William N. Walker

William N. Walker is the author of five popular and strongly reviewed novels of inter-war Europe.  He brings to his novels a lifetime of experience as a diplomat, government official and international businessman.

Mr. Walker was Ambassador and Chief Trade Negotiator for the United States in the Tokyo Round of Multilateral Trade negotiations conducted under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in Geneva. He lived in Geneva for more than two years as America’s senior diplomat and brings first-hand knowledge to telling the stories in his novels. While the GATT was hardly the League of Nations, international organizations now, as then, are unwieldly and susceptible to the kinds of infighting and manipulation that we witness in the books.

As a member of the Nixon Administration, Mr. Walker was also a close observer of the political intrigue that destroyed Nixon’s presidency. He was general counsel of two government agencies and was among the principal architects of the US government’s response to the Arab Oil Embargo. Later, he served as Director of the Presidential Personnel Office for President Ford. After leaving government, he became a partner in a large Wall Street law firm, running a successful international law practice. Later, he established a company, which he continues to operate, devoted to international business that has included transactions in Europe, the former Soviet Union, Turkey, Central Asia and the Middle East. He describes himself as a recovering attorney.

Mr. Walker is a winner of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Wesleyan University. He is the father of three grown children and lives with his wife on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.