William Herbert Gray III (August 20, 1941 – July 1, 2013) was Majority Whip of the Democratic Party in the United States House of Representatives during the 101st Congress serving as Majority Whip until his resignation from Congress in 1991. He served as president and chief executive officer of the United Negro College Fund from 1991 to 2004. As an African-American, he was the fourth highest-ranking member of the House at the time of his resignation and a minister in Philadelphia. He was co-founder of the government lobbying and advisory firm, Gray Loeffler LLC, headquartered in Washington D.C.

Early life

He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but grew up in St. Augustine, Florida, where his father was president of Florida Normal (later Florida Memorial) College, and inNorth Philadelphia where he graduated from Simon Gratz High School. He attendedFranklin and Marshall College, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1963. He went on to obtain a master's in divinity from Drew Theological Seminary in 1966 and a similar degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1970. Gray received a L.H.D. from Bates College in 1994.

Professional life

In 1972, Gray succeeded his father as the senior minister at Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia. He was elected as a Democrat to represent Philadelphia in the United States House of Representatives in 1978. He represented Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1978 until his resignation on September 11, 1991. He was the first African-American to chair the House Budget Committee and also the first to serve as the Majority Whip (1989–1991). As chairman of the Committee on Budget, Gray introduced H.R. 1460, an anti-Apartheid bill that prohibited loans and new investment in South Africa and enforced sanctions on imports and exports with South Africa. This bill was an instrumental precursor to theComprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 (H.R. 4868).

Gray resigned from Congress in 1991 to serve as President of the United Negro College Fund from 1991 to 2004. He served as a special adviser to the President andSecretary of State for Haitian affairs in 1994. He was named to the Politics PA list of "Pennsylvania's Top Political Activists."

Outside of politics he was also a businessman who has been a Director at Dell from 2000. Gray was a director of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Prudential Financial Inc., Rockwell International Corporation, Visteon Corporation and Pfizer. He retired from Bright Hope Baptist Church in 2007 and was succeeded by Kevin R. Johnson, former Assistant Pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York.

Personal

Gray was married to the former Andrea Dash; they have three sons, William IV, Justin and Andrew. Gray was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He died on July 1 in London, England, UK.