PAI Honors the Life of William H. Draper III

The Board of Directors, leadership and staff of PAI honor the life of Bill Draper, venture capital pioneer, international public servant, and PAI board member and benefactor, who passed away on September 8 at the age of 98. Throughout his career, Bill brought a deep commitment to public service to his efforts to advance global development. Son and namesake of one of PAI’s founders, General William H. Draper, Jr., Bill ably carried on his father’s legacy of mobilizing investment by the U.S. government and the international community to expand access to voluntary family planning and reproductive health services.

Following graduation from Yale and Harvard Business School, service during the Korean War, and a stint as a steel salesman in Chicago, he joined his father’s newly formed firm, Draper, Gaither & Anderson, in 1959. It was the first venture capital firm on the West Coast. He went on to co-found the venture capital firm Draper & Johnson Investment Company and later founded Sutter Hill Ventures. It was during this time that he first joined the PAI board.

Taking an extended sabbatical from Silicon Valley, Bill entered public service in 1981 as President Reagan’s appointee as president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. As the head of the Ex-Im Bank, he played a key, behind-the-scenes role in preserving U.S. government support for global efforts to address high fertility in low- and middle-income countries.

That commitment was tested at the 1984 International Conference on Population in Mexico City. Bill was one of only two members of the nine-person U.S. delegation who supported continued U.S. leadership on international family planning and reproductive health. The delegation, led by former Republican Senator James Buckley, instead announced a sharp shift in U.S. policy, including new restrictions on funding organizations that provided information on or performed abortions, and a declaration that population growth was a “neutral phenomenon.”

The divisions within the U.S. delegation ultimately threatened American support for the conference’s final agreement. Bill worked strategically behind the scenes to keep the United States at the table. As the final vote approached, Buckley twice sought President Reagan’s permission to reject the conference document. After Bill alerted senior foreign policy officials, the first effort was stopped. On Buckley’s second call, Reagan instructed him to follow State Department guidance. The United States ultimately joined the other participating nations in adopting the program of action by consensus. Bill’s intervention helped preserve U.S. participation at a pivotal moment for the global family planning movement.

Draper expanded his public service to the international arena in 1986 when he became the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the largest multilateral source of grant assistance for development programs. During his tenure, he oversaw nearly 10,000 international aid projects working to reduce poverty, improve democratic governance, prevent crises, and promote environmental sustainability. He helped lead several global initiatives, such as the International Education for All movement, and launched the Human Development Index, a quality-of-life assessment tool still in use by the United Nations today.

Serving as UNDP Administrator brought the Draper family’s extraordinary service to the United Nations full circle. As PAI national chairman, Bill’s father, General Draper, played a critical, central role in enlisting worldwide support for the creation in 1969 of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), initially a trust fund under UNDP. General Draper, a key figure in the Marshall Plan and the post-World War II reconstruction of Europe and Japan, approached every potential large contributor, and mobilized more than $15 million in 1970 from 24 countries and nearly $30 million in 1971 from 46 countries, the equivalent of nearly $400 million today, adjusted for inflation.

In his eulogy of General Draper in 1975, UNFPA’s first executive director, Rafael Salas, offered these words: “He spoke for all of us who have worked in the field of population. And, what we in this field have achieved — or will achieve — will be, I believe, a testament to the man and a monument to his memory.” The same can be said for his son.

Upon his return to the private sector following his departure from UNDP in 1993, Bill eventually turned his time and attention to developing an innovative model of philanthropy, applying the lessons of venture capital to address societal challenges.

His generosity in sharing his insights and advice as a member of the PAI’s Board of Directors, both before and after his public service, and in championing us to his friends and colleagues has benefited PAI—an organization that his father helped to found immeasurably. We will deeply miss Bill’s wise counsel in the years and decades to come.

“Bill Draper believed deeply in public service and in using his influence to make a difference. Across business, government, philanthropy, and international development, that commitment never wavered,” said Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, President & CEO of PAI. “Bill understood that progress takes time, persistence, strong institutions, and people committed to the work for the long haul. For PAI, we have lost someone who was part of our history and who helped shape the organization we are today.”

On behalf of the PAI community, we extend our deepest condolences to Bill’s family, friends, and all those touched by his extraordinary life and leadership. We are deeply grateful for all that Bill gave to PAI and for the difference he made in the lives of people around the world.