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{{Short description|American philanthropist (1933–2021)}}
{{Infobox US Ambassador
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Replace this image male.svg <!-- only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people - see [[WP:NONFREE]] --> |
| name = James Catherwood Hormel
|name = Jim Hormel
|image = James Hormel.jpg
| ambassador_from=United States
| country = Luxembourg
|office = [[United States Ambassador to Luxembourg]]
⚫
|president = [[Bill Clinton]]
| order =
| term_start = June 29, 1999
|term_start = September 8, 1999
| term_end = 2001
|term_end = January 1, 2001
| predecessor = [[Clay Constantinou]]
|predecessor = [[Clay Constantinou]]
| successor = [[Gerald J. Loftus]]<br><small>Chargé d'Affairs ''ad interim''
|successor = Gerald Loftus (acting)
|birth_name = James Catherwood Hormel
⚫
| president = [[Bill Clinton]]
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1933|1|1}}
|birth_date = {{birth date|1933|1|1}}
| birth_place = [[Austin, Minnesota]]
|birth_place = [[Austin, Minnesota]], U.S.
|death_place = [[San Francisco, California]], U.S.
| profession = Philanthropist
|death_date = {{death date and age|2021|8|13|1933|1|1}}
| party = Democratic
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse = Alice Turner (divorced)<br>Michael Nguyen Araque
|children = 5
|father = [[Jay Catherwood Hormel]]
|relatives = [[Geordie Hormel]] (brother)<br>[[George A. Hormel]] (grandfather)
|education = [[Swarthmore College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[University of Chicago]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
}}
}}
'''James Catherwood Hormel''' (January 1, 1933 – August 13, 2021) was an American [[philanthropist]], [[LGBT activism|LGBT activist]], diplomat, and heir to the [[Hormel]] meatpacking fortune. He served as the [[United States Ambassador to Luxembourg]] from 1999 to 2001, and was the first [[closeted|openly]] [[gay]] man to represent the United States as an ambassador.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/05/us/clinton-appoints-gay-man-as-ambassador-as-congress-is-away.html?ref=jameschormel | work=The New York Times | first=Katharine Q. | last=Seelye | title=Clinton Appoints Gay Man as Ambassador as Congress Is Away | date=5 June 1999}}</ref>
'''James Catherwood Hormel''' (born January, 1933 in [[Austin, Minnesota]]) is an American [[philanthropist]] and grandson of [[George A. Hormel]], founder of [[Hormel Foods Corporation|Hormel Foods]] (producers of [[Spam (food)|SPAM]] and other meat products).


==Early life and education==
Hormel earned a B.A. in history ([[1955]]) from [[Swarthmore College]], [[Pennsylvania]] and a law degree ([[1958]]) from the [[University of Chicago]] Law School where he later served as Dean of Students and Director of Admission. He was a member of the 1995 [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]] and the 1996 U.S. delegation to the [[United Nations General Assembly]], and the boards of directors of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the [[amfAR|American Foundation for AIDS Research]]. He was appointed [[Ambassadors from the United States|United States Ambassador]] to [[Luxembourg]] by [[President of the United States|President]] [[Bill Clinton]] in 1999. When he was appointed through a [[recess appointment]], he became the first [[closeted|openly]] [[gay]] man to represent the United States as an ambassador.
Hormel was born in [[Austin, Minnesota]]. He is the grandson of [[George A. Hormel]], founder of [[Hormel Foods Corporation|Hormel Foods]]. Hormel is the son of Germaine Dubois and [[Jay Catherwood Hormel]], who served as president of [[Hormel Foods Corporation|Hormel Foods]]. Hormel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from [[Swarthmore College]] and a [[Juris Doctor]] from the [[University of Chicago Law School]]. After law school, Hormel served as the dean of students and director of admissions at the [[University of Chicago Law School]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/13/us/politics/james-hormel-dead.html |title=James Hormel, America's First Openly Gay Ambassador, Dies at 88 |date=August 13, 2021 |last=Grullón Paz |first=Isabella |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=August 17, 2021}}</ref>


==Diplomatic career==
The James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center at the [[San Francisco Public Library]] is the gateway to collections documenting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered ([[LGBT]]) history and culture, with a special emphasis on the [[San Francisco Bay Area]]. He has participated in numerous events, including a conference organized in 2004 by [[Amnesty International]] in the frame of the Geneva Gay Pride.
⚫
In 1994, President [[Bill Clinton]] considered Hormel for the [[ambassador]]ship to [[Fiji]], but did not put the nomination forward due to objections from Fijian government officials.<ref name="GALAAPP">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_boGY8AUTIC | title=Gay and lesbian Americans and political participation: a reference handbook | author=Raymond A. Smith |author2=Donald P. Haider-Markel | year=2002 |location=Santa Barbara, Calif. | publisher=ABC-Clio| isbn=1-57607-256-8}}</ref> At the time, [[Gay sexual practices|gay male sex]]ual acts were [[LGBT rights in Fiji|punishable with prison sentences in Fiji]] and Hormel's being open about his sexuality would stand in conflict with "[[culture of Fiji|Fijian culture]]". Instead, Hormel was named as part of the [[United Nations]] delegation from the United States to the [[Human Rights Commission]] in 1995, and in 1996 became an alternate for the [[United Nations General Assembly]].<ref name="GALAAPP" />


In October 1997, Clinton nominated Hormel to be ambassador to [[Luxembourg]], which had removed laws prohibiting consensual [[Homosexuality|same-sex]] acts between adults in the 1800s.<ref name="GALAAPP" /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gL_nAQGxI_IC | title=Homophobia: A History | author= Byrne R. S. Fone | publisher= Macmillan | year=2001 | isbn=0-312-42030-7}}</ref> This appointment was the first nomination or appointment of an [[closeted|openly]] LGBT person from the United States.<ref name="GALAAPP" /> The [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] approved his nomination with only [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] and conservative Senators [[Jesse Helms]] and [[John Ashcroft]] opposed. While his confirmation by the senate initially seemed certain,<ref name="wapo98"/> with only two senators—[[Tim Hutchinson]] and [[James Inhofe]]—opposing the nomination, subsequent revelations about Hormel's background led to more opposition from Republican senators, leaving Hormel's nomination in limbo.<ref name="pb">{{cite news|url=https://www.postbulletin.com/republicans-delay-hormel-vote---heir-seeks-to-become/article_7396449d-1fb4-58fb-95f6-c0a5861055c3.html|title=Republicans delay Hormel vote - Heir seeks to become first gay ambassador|date=13 February 1998|work=Post Bulletin}}</ref> Among the points of contention were:
==Ambassadorship ==
* The James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library, which Hormel funded, was found to contain [[pornography|pornographic]] materials and documents published by the pro-[[pedophilia]] advocacy group [[NAMBLA]].<ref name="wapo98"/> Christian-based conservative groups like the [[Traditional Values Coalition]] (TVC) and the [[Family Research Council]] (FRC) labelled Hormel as being pro-pornography, asserting that Hormel would be rejected in the largely [[Roman Catholic]] Luxembourg.<ref name="DPJH">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5abYVL2eXekC | title=Defending pornography: free speech, sex, and the fight for women's rights | author= Nadine Strossen | publisher=NYU Press| year=2000 | isbn=0-8147-8149-7}}</ref> The Washington Post later wrote that much of the same material could also be found in the [[Library of Congress]], and Hormel said that he had nothing to do with the selection.<ref name="wapo01"/>
* The FRC distributed video tapes<ref>{{cite news | author=Curtis, Kim | title=Gay Philanthropist's Appointment as Envoy Causes Controversy | work=Seattle Times | date=June 6, 1999 | page=A15}}</ref> of a television interview with Hormel at the 1996 [[San Francisco Pride]] parade in which Hormel laughed at a joke about the [[Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence]], a group of men who dress in drag as nuns to mock religious conventions, as they passed by.<ref name="wapo01">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/06/20/after-a-diplomatic-silence-the-gay-ambassador-speaks/15f59cb4-8174-439c-9a4d-f558123ef5c4/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=20 June 2001|title=After a Diplomatic Silence, The Gay Ambassador Speaks|last=Kupfer|first=Peter}}</ref> The [[Catholic League (U.S.)|Catholic League]] took this as an indication of approval of what they characterized as an anti-Catholic group.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.catholicleague.org/white-house-lies-about-hormel/|title=White House Lies About Hormel|date=26 May 1999 }}</ref> In a meeting with Tim Hutchinson, Hormel declined to repudiate the Sisters.<ref name="pb"/> In an interview years later, Hormel objected to the idea that the video clip showed that he approved of the group and that he was anti-Catholic.<ref name="wapo01"/>
* It was revealed that Hormel had contributed $12,000 to fund the production of ''[[It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School]]'', a video aimed at teaching tolerance of homosexuality to grade-school students.<ref name="wapo98"/><ref name="pb"/> This especially inflamed Senator [[Bob Smith (New Hampshire politician)|Bob Smith]] of New Hampshire, who was portrayed unflatteringly in the film. Smith contended that he opposed Hormel not because he was gay but because of his "[[gay agenda|advocacy of the gay lifestyle]]".<ref name="wapo98"/>


[[Trent Lott]], the Republican [[majority leader]], worked to block the vote and publicly called homosexuality a sin and compared it to [[alcoholism]] and [[kleptomania]].<ref name="GALAAPP" />
⚫
President [[Bill Clinton]], in 1994 considered Hormel for an [[ambassador]]ship to [[Fiji]], an island nation in the [[Oceania|South Pacific]] Ocean, but did not put forth the nomination due to protests from Fiji officials.<ref name="GALAAPP"> [http://books.google.com/books?id=m_boGY8AUTIC ''Gay and lesbian Americans and political participation: a reference handbook''] Raymond A. Smith, Donald P. Haider-Markel; 2002; ISBN 1576072568, 9781576072561.</ref> Gay male sexual acts were punishable with prison sentences in Fiji and Hormel's being open about his sexuality would stand in conflict with culture. Instead Hormel was named as part of the [[United Nations]] delegation from the US to the [[Human Rights Commission]] in 1995, and in 1996 became an alternate for the [[United Nations General Assembly]].<ref name="GALAAPP"/> In October 1997 Clinton nominated Hormel to be ambassador to [[Luxembourg]] which had removed laws prohibiting consensual [[same-sex]] acts between adults in the 1800s.<ref name="GALAAPP"/><ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=gL_nAQGxI_IC ''Homophobia: A History''] Byrne R. S. Fone; Macmillan, 2001, ISBN 0312420307, 9780312420307.</ref> This appointment was the first ever nomination or appointment of an [[closeted|openly]] LGBT person from the US.<ref name="GALAAPP"/>


Concerns about Hormel's reception in Luxembourg were "blunted when officials of the country, which has laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation, indicated that he would be welcome."<ref>{{cite glbtq.com | article-url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/hormel_jc.html |article=Hormel, James C. (b. 1931) |last=Rapp | first=Linda | date=1 March 2004 | orig-year=2004 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414150718/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/hormel_jc.html | archivedate=14 April 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=Kupfer, Peter |title=After a Diplomatic Silence, the Gay Ambassador Speaks; James Hormel Responds to His Vociferous Critics |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/06/20/after-a-diplomatic-silence-the-gay-ambassador-speaks/15f59cb4-8174-439c-9a4d-f558123ef5c4/ |newspaper=The Washington Post | date=June 20, 2001 |accessdate= 11 July 2020}}</ref> Senator [[Alfonse D'Amato]] of New York found the obstruction of the nomination an embarrassment and urged that [[Trent Lott]] bring the issue up for a vote.<ref name="Floor Statement">{{cite web | last =Leahy | first =Patrick | title=Floor Statement on the Nomination of John Ashcroft to the Office of Attorney General | publisher=Senator Patrick Leahy | date=29 January 2001 | url =http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200101/010129ex.html | accessdate=2008-07-07 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080608142709/http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200101/010129ex.html |archivedate = 2008-06-08}}</ref><ref name="Republican Demagogue">{{cite news | last=Nichols | first=Jack | title=Republican Demagogue: 'Ambassadors Shouldn't Be (Immoral) Gays!': Senator Don Nickles (R.-Okla) Steps Up Declared War on U.S. Gays: Franklin Kameny on Nickles: 'He's a Two Bit Little Public Servant!' | work=Gay Today | date=22 June 1998 | url=http://gaytoday.badpuppy.com/garchive/events/062298ev.htm | accessdate=2008-07-07 | archive-date=2022-06-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622121049/http://gaytoday.badpuppy.com/garchive/events/062298ev.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> When Lott continued to stall, Clinton employed a [[recess appointment]] on June 4, 1999. Hormel was sworn in as ambassador in June 1999. His partner at the time, Timothy Wu, held the [[Bible]] during the ceremony.<ref name="Journal; Summer">{{cite news | last = Rich | first =Frank | title= Journal; Summer of Matthew Shepard | work=The New York Times | date=3 July 1999 | url =https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503EFD7123DF930A35754C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | accessdate=2008-07-07}}</ref><ref name="Human Events">{{cite news | title= Human Events | work=The New York Times | date=16 July 1999 | url =http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3827/is_199907/ai_n8874620?lstpn=article_results&lstpc=search&lstpr=external&lstprs=other&lstwid=1&lstwn=search_results&lstwp=body_middle| accessdate=2008-07-07}}</ref><ref name="Hormel's partner">{{cite web | last = Holland | first =Judy | title= Hormel's partner sees win for minorities; Mainstream America rejected anti-gay comments, Timothy Wu says | work=The San Francisco Examiner | date=1 July 1999 | url =http://www.princeton.edu/pr/news/99/c/0707.htm | accessdate=2008-07-07}}</ref><ref name="Queers in History">{{cite book | last = Stern | first =Keith | title= Queers in History | location=Beverly Hills, California | publisher=Quistory Publishers | isbn=1-84728-348-9 | year=2006}}</ref> Also in attendance were Hormel's former wife, his five children, and several of his grandchildren.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved his nomination with only [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] and conservative Senators [[Jesse Helms]] and [[John Ashcroft]] opposed. Three other Republicans, [[James Inhofe]], [[Tim Hutchinson]], and [[Robert C. Smith]], with the urging of religious and [[social conservatives]] campaigned vigorously against Hormel's nomination. [[Trent Lott]], the Republican [[Majority Leader]] worked to block the vote and publicly called [[homosexuality]] a [[sin]] and compared it to [[alcoholism]] and [[kleptomania]].<ref name="GALAAPP"/> Christian-based conservative groups like the [[Traditional Values Coalition]] (TVC) and the [[Family Research Council]] (FRC) publicly accused Hormel of being pro-[[pornography]] and [[anti-Catholic]] and the Senators presented those charges to derail the nomination.<ref name="DPJH"> [http://books.google.com/books?id=5abYVL2eXekC ''Defending pornography: free speech, sex, and the fight for women's rights''] Nadine Strossen; NYU Press, 2000; ISBN 0814781497, 9780814781494.</ref> They asserted that Hormel would be rejected in the largely Catholic Luxembourg. To support the pornography allegation, a list of materials in the Hormel collection at the [[San Francisco Public Library]] was compiled by the TVC; it was later pointed out that the same works were also in the [[Library of Congress]].<ref name="DPJH"/> The anti-Catholic allegation stemmed from a 1996 [[San Francisco Pride]] parade television interview where he was seen laughing at the same time the [[Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence]], a group that pokes fun at religious conventions, walked by.<ref> [http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:0lRcEkQQmZMJ:bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/record/2001/2001_S00979.pdf+%22james+hormel%22+anti-catholic+sisters&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us Congressional Record—Senate S979] 1 February 2001.</ref> Although it was unclear why he was laughing, [[Christian right]] conservative group FRC distributed video tapes to the entire Senate of the brief event.<ref> Curtis, Kim. "Gay Philanthropist's Appointment as Envoy Causes Controversy." Seattle Times (June 6, 1999): A15.</ref>
The treatment of his nomination was referenced by [[Pete Buttigieg]] during his acceptance speech for his nomination as [[Secretary of Transportation]] on December 16, 2020.<ref name="Nomination of Pete Buttigieg">{{Cite news|last1=Itkowitz|first1=Colby|last2=Sonmez|first2=Felicia|last3=Wagner|first3=John|last4=Viebeck|first4=Elise|last5=Demirjian|first5=Karoun|last6=Janes|first6=Chelsea|title=Biden introduces Buttigieg as transportation secretary nominee, meets virtually with governors|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/16/joe-biden-trump-transition-live-updates/|access-date=2020-12-17|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>


==Philanthropy and advocacy==
Concerns about Hormel's reception in Luxembourg were "blunted when officials of the country, which has laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation, indicated that he would be welcome."<ref> [http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/hormel_jc.html Hormel, James C.] Rapp, Linda, Claude J. Summers editor; ''glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture'', March 1, 2004. Accessed, 6 April 2009.</ref><ref> Kupfer, Peter. "After a Diplomatic Silence, the Gay Ambassador Speaks; James Hormel Responds to His Vociferous Critics." Washington Post (June 20, 2001): C1.</ref> Senator [[Alphonse D'Amato]] of New York found the [[homophobic]] obstruction of the nomination an embarrassment and urged that [[Trent Lott]] bring the issue up for a vote.<ref name="Floor Statement">{{cite web
In 1981, he was one of the founders of the [[Human Rights Campaign]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/statement-on-the-passing-of-a-human-rights-campaign-founder-lgbtq-advocate-and-former-ambassador-jim-hormel |title=Statement On The Passing of a Human Rights Campaign Founder, LGBTQ+ Advocate, and Former Ambassador Jim Hormel |date=August 13, 2021 |last=Bibi |first=Elizabeth |website=[[Human Rights Campaign]] |access-date=August 17, 2021}}</ref> He was a member of the boards of directors of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the [[amfAR|American Foundation for AIDS Research]]. Hormel contributed $500,000<ref name="wapo98">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1998/01/15/a-gay-ambassador/e3654977-e2cb-4e16-834d-3c6e0e7ae4f6/|title=A Gay Ambassador?|last=Novak|first=Robert D.|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=15 January 1998}}</ref> to fund the creation of the James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center at the [[San Francisco Public Library]] in 1996 (renamed the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center in 2016).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/lgbt/article/Nation-s-first-gay-public-library-center-turns-8255564.php|title='Queerest. Library. Ever.': Preserving gay history for 20 years|last=Whiting|first=Sam|date=21 June 2016|website=SFGate}}</ref>
| last =Leahy
| first =Patrick
| title=Floor Statement on the Nomination of John Ashcroft to the Office of Attorney General
| publisher=Senator Patrick Leahy
| date=29 January 2001
| url =http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200101/010129ex.html
| accessdate=2008-07-07}}</ref><ref name="Republican Demagogue">{{cite web
| last = Nichols
| first =Jack
| title=Republican Demagogue: 'Ambassadors Shouldn't Be (Immoral) Gays!': Senator Don Nickles (R.-Okla) Steps Up Declared War on U.S. Gays: Franklin Kameny on Nickles: 'He's a Two Bit Little Public Servant!'
| publisher=Gay Today
| date=22 June 1998
| url =http://gaytoday.badpuppy.com/garchive/events/062298ev.htm
| accessdate=2008-07-07}}</ref> When Lott continued to stall, Clinton employed a [[recess appointment]] in May 1999. Hormel was sworn in as ambassador in June 1999.


Hormel participated in numerous events, including a conference organized in 2004 by [[Amnesty International]] in the frame of the Geneva Gay Pride. In 2010 he was given the Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal Award by [[San Francisco Pride]] Board of Directors for his LGBT activism over several decades.<ref name="sfpride marshal">{{cite web|url=http://sfpride.org/parade/grand-marshals.html |title=Grand Marshals |publisher=San Francisco Pride |year=2010 |accessdate=January 8, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114134520/http://www.sfpride.org/parade/grand-marshals.html |archivedate=January 14, 2013 }}</ref>
⚫
==Personal life==

Hormel has five children, fourteen grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. He lives in [[San Francisco, California]] with his partner, Michael P. Nguyen. Mr. Nguyen is also an alumnus of Swarthmore College, class of 2008.
⚫
==Personal life and death==
Hormel's brother, [[Geordie Hormel]], was a musician and recording studio proprietor. Hormel was married to Alice Turner, now a retired psychologist, for ten years before [[closeted|coming out of the closet]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/18/opinion/journal-all-in-the-family.html|title=Journal; All in the Family|last=Rich|first=Frank|date=18 April 1998|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Hormel had five children, fourteen grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. He lived in [[San Francisco, California]], with his spouse Michael Peter Nguyen Araque.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alfred Bloom, Mary Schmidt Campbell '69, and James C. Hormel '55 to Receive Honorary Degrees at Swarthmore's 137th Commencement |publisher=Swarthmore College |url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/x25989.xml |accessdate=28 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014015828/http://www.swarthmore.edu/x25989.xml |archivedate=14 October 2011 }}</ref>

James Hormel died in San Francisco on August 13, 2021, at the age of 88.<ref>{{cite news|title=James Hormel, America's First Openly Gay Ambassador, Dies at 88|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/13/us/politics/james-hormel-dead.html|newspaper=The New York Times|last=Grullón Paz|first=Isabella|date=August 13, 2021|accessdate=August 13, 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of LGBT ambassadors of the United States]]


== References ==
== References ==
Line 50: Line 56:


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/biography/hormel_james.html US State Department Biography]
* [https://1997-2001.state.gov/www/about_state/biography/hormel_james.html US State Department Biography]
* {{C-SPAN|87559}}
* [http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/hormel_jc.html James Hormel] on [[glbtq.com]]


{{start box}}
{{s-start}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Clay Constantinou]]}}
{{succession box
| title = [[United States Ambassador to Luxembourg]]
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Ambassador to Luxembourg]]|years=1999–2001}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Gerald Loftus]]<br>Acting}}
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| before = [[Clay Constantinou]]
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{{s-end}}
| after = [[Gerald J. Loftus]]<br><small>'' '''Chargé d'Affairs ad interim''' ''
{{US Ambassadors to Luxembourg}}
| years = June 29, 1999 – 2001
{{Authority control}}
}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hormel, James}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hormel, James}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Mower County, Minnesota]]
[[Category:20th-century American diplomats]]
[[Category:People from San Francisco, California]]
[[Category:21st-century American diplomats]]
[[Category:20th-century American philanthropists]]
[[Category:21st-century American philanthropists]]
[[Category:Activists from California]]
[[Category:Activists from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Luxembourg]]
[[Category:Asheville School alumni]]
[[Category:California Democrats]]
[[Category:Hormel Foods]]
[[Category:Hormel Foods]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States]]
[[Category:Gay diplomats]]
[[Category:LGBT people from the United States]]
[[Category:LGBTQ ambassadors of the United States]]
[[Category:LGBTQ in Luxembourg]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from Minnesota]]
[[Category:American gay men]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ rights activists]]
[[Category:People from Austin, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Philanthropists from California]]
[[Category:Philanthropists from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Swarthmore College alumni]]
[[Category:Swarthmore College alumni]]
[[Category:University of Chicago Law School alumni]]
[[Category:University of Chicago Law School alumni]]

Latest revision as of 21:40, 26 September 2024

Jim Hormel
United States Ambassador to Luxembourg
In office
September 8, 1999 – January 1, 2001
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byClay Constantinou
Succeeded byGerald Loftus (acting)
Personal details
Born
James Catherwood Hormel

(1933-01-01)January 1, 1933
Austin, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedAugust 13, 2021(2021-08-13) (aged 88)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Alice Turner (divorced)
Michael Nguyen Araque
Children5
Parent
RelativesGeordie Hormel (brother)
George A. Hormel (grandfather)
EducationSwarthmore College (BA)
University of Chicago (JD)

James Catherwood Hormel (January 1, 1933 – August 13, 2021) was an American philanthropist, LGBT activist, diplomat, and heir to the Hormel meatpacking fortune. He served as the United States Ambassador to Luxembourg from 1999 to 2001, and was the first openly gay man to represent the United States as an ambassador.[1]

Early life and education

[edit]

Hormel was born in Austin, Minnesota. He is the grandson of George A. Hormel, founder of Hormel Foods. Hormel is the son of Germaine Dubois and Jay Catherwood Hormel, who served as president of Hormel Foods. Hormel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Swarthmore College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. After law school, Hormel served as the dean of students and director of admissions at the University of Chicago Law School.[2]

Diplomatic career

[edit]

In 1994, President Bill Clinton considered Hormel for the ambassadorship to Fiji, but did not put the nomination forward due to objections from Fijian government officials.[3] At the time, gay male sexual acts were punishable with prison sentences in Fiji and Hormel's being open about his sexuality would stand in conflict with "Fijian culture". Instead, Hormel was named as part of the United Nations delegation from the United States to the Human Rights Commission in 1995, and in 1996 became an alternate for the United Nations General Assembly.[3]

In October 1997, Clinton nominated Hormel to be ambassador to Luxembourg, which had removed laws prohibiting consensual same-sex acts between adults in the 1800s.[3][4] This appointment was the first nomination or appointment of an openly LGBT person from the United States.[3] The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved his nomination with only Republican and conservative Senators Jesse Helms and John Ashcroft opposed. While his confirmation by the senate initially seemed certain,[5] with only two senators—Tim Hutchinson and James Inhofe—opposing the nomination, subsequent revelations about Hormel's background led to more opposition from Republican senators, leaving Hormel's nomination in limbo.[6] Among the points of contention were:

  • The James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library, which Hormel funded, was found to contain pornographic materials and documents published by the pro-pedophilia advocacy group NAMBLA.[5] Christian-based conservative groups like the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) and the Family Research Council (FRC) labelled Hormel as being pro-pornography, asserting that Hormel would be rejected in the largely Roman Catholic Luxembourg.[7] The Washington Post later wrote that much of the same material could also be found in the Library of Congress, and Hormel said that he had nothing to do with the selection.[8]
  • The FRC distributed video tapes[9] of a television interview with Hormel at the 1996 San Francisco Pride parade in which Hormel laughed at a joke about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of men who dress in drag as nuns to mock religious conventions, as they passed by.[8] The Catholic League took this as an indication of approval of what they characterized as an anti-Catholic group.[10] In a meeting with Tim Hutchinson, Hormel declined to repudiate the Sisters.[6] In an interview years later, Hormel objected to the idea that the video clip showed that he approved of the group and that he was anti-Catholic.[8]
  • It was revealed that Hormel had contributed $12,000 to fund the production of It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School, a video aimed at teaching tolerance of homosexuality to grade-school students.[5][6] This especially inflamed Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire, who was portrayed unflatteringly in the film. Smith contended that he opposed Hormel not because he was gay but because of his "advocacy of the gay lifestyle".[5]

Trent Lott, the Republican majority leader, worked to block the vote and publicly called homosexuality a sin and compared it to alcoholism and kleptomania.[3]

Concerns about Hormel's reception in Luxembourg were "blunted when officials of the country, which has laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation, indicated that he would be welcome."[11][12] Senator Alfonse D'Amato of New York found the obstruction of the nomination an embarrassment and urged that Trent Lott bring the issue up for a vote.[13][14] When Lott continued to stall, Clinton employed a recess appointment on June 4, 1999. Hormel was sworn in as ambassador in June 1999. His partner at the time, Timothy Wu, held the Bible during the ceremony.[15][16][17][18] Also in attendance were Hormel's former wife, his five children, and several of his grandchildren. The treatment of his nomination was referenced by Pete Buttigieg during his acceptance speech for his nomination as Secretary of Transportation on December 16, 2020.[19]

Philanthropy and advocacy

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In 1981, he was one of the founders of the Human Rights Campaign.[20] He was a member of the boards of directors of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Hormel contributed $500,000[5] to fund the creation of the James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library in 1996 (renamed the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center in 2016).[21]

Hormel participated in numerous events, including a conference organized in 2004 by Amnesty International in the frame of the Geneva Gay Pride. In 2010 he was given the Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal Award by San Francisco Pride Board of Directors for his LGBT activism over several decades.[22]

Personal life and death

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Hormel's brother, Geordie Hormel, was a musician and recording studio proprietor. Hormel was married to Alice Turner, now a retired psychologist, for ten years before coming out of the closet.[23] Hormel had five children, fourteen grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. He lived in San Francisco, California, with his spouse Michael Peter Nguyen Araque.[24]

James Hormel died in San Francisco on August 13, 2021, at the age of 88.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Seelye, Katharine Q. (5 June 1999). "Clinton Appoints Gay Man as Ambassador as Congress Is Away". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Grullón Paz, Isabella (August 13, 2021). "James Hormel, America's First Openly Gay Ambassador, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e Raymond A. Smith; Donald P. Haider-Markel (2002). Gay and lesbian Americans and political participation: a reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio. ISBN 1-57607-256-8.
  4. ^ Byrne R. S. Fone (2001). Homophobia: A History. Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-42030-7.
  5. ^ a b c d e Novak, Robert D. (15 January 1998). "A Gay Ambassador?". The Washington Post.
  6. ^ a b c "Republicans delay Hormel vote - Heir seeks to become first gay ambassador". Post Bulletin. 13 February 1998.
  7. ^ Nadine Strossen (2000). Defending pornography: free speech, sex, and the fight for women's rights. NYU Press. ISBN 0-8147-8149-7.
  8. ^ a b c Kupfer, Peter (20 June 2001). "After a Diplomatic Silence, The Gay Ambassador Speaks". The Washington Post.
  9. ^ Curtis, Kim (June 6, 1999). "Gay Philanthropist's Appointment as Envoy Causes Controversy". Seattle Times. p. A15.
  10. ^ "White House Lies About Hormel". 26 May 1999.
  11. ^ Rapp, Linda (1 March 2004) [2004]. "Hormel, James C. (b. 1931)". In Summers, Claude J. (ed.). glbtq: An encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture. Chicago: glbtq, Inc. Archived from the original on 14 April 2009.
  12. ^ Kupfer, Peter (June 20, 2001). "After a Diplomatic Silence, the Gay Ambassador Speaks; James Hormel Responds to His Vociferous Critics". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  13. ^ Leahy, Patrick (29 January 2001). "Floor Statement on the Nomination of John Ashcroft to the Office of Attorney General". Senator Patrick Leahy. Archived from the original on 2008-06-08. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  14. ^ Nichols, Jack (22 June 1998). "Republican Demagogue: 'Ambassadors Shouldn't Be (Immoral) Gays!': Senator Don Nickles (R.-Okla) Steps Up Declared War on U.S. Gays: Franklin Kameny on Nickles: 'He's a Two Bit Little Public Servant!'". Gay Today. Archived from the original on 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  15. ^ Rich, Frank (3 July 1999). "Journal; Summer of Matthew Shepard". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  16. ^ "Human Events". The New York Times. 16 July 1999. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  17. ^ Holland, Judy (1 July 1999). "Hormel's partner sees win for minorities; Mainstream America rejected anti-gay comments, Timothy Wu says". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  18. ^ Stern, Keith (2006). Queers in History. Beverly Hills, California: Quistory Publishers. ISBN 1-84728-348-9.
  19. ^ Itkowitz, Colby; Sonmez, Felicia; Wagner, John; Viebeck, Elise; Demirjian, Karoun; Janes, Chelsea. "Biden introduces Buttigieg as transportation secretary nominee, meets virtually with governors". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  20. ^ Bibi, Elizabeth (August 13, 2021). "Statement On The Passing of a Human Rights Campaign Founder, LGBTQ+ Advocate, and Former Ambassador Jim Hormel". Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  21. ^ Whiting, Sam (21 June 2016). "'Queerest. Library. Ever.': Preserving gay history for 20 years". SFGate.
  22. ^ "Grand Marshals". San Francisco Pride. 2010. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  23. ^ Rich, Frank (18 April 1998). "Journal; All in the Family". The New York Times.
  24. ^ "Alfred Bloom, Mary Schmidt Campbell '69, and James C. Hormel '55 to Receive Honorary Degrees at Swarthmore's 137th Commencement". Swarthmore College. Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  25. ^ Grullón Paz, Isabella (August 13, 2021). "James Hormel, America's First Openly Gay Ambassador, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
[edit]
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Luxembourg
1999–2001 		Succeeded by
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