William Clark Jr. (October 12, 1930 – January 22, 2008) was an American diplomat who served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to India.{{Cite web |date=11 January 1994 |title=The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR WILLIAM CLARK, JR. |url=https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/CLARK,%20Wiliam.toc.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240621163202/https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/CLARK,%20Wiliam.toc.pdf |archive-date=21 June 2024 |access-date=23 July 2024 |website=Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training}}

Early life and education

Clark was born in Oakland, California. He earned a bachelor's degree from San Jose State University, a Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law, and a Master's degree from the Columbia University School of International Affairs. He served in the United States Navy from 1949 to 1953.[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=17595 George Bush: Nomination of William Clark Jr. To Be United States Ambassador to India - September 29th, 1989]

Career

Clark began his career at the United States Department of State as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to this, he served for four years as Minister and deputy chief of mission for the Embassy of the United States, Tokyo, and as deputy chief of mission and Chargé d'affaires for the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.

After retired from the United States Foreign Service, Clark was president of the Japan Society. He also worked as Managing Director of Hills and Company, an international trade consultancy firm based in Washington, D.C.{{in lang|ja}} [http://www.spf.org/e/report/040921.html The Sasakawa Peace Foundation]

Clark received numerous awards, including the Order of the Sacred Treasure Gold and Silver Star, conferred by the Emperor of Japan (2000),{{Cite web|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2000/11/1103.html|title = MOFA: 2000 Autumn Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals}} and the Department of State Distinguished Honor Award (1989).