Colbert I. King was born in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 20, 1939. After a distinguished career in banking and public service, he joined the editorial board of The Washington Post on Aug. 1, 1990, and was appointed deputy editor of the editorial page from January 2000 until his retirement in 2007. He continues to write a weekly column under his own byline. Mr. King was awarded the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, and was a finalist for both the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for commentary and the 2000 ASNE Distinguished Writing Award for commentary/column writing. He is a regular panelist on the weekend political TV show “Inside Washington” and a commentator for WTOP, a Washington, DC radio station. Before joining The Post, he served as an executive vice president and member of the board of directors of the Riggs National Bank of Washington, D.C. with a concentration on international banking and federal financial services. In the fall of 1979, President Jimmy Carter nominated Mr. King to serve as U.S. executive director to the World Bank. Upon his confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Mr. King became the first African American to represent the United States in that global financial institution. Mr. King has served on the boards of several organizations, including the Council on Excellence in Government, WETA, Arena Stage, Mount Vernon College, Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, the Washington Historical Society, AFRICARE and the Fund for Peace. He has been honored by DC Appleseed, the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. He has received the 2008 Reginald S. Lourie Award and the 2009 John R. Kinard Leadership in Community Service Award . A 1961 graduate of Howard University, he is married to Gwendolyn Stewart King, a former commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration. They have three adult children.
2010 Colbert I. King
Colbert I. King / The Washington Post