Walter Nathan Tobriner

Walter Nathan Tobriner (born July 2, 1902 in Washington, DC , †  July 14, 1979 ) was an American politician . Between 1961 and 1967 he was President of the Board of Commissioners Mayor of the Federal Capital Washington.

Career

Walter Tobriner attended the Sidwell Friends School and then studied at Princeton University until 1923 . After a subsequent law degree at Harvard University and his admission to the bar in 1926, he began to work in this profession in Washington in 1927. Between 1927 and 1950 he also gave legal lectures at the National University School of Law , which was later integrated into George Washington University . During World War II , he served as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Air Corps .

In the 1950s Tobriner was on the board of various companies and organizations. Among them were health insurance ( Blue Cross ) and the Garfield Memorial Hospital . Between 1959 and 1961 he directed the Washington Hospital Center . From 1952 to 1961 Tobriner was a member of the Education Committee of the City of Washington, which he led since 1957. It was then that racial integration was introduced in the city's schools. Politically, he joined the Democratic Party . In 1956, 1960 and 1964 he took part as a delegate at the respective Democratic National Conventions .

In 1961 Tobriner was appointed by US President John F. Kennedy to the three-person Board of Commissioners that governed the city of Washington. Within this group he was appointed chairman. In this capacity he practically exercised the office of mayor, even if this title was not officially used between 1871 and 1975. He held this post between 1961 and 1967. He was the last President of the Commission under the law which had been in force since 1874. In 1967 the administrative structure of the capital was reformed. The Board of Commissioners , which until then consisted of three people, was expanded to nine people and was now called the City Council . In addition, there was now a mayor and a deputy mayor ( Mayor-Commissioner or Assistant to the mayor-commissioner ). All of these positions were determined by the US President. This system was abolished in 1975. Since then, both the mayor and the city council of the federal capital have been determined in general elections. During Tobriner's tenure, among other things, the March on Washington for Work and Freedom fell . The city administration was also responsible for logistical reasons to ensure that this event ran safely. In 1966 and 1967, Tobrine was also the head of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority . He was also a member of various other organizations and associations. Between 1967 and 1969, Walter Tobriner was the United States Ambassador to Jamaica . He then worked as an advisor to the United States Department of State . He died on July 14, 1979.

Web links

• The Political Graveyard
• biography

predecessor	Office	successor
Robert E. McLaughlin	President of the Board of Commissioners, Washington DC 1961–1967	Walter Washington (Mayor)
Wilson TM Beale	United States Ambassador to Jamaica 1967–1969	Vincent de Roulet