Thomas Graham, Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky on October 9, 1933, and grew up there as an only child. He inherited a love of politics from his father, a prominent Kentucky Democrat, at a young age.
After graduating from Louisville Male High School in 1951, Graham began undergraduate studies at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, a public policy institute. While there, Graham focused on international diplomacy, history, politics, and economics. He graduated in 1955 and spent the next year as a fellow at the Institute of Political Science in Paris.
The following year, he returned to the United States with the intent of beginning studies at Harvard Law School. Before he could begin his Harvard career however, he was conscripted into the military. Graham’s period of service lasted for almost two years, from September 1956 to June 1958, during which time he worked as a radio operator and in an intelligence unit.
In September 1958, Graham finally enrolled at Harvard Law School, and he graduated in 1961. During his college years, Graham remained interested and involved in politics, attending the Democratic National Conventions in both 1952 and 1960.
After completing his Harvard studies, Graham moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked for the federal government for a short period of time. In 1963, he left the public sector, choosing to work instead at a law firm in his native Louisville. He stayed there for two years, then moved to New York City to work for another law firm, where he remained for an additional three years.
In 1968, Graham once again attended the Democratic National Convention. His experience at the tumultuous Chicago convention proved distasteful, and in reaction he chose to register as a Republican and began working for the Nixon campaign. After the 1968 election, he returned to the New York law firm for eight months, then started a new job in the Air Force General Counsel office in Washington, D.C. It was in this capacity that Graham first engaged in a diplomatic mission, negotiating agreements on the siting of early warning radar missile detection systems.
Not long after, Graham switched to another government office, the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA), and it was here that he spent the vast majority of his career as an ambassador and diplomat. During his twenty-seven years with the agency, (1970-1997) Graham was a participant in the negotiation of every major arms control and nonproliferation agreement that involved the United States. During this same time period, he engaged in diplomatic discussions with representatives of more than one hundred countries.
For fifteen years, Graham served as the general counsel for the ACDA, and for two additional years he filled the role of Acting Director, and then Acting Deputy Director. For the final three years of his career, which occurred during Bill Clinton’s presidency, Graham held the additional appointment of President’s Special Representative for Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament. Graham retired from government service in 1997.
Graham is a widely published author and has taught as a visiting professor at numerous universities. He has also received several awards, including the Meritorious Honor Award from the Department of State. Today, Graham acts as chairman or board member for multiple organizations. Among these is the Lightbridge Corporation, which seeks to advance nuclear fuel technologies as a reaction to the growing peril of global climate change.
Author: Shannon Riley
