Biography
Lord was born in New York City, New York, United States, North America. He is the third of three sons born to Oswald Bates Lord (1903–1986) and Mary Pillsbury Lord (of the flour family, Pillsbury) (1904–1978). His older brother, Richard, died in 1935, aged three months. The oldest brother is Charles Pillsbury Lord. His father was a leader in the textile industry. His mother served for eight years as United States Delegate to the United Nations and U.S. Representative to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and she was the recipient of many awards including International Rescue Committee's Freedom Award. Mary Pillsbury Lord was a survivor of the sinking of the Clyde-Mallory Line's passenger liner SS Mohawk off the New Jersey Coast in January 1935.
After preparing at The Hotchkiss School, Lord graduated magna cum laude from Yale University in 1959 and obtained an M.A. at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1960 (first in class). Among his honors were the Pentagon's Outstanding Performance Award and the State Department's Distinguished Service Award. He has honorary doctorate degrees from Williams College, Tufts University, Dominican College, Bryant College, and Pepperdine University. He is a member of the Yale secret society Skull and Bones.
Lord was a key figure in the restoration of relations between the United States and China in the early 1970s and US-China relations eversince. From 1969–73, as a member of the United States National Security Council’s planning staff, he was the special assistant to National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, accompanying him on his secret trip to Beijing in 1971. The following year, he was part of the U.S. delegation during President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China and was on President Ford's visit in 1975. Lord became the State Department's Director of Policy Planning and top policy adviser on China (1973–77), United States Ambassador to China (1985–1989) under President Reagan, and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (1993–1997) under President Clinton. Early in his career he served in the Foreign Service and the Defense Department.
Between governmental posts Ambassador Lord has headed and helped direct many private organizations related to international affairs. He was co-Chairman of the International Rescue Committee, Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy and President of the Council on Foreign Relations (1977–1985). He has served on many other boards, and is currently a director of the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.
Lord is married to best selling author and human rights activist Bette Bao Lord and has two children, Elizabeth Pillsbury and Winston Bao. He spoke to the USC U.S.-China Institute in November 2010 on the current state of U.S.-China relations.
Read more about this topic: Winston Lord
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