Charlotte Mailliard Shultz

Mailliard with Cyril Magnin, 1985

Charlotte Smith Mailliard Swig Shultz (born ca. 1934) is an American heiress and socialite. She is the Chief of Protocol for the state of California, and the Chief of Protocol for the City and County of San Francisco.[1] She is the wife of former United States Secretary of State George P. Shultz.[2] In 2007, she was named Honorary Commander of The Royal Victorian Order by Queen Elizabeth II.[3] Mailliard Shultz was also the President of the board of the War Memorial Performing Arts Center and a member of the boards of the San Francisco Symphony, Grace Cathedral, the Commonwealth Club of California, and the San Francisco Ballet. A native Texan, Mailliard Shultz has often quipped about San Francisco, "...if I don't pay my dues, they may send me back to Texas!"[4]

Biography

Born Charlotte Smith in the small town of Borger in the Texas Panhandle, where her father ran the general store, Mailliard went on to graduate from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in fashion design, marketing and merchandising. Mailliard moved to San Francisco, where she met her first husband, John Ward Mailliard III, who died of cancer in 1986. In 1988, she married Melvin Swig, owner of the Fairmont Hotel. As a couple, Melvin and Charlotte donated and raised numerous funds for building the new San Francisco Public Library. Melvin Swig died in 1993. In 1997, Mailliard married George Shultz.

Mailliard's work as Chief of Protocol for San Francisco has been notable. Her role has been called the "city's premier party-giver" by the Chronicle. Indeed, as Chief of Protocol, Mailliard brought back the city's Black and White Ball, organized the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge with the Golden Gate Bridge Walk (where one million pedestrians walked across the bridge), and welcomed British royalty and Pope John Paul II on their visits to the city. Her role as Chief of Protocol began as a volunteer for then-San Francisco mayor Jack Shelley, spanning over seven mayoral administrations until then-mayor Frank Jordan's term, who chose as his Chief of Protocol, Richard Goldblum. Willie Brown re-appointed Mailliard to the post, which she currently holds today.[5]

In 2003, San Francisco's society held a surprise party to honor her work on behalf of the city. Baseball legend Willie Mays, mayor Gavin Newsom, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and wife Maria Shriver were in attendance. It was announced that the staircase of San Francisco City Hall would be known as the "Charlotte Mailliard Shultz Staircase."

In 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Maillard Shultz as Chief of Protocol for the State of California.

Marriage to George Shultz

Mailliard's marriage, at the age of sixty-three, to the former Secretary of State at Grace Cathedral in 1997 was considered the Bay Area's "wedding of the year." They were introduced to each other by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein. Shultz proposed to Charlotte at the Bohemian Club with a diamond, sapphire and ruby ring. Wedding guests included Nancy Reagan, former Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey, former Ambassador to Great Britain Walter Annenberg, former California governor Pete Wilson, and United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Today, the couple continues to dominate San Francisco social events, their public lives intersecting through their vast contacts, from attending White House state dinners to throwing a bash for Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair's visit in 2006 at their Russian Hill penthouse at The Summit.

References

  1. ↑ "Mayor Lee Appoints Charlotte Mailliard Shultz as Chief of Protocol". City and County of San Francisco. 02/11/11. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ↑ "George P. Shultz, Charlotte Swig". The New York Times. August 17, 1997.
  3. ↑ http://www.sfgate.com/living/article/SWELLS-2595188.php
  4. ↑ Archambeau, Kathleen (2006). Climbing the Corporate Ladder in High Heels. Career Press. p. 70. ISBN 1-56414-876-9.
  5. ↑ Brown, Willie L. (2008). Basic Brown: my life and our times. Simon and Schuster. p. 253. ISBN 0-7432-9081-X.

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