, and the
Texas State Board of Education The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.
. The board formulated the controversial "
no pass no play No Pass No Play is a Texas public education policy that came about as a result of the passage of House Bill 72 by the Texas Legislature in 1984, and became effective in 1985. Under No Pass No Play, students must pass all their school courses to b ...
" rule, requiring athletes to maintain passing grades in all academic classes.


Rice University

Throughout his career, Duncan repeatedly served as a trustee on the Board of Governors of Rice University. From 1982 to 1996, he served as chairman of Rice's board. He twice led the search for a university president, lobbied for the recruitment of international students, and helped establish the
James A. Baker III James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...
Institute for Public Policy, a nonpartisan think-tank. When Duncan retired from the Rice board, the school named its new computational engineering building in honor of him and his wife, the former Anne Smith in 1996
Anne and Charles Duncan Hall
. In 2007 the couple marked their fiftieth wedding anniversary in June and then—in October—donated $30 million to Rice to establish
Duncan College Rice University contains eleven residential colleges which function as the primary housing, dining, and social organizations for undergraduate students. The system was established in 1957 and was inspired by the residential college systems at the ...
, the university's eleventh residential college and its first-ever all-green building. This was part of Rice's Vision for the Second Century, which included establishing new residential colleges to accommodate the need to expand the student body while keeping the characteristics that make Rice distinctive.


Later projects

Duncan (in partnership with his son, Charles W. Duncan III) latterly oversaw the diverse operations of Duncan Capital Management in Houston. Duncan also served on the board of trustees of the education non-profit
Reasoning Mind Reasoning Mind is a non-profit organization that develops computer-based math curricula and works with schools to implement them in classrooms. In addition, Reasoning Mind provides professional development to teachers using the program. The or ...
.


Personal life

Duncan and his wife, Anne (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Smith), had two children. Duncan died at his home in Houston on October 18, 2022, from complications of a fall, at age 96.


References


External links


Guide to the Charles W. Duncan, Jr. business papers, 1958–2013
(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA) , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Charles Jr. 1926 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American businesspeople Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in Texas Businesspeople from Houston Carter administration cabinet members Directors of The Coca-Cola Company Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats McCombs School of Business alumni Military personnel from Houston Politicians from Houston Rice University alumni Rice University trustees Texas Democrats United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Deputy Secretaries of Defense United States Secretaries of Energy