Carla Anderson Hills
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Carla Anderson Hills (born January 3, 1934) is an American lawyer and a public figure. A member of the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
, she previously served as the 5th
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furnitur ...
under President
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
from 1975 to 1977 and as the 10th
United States Trade Representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting American trade policy. Part of the Executive Office of the President, it is headed by t ...
under President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993. Hills was the first woman to hold each of those posts and the third female ever to serve in a presidential cabinet.


Early life and education

Born Carla Anderson in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, she received her B.A. degree from
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
, after studying at
St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it remained a women's college until 20 ...
. She earned her LL.B. degree from
Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & World ...
in 1958 and married Roderick M. Hills the same year.


Career

Hills was admitted to the California bar in 1959, and served as an Assistant
United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
in Los Angeles from 1959 to 1961. From 1962 to 1974, she was a partner at Munger, Tolles, Hills, and Rickershauser in Los Angeles. In 1972, she was an adjunct professor at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
. An authority on federal practice and anti-trust law, Mrs. Hills wrote of ''Federal Civil Practice'' and ''Antitrust Advisor''. She is a former president of the
National Association of Women Lawyers The National Association of Women Lawyers is a voluntary organization founded in 1899 and based in the United States. Its aim is to promote women lawyers and women's legal rights.
. She was a
United States Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and ...
heading the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice before being named as the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Elliot L. Richardson sought to appoint her as assistant U.S. Attorney General in 1973, but he resigned shortly thereafter during the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...
. The offer was renewed by his successor,
William B. Saxbe William Bart Saxbe ( ; June 24, 1916 – August 24, 2010) was an American diplomat and politician affiliated with the Republican Party, who served as a U.S. Senator for Ohio, and was the Attorney General for Presidents Richard M. Nixon and ...
, in 1974. Hills's lack of relevant experience was somewhat controversial during the hearings for her nomination to head the HUD Department in the
Ford administration Gerald Ford's tenure as the 38th president of the United States began on August 9, 1974, upon the resignation of Richard Nixon from office, and ended on January 20, 1977, a period of days. Ford, a Republican from Michigan, had served as vic ...
. While Secretary, she approved the demolition of the massive
public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, de ...
project in Northwest
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Pruitt-Igoe, a decayed project. President Ford later commented in his autobiography, ''A Time to Heal,'' that Hills was an exceptionally effective advocate for HUD, often appealing the budgetary decisions of James Lynn, Ford's OMB chief, to the President and winning most of the time. Hills was one of the candidates on Ford's “short list” to replace U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, although Ford ultimately selected
John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...
. From 1978 through 1989, Hills was again a practicing attorney, and served as chairwoman of the board of trustees of the
Urban Institute The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations and pr ...
from 1983 through 1988.


U.S. Trade Representative

Hills served as U.S. Trade Representative in the George H. W. Bush administration from 1989 to 1993. She was under pressure to implement the 1988
Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act The Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 is an act passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. History During the 1970s, the U.S. trade surplus slowly diminished and turned into an in ...
to go after countries that were considered to be trading unfairly with the U.S. The New York Times called Section 301 of the Act her “crowbar”, which enabled the U.S. to impose tariffs as high as 100%. She initially went after Japan, Brazil and India, although the Bush administration later decided Japan had changed its ways. An advocate of
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...
, she was the primary U.S. negotiator of the
North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
(NAFTA). In 2000, Hills was awarded the Mexican
Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country. History It was created by decree on December 29, 193 ...
(''La Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca''), which is the highest honor awarded to non-citizens by the Mexican government. In fact, it was the first time Mexican-Americans were awarded this award since November 12, 1990 when the union leader,
Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged ...
, received it. President George H.W. Bush's administration's priority was to hammer out the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its pre ...
(GATT) in the
Uruguay Round The Uruguay Round was the 8th round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), spanning from 1986 to 1993 and embracing 123 countries as "contracting parties". The R ...
, where Hills was known as a strong negotiator. “Delegations from 97 countries
ought ''Ought'' may refer to: *One of the English modal verbs *One of the names for the number 0 in English *Ought (band), a Montreal post-punk band on the Canadian Constellation Records See also *Is–ought problem *Categorical imperative The cate ...
ways to notch down everyone’s tariffs and remove other obstacles to trade.” “The 97 signatories to GATT account for two-thirds of the $3 trillion in merchandise traded each year. Since the original agreement in 1947, GATT has been altered six times...” but, “after the last GATT revision – the
Tokyo Round The Tokyo Round was a multi-year multilateral trade negotiation (MTN) between 102 nation-states that were parties to the GATT. The negotiations resulted in reduced tariffs and established new regulations aimed at controlling the proliferation of ...
, which started in 1976 – many American industries were outclassed by others”.


Post-government career

Since 1993, she has worked as a consultant and a public speaker throug
Hills & Company International Consultants
which merged with Dentons Global Advisors ASG in 2022. Carla stepped down from Time Warner, Inc. with
Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, cable news ch ...
in 2006. She now serves on international advisory boards for
American International Group American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...
,
The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...
, Gilead Sciences, Inc.,
J.P. Morgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in City of New York, New York City and Delaware General Corporation Law, inco ...
and
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
as well as the board of the
U.S.-China Business Council The US-China Business Council (USCBC) is a nonprofit organization whose stated goal is promoting trade between the United States and China. It comprises around 200 American companies that trade and do business with China. History The council was f ...
. In 2008,
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
granted her an honorary degree. She has also received honorary degrees from other institutions. She was one of the founders of th
Forum for International Policy
where she is a trustee. In July 2022, Hills helped found a group of U.S. business and policy leaders who share the goal of constructively engaging with China in order to improve U.S.-China relations.


North American community

In 2005, Hills participated in the Task Force on the Future of North America. The Task Force produced a controversial report calle
''Building a North American Community''
sponsored by the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
. The reported advocated strengthening trading relationships between the U.S., Canada and Mexico by making trade more efficient, building infrastructure in North America, fast tracking borders and integrating language. For example, it recommended assisting “elementary and secondary schools in teaching about North America.” (page 29) “Develop teacher exchange and training programs for elementary and secondary school teachers. This would assist in removing language barriers and give some students a greater sense of a North American identity. Greater efforts should also be made to recruit Mexican language teachers to teach Spanish in the United States and Canada.”


Affiliations

* Co-chair,
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
* Chair,
National Committee on United States-China Relations National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
* Executive committee member,
Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...
* Executive committee member, Institute for International Economics (IIE), now the
Peterson Institute The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), known until 2006 as the Institute for International Economics (IIE), is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by C. Fred Bergsten in 1981 and has been led by A ...
* Director,
ChevronTexaco Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened to Socal or CalSo), it is headquartered in Sa ...
, since 1993. * Director,
American International Group American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...
* Director,
Lucent Technologies Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the divestiture of the former AT&T Technologies business u ...
* Director,
AOL Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...
* Director, Results for Development Institute * Board of Directors, Inter-American Dialogue * Trustee, Forum for International Policy * U.S. board member,
International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...
. * Advisory board member,
Partnership for a Secure America Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) is a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. that seeks to promote bipartisan solutions to today's critical national security and foreign policy issues. Created by former Congressman Lee H. Hamilton and f ...
* Counselor and trustee,
Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts polic ...
* Advisory board member,
National Bureau of Asian Research The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) is an American non-profit, research institution based in Seattle, Washington, with a branch office in Washington, D.C. NBR brings together specialists, policymakers, and business leaders to examine ...


Awards and honors

In 1979, the
Supersisters ''Supersisters'' was a set of 72 trading cards produced and distributed in the United States in 1979 by Supersisters, Inc. They featured famous women from politics, media and entertainment, culture, sports, and other areas of achievement. The ca ...
trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Hills’ name and picture. In 1993, Hills received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.


See also

*
List of female United States Cabinet members The Cabinet of the United States, which is the principal advisory body to the president of the United States, has had 38 permanent female members serving as vice president or head of one of the federal executive departments and 31 wo ...
* Gerald Ford Supreme Court candidates


References


External links


Author biography


* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hills, Carla Anderson 1934 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers American International Group George H. W. Bush administration cabinet members California Republicans Chairs of the Council on Foreign Relations Directors of Chevron Corporation Ford administration cabinet members Members of the Inter-American Dialogue National Bureau of Asian Research People associated with Latham & Watkins People associated with Munger, Tolles & Olson Stanford University alumni United States Assistant Attorneys General for the Civil Division United States Department of Justice lawyers United States Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development United States Trade Representatives Warner Bros. Discovery people Women members of the Cabinet of the United States Yale Law School alumni