U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown Dies In Plane Crash

On April 3, 1996, the plane that was carrying Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown along with thirty-four passengers crashed into the mountains of Bosnia, enroute to Dubrovnik Airport killing all on board. As commerce secretary, Brown was leading a delegation of U.S. business and banking executives to the Balkans. On the plane were 12 chief executives and 14 U.S. government employees, including one identified by the State Department only as a Central Intelligence Agency analyst. The executives included the chair and chief executive of Riggs International Bank in Washington, the U.S. executive director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and a vice president of AT&T's Submarine Systems division.

There was also the president of Bechtel Europe, Africa, Middle East, Southwest Asia. The San Francisco based Bechtel engineering company is one of the biggest Pentagon contractors in the United States. In addition, the chair and chief executive of Parsons Corp. of Pasadena, Calif., was on board. Parsons is one of the world's biggest international engineering and construction corporations.

Another passenger was the New York Times bureau chief in Frankfurt, Germany. Ron Brown was considered by many to be the most powerful Black politician in the United States, was on a special mission to Croatia and Bosnia. However, he was acting as a representative of  U.S. finance capital. Weather reports indicated that the visibility was at or below five miles. (Remarks By President Clinton Regarding The Death of Secretary Of Commerce Ron Brown)