James A. Joseph

In 1995, he was nominated by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate as the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa. He was the only U. S. Ambassador to present his credentials to President Nelson Mandela. In 1999, President Thabo Mbeki awarded him the Order of Good Hope, the highest honor the Republic of South Africa bestows on a citizen of another country. As a legacy and contribution to South Africa and the United States, Joseph helped found the Emerging Leaders Program, a pioneering effort in partnership with both the University of Cape Town and Duke University aimed at identifying and mentoring the next generation of significant leaders working to make an impact on the world. He has served four U.S. Presidents.

From 1982 to 1995, Joseph was president and chief executive officer of the Council on Foundations, an international organization of more than 2000 foundations and corporate giving programs. In 1985, he was a distinguished visitor at Nuffield College at Oxford University and serves presently as an honorary professor and a member of the board of advisors at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town.

Joseph served as a vice president of Cummins Engine Company and president of the Cummins Engine Foundation from 1971-1976. An ordained minister, he has taught at Yale Divinity School and the Claremont Colleges, where he was also university chaplain. From 1977 to 1981, Joseph served as the Under Secretary of the Department of Interior under President Jimmy Carter. President Reagan appointed him a member of the advisory committee to the Agency for International Development and the first President Bush appointed him an incorporating director of the Points of Light Foundation and a member of the Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges. President Clinton appointed him the first chairman of the board of directors of the Corporation for National Service.

Joseph was born in Plaisance, Louisiana. He earned his bachelor's degree in political science and social studies from Southern University, and master's degree in divinity from Yale University. He became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. After graduating from Yale, Joseph began his career at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he helped organize the local civil rights movement in 1963.

James A. Joseph (born March 12, 1935) is an American former diplomat.