Michigan: Return of the Boy Wonder

As Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs for most of the past five years, G. (for Gerhard) Mennen Williams made frequent trips through Africa, dazzling the natives with his colorful bow ties and — even in his 50s—his youthful manner. Trouble was, "Soapy" Williams was getting almost more attention in Africa than he was in the U.S. Appointed by John Kennedy, he has never been particularly close to Lyndon Johnson and, in the staid halls of Foggy Bottom, never quite shucked his boy-wonder image. It was all a far cry from...