Carla Hills

Carla Hills
Name	Carla Hills
Birth date	3 January 1934
Birth place	Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Attorney, diplomat, public servant
Alma mater	Stanford University, Yale Law School
Spouse	Rudolph Perini (m. 1969)

Carla Hills

Carla Anderson Hills is an American attorney and public official who served in senior roles in the Nixon administration, the Ford administration, and the George H. W. Bush administration. She is best known for serving as the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Gerald Ford and as United States Trade Representative under George H. W. Bush, where she played a leading role in the negotiations that produced the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Early life and education

Hills was born in Los Angeles, California, and attended Beverly Hills High School before matriculating at Stanford University, where she earned an Bachelor of Arts amid contemporaries from John F. Kennedy-era networks and future U.S. Supreme Court figures; she then attended Yale Law School, graduating in the period when notable classmates and faculty included future Supreme Court of the United States justices and scholars influential in constitutional law, administrative law, and civil rights litigation.

Legal and academic career

After law school Hills practiced at prestigious firms in New York City and San Francisco, joining legal circles connected to firms representing corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange and advising clients in regulatory matters involving the Securities and Exchange Commission and banking regulators. She later served on the faculty and as a lecturer at institutions such as Stanford Law School and appeared as counsel in cases before federal appellate courts, interacting with judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Her legal career intersected with prominent attorneys from firms that represented major corporations like IBM, General Electric, and AT&T in disputes touching on antitrust and administrative proceedings.

Political career and public service

Hills entered public service during the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, holding positions in the Department of Labor and later being appointed as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by Ford, where she worked with mayors from New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles as well as with members of Congress from both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. In the 1980s and 1990s she served in advisory roles for presidential campaigns and administrations including ties to figures such as Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bob Dole, and participated in policy discussions with leaders from Congressional Budget Office briefings and the Office of Management and Budget.

Trade policy and NAFTA negotiations

As United States Trade Representative under President George H. W. Bush, Hills led negotiations with counterparts from Canada and Mexico, including discussions with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and President Carlos Salinas de Gortari that culminated in the North American Free Trade Agreement. She coordinated with trade ministers from the World Trade Organization predecessor bodies, consulted with corporate leaders from Ford Motor Company, Caterpillar Inc., and Monsanto, and engaged with labor leaders from AFL–CIO and environmental organizations during the drafting and congressional consideration of the agreement. Hills also represented the United States in multilateral trade forums involving representatives from the European Community, Japan, and developing-country delegations during rounds that shaped global trade rules.

Later career, corporate roles, and boards

Following public service Hills held senior positions on corporate boards and in law firms, serving as a director and advisor to companies such as Chevron Corporation, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and major financial institutions with ties to Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. She served on nonprofit and academic boards including the Council on Foreign Relations, the Brookings Institution, and advisory panels at Harvard Kennedy School and Stanford University, collaborating with former secretaries such as Henry Kissinger and economists like Alan Greenspan on governance and trade policy issues.

Honors, awards, and legacy

Hills has received honors from institutions including Yale University, Stanford University, and trade organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; she has been recognized by bar associations like the American Bar Association and policy groups including the Trilateral Commission. Her legacy is cited in discussions of late 20th-century American trade policy alongside leaders such as Robert Rubin and Peter Peterson and in histories of NAFTA negotiations studied by scholars at Georgetown University and Columbia University.

Category:Living people Category:United States Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development Category:United States Trade Representatives Category:American lawyers Category:Women in politics