William Kennard

Bill Kennard
United States Ambassador to the European Union
In office
November 23, 2009 – July 29, 2013
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byKristen Silverberg
Succeeded byAnthony Gardner
Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
In office
November 3, 1997 – January 19, 2001
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byReed Hundt
Succeeded byMichael Powell
Personal details
Born
William Earl Kennard

(1957-01-19) January 19, 1957 (age 67)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationStanford University (BA)
Yale University (JD)

William Earl Kennard[1] (born January 19, 1957)[2] is an American attorney and former government official. Kennard served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton, and was the first African American to lead the agency.[3] In 2009, Kennard was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as Ambassador to the European Union, serving until 2013.

During his time in the private sector, Kennard was managing director of The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm. He has also served on the board of directors of several public and private corporations.

  1. ^ "State Bar of CA :: William Earl Kennard". The State Bar of California. Archived from the original on 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  2. ^ "William E Kennard, Born 01/19/1957 in California | CaliforniaBirthIndex.org". California Birth Index. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  3. ^ Wilke, John R. (1997-07-28). "Clinton's Choice to Lead FCC Pushes Pro-Consumer Policies". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-01-13.