Brown, Ron(ald Harmon) (1941– )

US lawyer, secretary of commerce 1993–96. For several years he made his name as a corporate lobbyist. In 1988 he served as a strategist to Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign, and also successfully handled Bill Clinton's campaign in 1992.

Born in Washington, DC, the son of Howard University graduates, he grew up in Harlem. After graduating from Middlebury College in 1962 and serving with the US Army 1962–66, he earned his law degree at St John's University School of Law in 1970. While working for the National Urban League (NUL) in New York, he was elected district leader of the Democratic Party in Mount Vernon, New York, in 1971. He was with the Washington, DC, office of the NUL from 1973–79, and he then held a series of positions under Senator Edward Kennedy; he worked for the Democratic National Committee 1981–85. In 1981 he had joined the Washington, DC, law firm of Patton, Boggs & Blow, thereby becoming its first black American partner. His role as a unifier at the Democratic Convention led to his being chosen in 1989 to head the Democratic National Committee.