Курт Шмок: от мэра Балтимора до президента Университета Балтимора

American politician, mayor of Baltimore and President of the University of Baltimore

Kurt Lidell Schmoke (born December 1, 1949) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 47th mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, from 1987 to 1999, the first African American to be elected to the post. He is a former dean of the Howard University School of Law and, on July 7, 2014, he was appointed as president of the University of Baltimore.

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Schmoke joined the Baltimore law firm of Piper and Marbury.

In 1982, Schmoke ran for his first elected office. He challenged incumbent Baltimore City State's Attorney William A. Swisher in a citywide contest. Schmoke ran an energetic, grassroots and race neutral campaign and upset Swisher in a landslide. On November 3, 1987, he was elected mayor of Baltimore. As mayor, he became known for his opposition to the "War on Drugs" and his stance in favor of drug decriminalization. He made his position on drug decriminalization known during a speech at the U. S. Conference of Mayors. Schmoke rewrote his speech the night before the conference, adding a harsh criticism of drug criminalization without showing his staff or the organizers of the conference. After newspapers published accounts of the speech, Schmoke faced widespread, bipartisan condemnation. Baltimore's two congressmen came out against Schmoke's idea of decriminalization, as well as Reagan administration officials. One of his most notable critics was Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel, who called Schmoke "the most dangerous man in America." Schmoke initiated programs in housing, education, public health and economic development. In 1992, President George H. W. Bush awarded him the National Literacy Award for his efforts to promote adult literacy and, in 1994, President Bill Clinton cited Baltimore's programs to improve public housing and enhance community economic development and named Baltimore one of six cities to receive Empowerment Zone designation. In 1995, Schmoke spoke at the Million Man March. In 1997, Schmoke was a committee member for the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. After serving three terms as city mayor, Schmoke opted not to run for reelection in 1999.

In 1999, Schmoke delivered some remarks on the subject of school choice and school vouchers at a Manhattan Institute luncheon in New York. An edited version of a transcript of that speech entitled, "Why School Vouchers Can Help Inner City Children", is available online and in that brief web page, Schmoke explains why he believes [that] school choice and vouchers will improve the quality of public education for America's youth, particularly inner city minority children. Schmoke first spoke in support of school choice in a speech at Johns Hopkins University in March 1996.

After leaving office in December 1999, Schmoke practiced law at the firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Baltimore. In 2003, Schmoke was appointed the dean of the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D. C. In 2004, Schmoke was appointed an honorary fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. He is also on the board of Global Rights, and a member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. In 2008, Schmoke delivered the keynote lecture, "A New Hundred Years War? The Compelling Need to Reform National Drug Control Policy" for the Edward Bouchet Conference on Diversity in Graduate Education at Yale University. He also appeared in two 2004 episodes of the acclaimed HBO series The Wire. The episodes, entitled "Middle Ground" and "Mission Accomplished", featured Schmoke in a bit part as a health commissioner. He acts as an advisor to the fictional mayor after a rogue police major has legalized drugs in a portion of the city. This is a reference to his own feelings on the drug war. In July 2008, Schmoke became the acting senior vice president for academic affairs at Howard University. Schmoke continued as dean of the Howard University School of Law. Schmoke was part of the legal team advising Burris during the controversy. Schmoke was appointed vice president and general counsel of Howard University in July 2012. On May 14, 2014, the University of Baltimore announced that Schmoke would become its new president. On September 8, 2017, President Schmoke made the decision to have Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as the Fall 2017 commencement speaker. In January 2024, John P. Angelos reached a $1.725 billion deal to sell the Baltimore Orioles to a group led by David Rubenstein. The group included Schmoke, Cal Ripken, New York investment manager Michael Arougheti, businessman Michael Bloomberg and NBA hall of famer Grant Hill.