“Tributes pour in at the passing of a true LGBTQ trailblazer, philanthropist, ambassador, and cofounder of HRC.
James C. Hormel was America’s first openly gay US ambassador, serving in Luxembourg from 1999-2000. Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, and Hormel’s friend, announced his death on Friday, Aug. 13.
In October 1997, President Bill Clinton first appointed Hormel to the diplomatic post. Hormel was nominated by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the full US Senate in 1997 but conservative Republicans vehemently opposed his gay rights advocacy and blocked the vote…”
James Hormel, First Out Gay Ambassador, Has Died at 88
