Walter Washington

Biography

Walter Edward Washington (April 15, 1915 – October 27, 2003) was an American civil servant and politician. After a career in public housing, Washington was the chief executive of the District of Columbia from 1967 to 1979, serving as the first and only Mayor-Commissioner of the District of Columbia from 1967 to 1974, and as the first Mayor of the District of Columbia from 1975 to 1979. He was the first African-American mayor of a major city in the United States, and in 1974 became the capital's first popularly elected mayor since 1871. Congress had passed a law granting home rule to the capital, while reserving some authorities. Washington won the first mayoral election in 1974, and served from 1975 until 1979.

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