Coleman, William T(haddeus), Jr (1920- )

US lawyer and cabinet officer. Specialized in corporate, transportation, and civil-rights law, he was involved in important cases in the areas of school segregation and interracial marriage. He accepted President Gerald Ford's request to serve as secretary of transportation 1975-77 - only the second black American to hold a cabinet post.

He was born in Philadelphia. His Harvard Law School education was interrupted by World War II service in the Army Air Corps (1943-45), but he returned to graduate first in his class. He joined one of Philadelphia's most prestigious law firms in 1952, becoming a full partner in 1956. He took on many part-time assignments for the federal government. He later practised corporate law in Washington.