Susan Clough Explained

Susan Clough (March 11, 1945 - January 1, 2024)^[1] was the personal executive secretary to President Jimmy Carter.^{[2] [3] [4]} She also worked for him prior to his presidency.

Prior to secretarial work

Clough married a 22-year-old Stanley Clough when she was 16 and had her two children, Doug and Carol Ann, prior to turning 18.^[5] She left her husband when she was 18 and began looking for a job while raising Doug and Carol. After studying for one year at Fresno City College, she found herself with no marketable skills. She was receiving only $200 per month from her ex-husband, and struggled financially. However, Clough was ambitious and intelligent. She was a Mensa member, and could play piano and classical guitar, make clothes, and was an avid reader of nonfiction. She also enjoyed playing competitive games.^[6]

As secretary

After completing a secretarial course, she found a job at Fort Bragg, N.C. Her ex-husband had been stationed there, and her father was a retired Army colonel. She quit her job there partially "because all my bosses were propositioning me." She then moved to Atlanta and became a legal secretary.^[6]

Work for Carter

In 1971 she became a member of Carter's staff, and took the position of assistant to the press chief Jody Powell. She then began to work as Carter's personal secretary while he was Governor of Georgia. Her job included such duties as research and drafting speeches. It was during that time that she developed a friendship with Carter. When he left office at the end of his term in 1975, Clough remained to serve Carter's successor, George Busbee. Eighteenth months later, Carter telephoned her, and asked her to return to work for him. She did, and eventually became the personal assistant and secretary to the President. Her duties included drafting much of his correspondence. She received a salary of more than $30,000 per year.^[6]

Personal life

Clough's younger brother was shot and killed during a spree of random murders around Atlanta.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Obituaries in Louisville, KY Courier-Journal . 2024-02-01 . courier-journal.com . en.
2. News: Robert . Ajemian . Jimmy Carter: This Is My Place . https://web.archive.org/web/20070217092627/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C953503%2C00.html . dead . February 17, 2007 . TIME . 1982-05-24 . 2011-10-20.
3. Web site: The Nation: Jimmy's Music to Govern By . https://web.archive.org/web/20081215104451/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914841,00.html . dead . December 15, 2008 . TIME . 1977-03-28 . 2011-10-20.
4. Web site: Jimmy Carter Presidential Materials . Jimmycarterlibrary.gov . 2011-10-20.
5. News: Quinn . Sally . 1977-11-06 . Peach Frost and Soft Talk of the President's Secretary . 2024-02-01 . Washington Post . en-US . 0190-8286.
6. Crawford . Clare . 9 May 1977 . 'Rosalynn and I Pick My Secretary,' Says Jimmy Carter—Susan Clough Was the Choice . . 2011-10-20. Clough was 32 at the time of publication.