Delano Eugene Lewis was born on November 12, 1938, in Arkansas City, Kansas, into a family of "ardent Democrats".[2][3][4] He was named for Franklin Delano Roosevelt (although his name is pronounced "Del-AYE-no", differently than Roosevelt).[1] He was the only child of Raymond Ernest Lewis, a porter for the Santa Fe Railroad, and Enna L. Lewis (née Wordlow), a homemaker.[2][5][6]
Lewis was a legislative assistant to Senator Edward Brooke and Delegate Walter E. Fauntroy.[4] He led Marion Barry's mayoral transition team in 1978 and his re-election campaign's financial committee in 1982.[8]
In 1993, Lewis became the president and chief executive officer of National Public Radio. During his tenure, he served for three years on the board of Apple Computer,[14] citing "pressing time demands"[15] as the reason for leaving in 1997. He resigned from NPR in 1998.[16]
President Bill Clinton named Lewis the U.S. ambassador to South Africa in 1999 and presented his credentials on January 21, 2000.[18] He was sworn in by federal judge John Edwards Conway, a law-school classmate.[9] Later, Lewis and his wife moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, where he started a consultancy, Lewis & Associates.[6] In 2006, he was named a senior fellow at New Mexico State University.[19] The following year, he was named founding director of New Mexico State University's International Relations Institute.[20]
Lewis later ran for a seat on the Council of the District of Columbia (Washington's city council), losing to Barry.[21] It was his only run for political office, although he was considered a leading candidate for Mayor of the District of Columbia for years, and was often described as a power broker in Washington, D.C., politics.[21] When he resigned from NPR, he declared that he would not be running for any public office.[24]
Lewis was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and was elected president of it while at the University of Kansas.[5]
Among the many civic awards Lewis earned,[6]The Washingtonian named him a "Washingtonian of the Year" in 1978;[25] he was awarded Catholic University's President's Medal in 1978, as well.[6] In January 2009, he was celebrated as Kansan of the Year.[26]
Lewis and his wife, the former Gayle Carolyn Jones,[2] were married in 1960,[8] and they had four sons, including actor Phill Lewis.[8][21][27]ABaptist by birth and upbringing, Lewis converted to Catholicism when he married.[8] He died on August 2, 2023, under hospice care in Las Cruces, New Mexico, aged 84.[28][29]
^ abcdeTrescott, Jacqueline (January 6, 1988). "Delano Lewis, The Insider's Outsider – The C&P Vice President, Heading Up the Board of Trade & Playing Down Mayoral Talk". The Washington Post. p. C1.
^ abcdStaff (July 2000). "Delano E. Lewis: America's New Ambassador to South Africa". Ebony. p. 116.
^"Delano Lewis". Discover Your Talent Podcast. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
^Peabody, Alvin (March 25, 1998). "Delano Lewis Calls For Revamping Of Political System: Still The Last Colony?". The Washington Informer. Vol. 34, no. 22. p. 1.
^ abcdSkrzycki, Cindy (October 25, 1993). "Answering a New Call – Del Lewis Leaves C&P after 20 Years for the Chance to 'Fly Free' at NPR". The Washington Post. p. F1.
^United States Congress Senate Committee on the District of Columbia (1974). Advisory Neighborhood Councils: Hearing, Ninety-third Congress, Second session on H.R. 12109. US GPO.
