Ramsey Clark served as U.S. attorney general from 1967 to 1969, following service within the Department of Justice during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Clark proved to be a controversial official, criticized for being soft on crime and opposing capital punishment. After leaving public office, Clark developed an international law practice in which he represented clients who opposed U.S. government policies.

Clark was born on December 8, 1927, in Dallas, Texas. His father, Tom Clark, was a prominent Dallas attorney who later became U.S. attorney general during the Truman administration and then a U.S. Supreme Court justice. Ramsey Clark earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas in 1949 and both a master's degree and a law degree from the University of Chicago in 1950. He returned to Texas and practiced law for ten years, but in 1961, he went to Washington to serve as assistant attorney general for President...