Sara E. Lister

On October 26, 1997, Lister participated in a seminar in Baltimore addressing the relationship between civilian and military segments of society. During that seminar, Lister made the following comments during a discussion of scholarly papers on the topic:

One critic of Lister who attended the conference argued that "Lister and I have agreed on almost nothing concerning service policies… But, this was an academic exchange, a professorial context." Nevertheless, leaders of the U.S. Marine Corps did not take kindly to being labeled "extremists" and spoke out against Lister. On November 13, 1997, the United States House of Representatives passed a concurrent resolution condemning Lister's remarks, stating that her characterization of the Marine Corps as "extremists" "denigrates 222 years of sacrifice and dedication to the Nation by the Marine Corps and dishonors the hundreds of thousands of Marines whose blood has been shed in the name of freedom"; and calling for Lister's resignation. Newt Gingrich, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives sent a letter to President Clinton in which he called Lister's remarks "completely out of order" and insulting to all military personnel. Gingrich wrote: "Nothing less than her dismissal and a full apology on your part to America's sons and daughters in uniform will suffice to repair this breach." Lister issued a formal apology for her remarks on November 14, 1997, and Defense Secretary William Cohen accepted her apology. Lister resigned her office one week earlier than planned, on November 15, 1997. One commentator argued Lister was “brought down by a carefully orchestrated campaign of conservative activists” because of “her persistent effort to get women into military units, like engineers and artillery, that are close to frontline combat.” Others speculated that she was an “obvious choice” to succeed Togo West as Secretary of the Army, a concern for opponents of greater military service opportunities for women.

On January 24, 1994, President Bill Clinton nominated Lister to be Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs). While serving in this position, Lister was instrumental in the development of policies that opened more Army jobs to women in 1994, and played a key role in the investigations of sexual misconduct and discrimination in the service. Of Lister, retired Brig. Gen. Evelyn "Pat" Foote said, "I think she is one of the greatest soldiers the Army has ever had."

With the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, Lister left government service to practice law in the private sector.

She married U.S. Air Force officer Charles Ellis Lister on June 23, 1961 in New York City. They have two daughters.

Sara E. Lister was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota and raised in Washington, D.C. and New York City, studying at Sidwell Friends School and receiving her high school diploma from The Hewitt School in 1957. She was educated at Radcliffe College (A.B., 1961), George Washington University (M.A., 1966 and J.D., 1974), and Yale University (incomplete PhD studies).

Sara Elisabeth Lister (born May 10, 1940) is a United States lawyer who served as General Counsel of the Army under the Carter administration and then as Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) from 1994 to 1997, the highest ranking female civilian in the service at the time. She led efforts to provide women greater opportunities to serve in the Army, and supported investigations of sexual harassment and discrimination in the military. Lister gained national attention in November 1997 when she referred to members of the United States Marine Corps as "extremists" during a discussion at an academic conference. She was ultimately forced to resign early as Assistant Secretary of the Army because of the controversy over her remarks.