Malcolm Richard Wilkey Explained

Malcolm Wilkey
Office:United States Ambassador to Uruguay
President:Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Term Start:November 28, 1985
Term End:May 10, 1990
Predecessor:Thomas Aranda
Successor:Richard C. Brown
Office1:Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Term Start1:December 6, 1984
Term End1:November 8, 1985
Office2:Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Appointer2:Richard Nixon
Term Start2:February 25, 1970
Term End2:December 6, 1984
Predecessor2:Warren E. Burger
Successor2:Stephen F. Williams
Office3:United States Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division
President3:Dwight D. Eisenhower
Term Start3:1959
Term End3:1961
Predecessor3:Malcom Anderson
Successor3:Herbert Miller
Office4:United States Assistant Attorney General for Legal Counsel
President4:Dwight D. Eisenhower
Term Start4:1958
Term End4:1959
Predecessor4:W. Wilson White
Successor4:Robert Kramer
Office5:United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas
Appointer5:Dwight D. Eisenhower
Term Start5:1954
Term End5:1958
Predecessor5:Brian Odem
Successor5:William Butler
Birth Name:Malcolm Richard Wilkey
Birth Date:6 December 1918
Birth Place:Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S.
Death Place:Santiago, Chile
Party:Republican

Malcolm Richard Wilkey (December 6, 1918 – August 15, 2009) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and United States Ambassador to Uruguay.

Early life and education

Wilkey was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and raised in Madisonville, Kentucky. He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Harvard University in 1940, and served in the United States Army during World War II in George S. Patton's Third Army from 1941 to 1945 (he left active duty as a Major and served in the United States Army Reserve until 1953, when he left as a Lieutenant Colonel). After the war he enrolled in law school and received a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1948.

Career

Early career

Wilkey was in private practice in Houston, Texas, from 1948 to 1954, also teaching at the University of Houston Law Center from 1949 to 1954. Wilkey entered public service in Texas as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas (1954–1958). In 1958 he moved to Washington, D.C., to serve as the United States Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel at the United States Department of Justice (1958–1959), and Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division (1959–1961). He returned to private practice in Texas (1961–1963), before moving on to become the General counsel and secretary of Kennecott Copper Corporation (1963–1970), during which he was also a member of the Advisory Panel on International Law for the legal adviser at the United States Department of State (1969–1973).

Federal judicial service

Wilkey was nominated by President Richard Nixon on February 16, 1970, for the seat vacated by Judge Warren E. Burger on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 24, 1970, and received his commission the following day. He assumed senior status on December 6, 1984, and his judicial service ended November 8, 1985, when he retired and went to Cambridge University as a visiting fellow of Wolfson College.

Political appointments

In 1989 he was chairman of the President's Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform and worked alongside his Vice Chairman Griffin Bell, who was the United States Attorney General under President Jimmy Carter.[1]

President Ronald Reagan appointed him United States Ambassador to Uruguay in 1985, and President George H. W. Bush continued him in that post[2] until his retirement in 1990.[3]

In 1992 United States Attorney General William P. Barr appointed him to determine whether federal criminal violations had taken place in the House banking scandal.

Personal life

Wilkey married Chilean-born Emma A. Secul Depolo in 1959. He and his wife moved to Santiago, Chile, in 1990. Wilkey died from complications of prostate cancer at his home in Santiago on August 15, 2009.[4] [5]

Writings

Further reading

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Book: Roberts, Robert North . Marion T. Doss Jr . From Watergate to Whitewater: The Public Integrity War . 2009-09-08 . September 1997 . . . 0-275-95597-4 . 133, 142–143 .
  2. Web site: George Bush: Continuation of Malcolm Richard Wilkey as Ambassador to Uruguay . 2009-09-08 . May 5, 1989 . John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters, The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database)
  3. Web site: George Bush: Nomination of Richard C. Brown To Be United States Ambassador to Uruguay . 2009-09-08 . June 13, 1990 . John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters, The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database)
  4. News: Malcolm R. Wilkey, 90 - Judge Steered House Check Scandal Probe . Matt . Schudel . 2009-09-08 . September 7, 2009 . .
  5. News: Malcolm Wilkey, 90, Noted Judge, Dies . . Douglas . Martin . September 18, 2009 . A16.