for Security and Consular Affairs. She was responsible for the Passport Office, the Visa Office, and the Office of Special Consular Services. In July 1968, President Lyndon Johnson nominated Watson as Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs. After Senate confirmation, she held this office from August 12, 1968 until November 1974. She was both the first black Assistant Secretary of State and the first woman to serve in this post. In 1974, she received the Luther I. Replogle Award for Management Improvement. She also chaired an international consular conference in Mexico City in 1974. Ouster Beginning in March of 1974, the Nixon administration attempted multiple times to oust Watson in order to replace her with Leonard F. Walentynowicz, a Republican lawyer from Buffalo, New York. The Ford administration blocked attempts from Nixon appointees in late August and early September before demanding her resignation in November. Watson remained in Washington, D.C., where she took a job with Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications as a legal consultant in 1975. She also lectured at several colleges and universities during this interim. Department of State under President Carter In January 1977, President Jimmy Carter asked Watson to return to the State Department as Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs; her second stint in this office lasted from April 13, 1977 until August 17, 1980. Three years later, President Carter appointed Watson United States Ambassador to Malaysia. She presented her credentials on September 25, 1980. President Ronald Reagan accepted her letter of resignation in February 1981 and Watson resigned on March 1, 1981. She returned to private law practice with two Washington-based firms, specializing in international law, business development, and trade. Watson was a Democrat. Personal life and legacy Watson received honorary doctorates from the University of Maryland and Mount St. Mary's College. She was a member of the American Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar Association, the Bar of the State of New York, and the Bar of the District of Columbia. In addition to receiving the Luther I. Replogle Award for Outstanding Management in Foreign Affairs in 1974, Watson was the recipient of seventeen other awards from varied organizations, and was decorated as a Commander of the National Order of the Republic of the Ivory Coast. Watson was a member of the boards of Fordham University; Barnard College; the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service; the Georgetown Center for