Robert Schwarz Strauss
Encyclopedia
Robert Schwarz Strauss is a figure in American politics and diplomacy. A Texas
political figure, Strauss’s political service dates back to future president Lyndon Johnson’s
first congressional campaign in 1937. By the 1950s, he was associated in Texas politics with the conservative faction of the Democratic Party
led by Johnson and John Connally
. He served as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
between 1972 and 1977 and served under President Jimmy Carter
as the U.S. Trade Representative and special envoy to the Middle East
. Strauss was selected by President George H. W. Bush
to be the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1991 and after the USSR's collapse, he served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 1991 until 1993. Strauss has advised and represented U.S. presidents over three administrations and for both major U.S. political parties.
An accomplished lawyer, Strauss founded the law firm now known as Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in 1945, which has grown to be one of the largest in the world with offices in 15 cities and employing over 900 lawyers and professionals worldwide. His business activities included serving on the Texas Banking Commission and as Chairman of the U.S.-Russia Business Council
.
Strauss was inducted into the Academy of Achievement
in 2003 and was recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
, America’s highest civilian award, on January 16, 1981. He is a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
and The Forum for International Policy
, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
and the Trilateral Commission
.
Strauss has occupied academic chairs and lecture positions, including one as the Lloyd Bentsen
Chair at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
at The University of Texas. He is also the namesake of The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law
at The University of Texas. Additionally, Strauss has an interest in biomedical issues and has endowed two chairs at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
: the Helen and Robert S. Strauss Professorship in Pediatric Neurology and the Helen and Robert S. Strauss Professorship in Urology.
, south of Austin
. When he was a year old, his family moved to the small town of Hamlin
, north of Abilene
, and later to the slightly larger nearby town of Stamford
. Robert Strauss's father, who had immigrated to the United States from Germany
as a young man, opened a small general store in Stamford.
In his sophomore year at The University of Texas at Austin Strauss campaigned for a state assembly candidate and was given a part-time job as a Committee Clerk in the Texas State Legislature. In 1937, while still an undergraduate, he volunteered for Lyndon Johnson's
first congressional campaign. Strauss was also a member of the Texas Cowboys
, an honorary service organization at UT. In law school at the University of Texas, he met another student who would have a large impact on his career, John B. Connally. After completing his law degree, Strauss was hired as a special agent
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), and served in the FBI throughout World War II
. At the end of the war, he settled in Dallas, where he and a fellow FBI agent, Richard A. Gump, founded their own law firm
. This firm, originally known as Gump and Strauss, would eventually grow into the international law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld.
. By the 1950s, Strauss's law school friend, John Connally, was serving on the staff of Lyndon Johnson, who soon became Senate Majority Leader.
When John F. Kennedy
and Lyndon Johnson were elected President and Vice President
in 1960, Connally, a former naval officer, was appointed Secretary of the Navy. Within a year, at Strauss's urging, Connally returned to Texas to run for governor. At the time, the Republican Party
had no significant presence in Texas, but Connally nevertheless faced stiff opposition in the Democratic primary
. Strauss's skill as a campaign adviser and fund-raiser was a crucial factor in Connally's narrow victory. Having secured the Democratic nomination, Connally easily won the general election. Connally's election finally brought Strauss the access to the Dallas
business establishment he had long sought. Governor Connally appointed Strauss to the Texas Banking Commission, and Strauss's law firm grew and prospered.
The world of Texas politics was turned upside down by the events of November 1963. Governor Connally and his wife Nellie were riding in the limousine with President Kennedy in Dallas when the President was fatally shot
. Governor Connally was severely wounded by the assassin's bullets, but soon recovered. Connally and Strauss's mentor and patron, Lyndon Johnson, was now President of the United States. Although Strauss did not regard himself as part of the President's inner circle of political advisers, Connally certainly was, and Robert Strauss's connection to Connally brought him closer to the President.
In Texas, Governor Connally was finding himself at odds with the more liberal wing of his own party, while on the national stage, Democrats were becoming bitterly divided over the Vietnam War
. President Johnson solicited Strauss's advice on the issue. Strauss feared that continued involvement in the war was a mistake that was endangering Johnson's presidency, but he felt too intimidated by the imposing Johnson to share his true feelings. Strauss immediately regretted withholding his true opinion from the President; he resolved that if any President ever sought his advice again, he would tell him the truth, no matter what the President wanted to hear.
brought the Republican Richard Nixon
to power and left the Democratic Party deeply divided. Strauss had long expected that his friend John Connally would one day run for president, and hoped that he would seek the Democratic nomination in the next election. Strauss opened a Washington
office for his law firm and became Treasurer
of the Democratic Party in 1971, but the same year, Connally accepted an invitation from President Nixon to serve as Secretary of the Treasury
. In 1972, the Democrats nominated George McGovern
, while Connally supported Nixon. McGovern and the Democrats suffered a crushing defeat
, losing in 49 of the 50 states.
In the wake of this defeat, Strauss was elected Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
. Although emboldened by their success in the Congressional elections of 1974
, the Democrats had no obvious front-runner for the presidential nomination in 1976. While remaining studiously neutral in the struggle for the nomination, Strauss carefully rebuilt the party's finances and planned a tightly disciplined national convention
in New York City
to erase memories of the chaotic gatherings of 1968
and 1972
. By the time the Democrats met at Madison Square Garden
, the nomination had been secured by an unexpected candidate, former Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter
.
Strauss expertly managed the convention. At the 1972 convention, party infighting had delayed candidate McGovern's acceptance speech until late at night, when the television audience had gone to sleep. Strauss made sure that Carter's acceptance speech ran in prime time
, and the convention
ended with a memorable tableau: the leaders of the party's opposing wings, conservative George Wallace
and liberal George McGovern
, flanking candidate Carter with clasped hands upraised. The Democrats entered the fall campaign united for the first time in years. Credit for this accomplishment was awarded to the Party's Chairman, Robert Strauss, and candidate Carter quickly asked Strauss to chair his election campaign as well. The national election was closely contested, but Carter emerged victorious. Strauss was acclaimed as a political kingmaker.
in the Trade Act of 1979. From this success, President Carter asked Strauss to undertake an even more challenging task, as his Personal Representative to the Middle East
. Carter's previous efforts had already resulted in a peace treaty
between Israel
and Egypt
, and the President hoped Strauss would be able to build on this success. The handshake of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin
and Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat on the White House
lawn was a high point of the Carter presidency, but dark clouds were gathering on the horizon. Revolution in Iran
led to the seizure of American diplomats as hostages
, a crisis that dominated the last year of Carter's term.
In 1980, Strauss's old friend John Connally finally made a run for the presidency. He entered the Republican primaries as a hard-core conservative, but found himself running at the back of the pack while Ronald Reagan
emerged as the front-runner. Robert Strauss chaired President Carter's campaign committee once again in 1980, but President Carter did not win re-election. Before leaving office, President Carter awarded Robert Strauss the Presidential Medal of Freedom
, the nation's highest civilian award.
Strauss returned to his law firm's thriving Washington office. His experience as Trade Representative made him a sought after expert on international trade
matters.
. Many of the president's supporters believed that the aggressive management style of his Chief of Staff
Donald Regan
was making matters worse, but the President remained loyal to Regan and would not consider replacing him. The President's adviser Michael Deaver
and First Lady
Nancy Reagan
made a discreet approach to an experienced outsider they believed might be able to persuade the President: Robert Strauss. Others had told the President what he wanted to hear, that the controversy would blow over and that Donald Regan was more useful than not. Robert Strauss, who had closely observed the workings of two other presidential administrations, told the President the painful truth, that Donald Regan had become a liability and that the White House needed a Chief of Staff who could mend fences, especially with Congress. Among others, Strauss recommended former Senator Howard Baker
, a Republican respected on both sides of the aisle for his competence and integrity. Reagan was visibly annoyed with Strauss's suggestions, but a few days later, Donald Regan submitted his resignation, and the President appointed Howard Baker to replace him. Baker skillfully managed the President's recovery from the controversy, and President Reagan left office with his popularity restored.-
Mr. Strauss was then appointed as the co-chairman, along with ex-secretary of Transportation Drew Lewis, of the National Economic Commission. This bi-partisan commission was given the task to solve the federal budget deficit that had grown to over 4 Trillion dollars. The commission lasted from 1988 to 1989, and ended in the first term of President George H. Bush.
, George H.W. Bush, won election to succeed him. The first President Bush also found need for the counsel of Strauss. In the Soviet Union
, President Mikhail Gorbachev
was attempting to reform the communist
system and forge a new relationship with the United States. His efforts faced opposition from hard-liners within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
, while newly elected leaders in the Union's constituent republics agitated for more and more autonomy. President Bush appointed Strauss to serve as Ambassador to the Soviet Union, in hopes that Strauss's proven skills as a negotiator would ease the transition to a new era. The Soviet Union was also starting to transition from a dictatorship to a democracy, making it important to show that party membership should no longer be a requirement for political office and that political opposition should no longer be considered treason but rather, to use a British term, "loyal opposition", making Bush's selection of one of his own opponents especially significant. It was reported that Bush told Strauss that Bush had selected Strauss because Strauss said that he had voted against Bush and intended to do so again.
In August 1991, only weeks after a state visit by President Bush, reactionary members of the Communist Party and a few high-ranking officers of the military and KGB
attempted to seize power and restore the old dictatorship. The coup
collapsed, but Gorbachev's leadership had been fatally injured. Strauss presented his credentials to President Gorbachev only hours after Gorbachev resigned his post as Chairman of the Communist Party. While Strauss served in Moscow
, the first elected President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin
, emerged as the most powerful figure in the fragile union. With the agreement of the elected presidents of the other constituent republics, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved and replaced by a loosely associated Commonwealth of Independent States
.
In December, Gorbachev resigned the presidency of a super-state that had ceased to exist. Strauss was quickly re-appointed as Ambassador to the largest of the Soviet Union's successor states, the Russian Federation. With Strauss's assistance, President Yeltsin quickly established amicable relations with the United States. Strauss resigned this post shortly after the 1992 presidential election
in the United States and returned once again to private law practice with Akin Gump.
, and has written on law, business and public affairs for professional journals, magazines and newspapers across the United States and abroad. He has served on the boards of major corporations including Xerox
and the Archer Daniels Midland Company. In the academic world, he has occupied the Lloyd Bentsen Chair at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
at the University of Texas, where he lectured to students of law, business and public affairs. Now in his ninth decade, he serves as Chairman of the U.S.-Russia Business Council
, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
and a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
.
His sister-in-law, Annette Strauss
, served as mayor of Dallas
from 1987 to 1991.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
political figure, Strauss’s political service dates back to future president Lyndon Johnson’s
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
first congressional campaign in 1937. By the 1950s, he was associated in Texas politics with the conservative faction of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
led by Johnson and John Connally
John Connally
John Bowden Connally, Jr. , was an influential American politician, serving as the 39th governor of Texas, Secretary of the Navy under President John F. Kennedy, and as Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard M. Nixon. While he was Governor in 1963, Connally was a passenger in the car in...
. He served as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
between 1972 and 1977 and served under President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
as the U.S. Trade Representative and special envoy to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Strauss was selected by President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
to be the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1991 and after the USSR's collapse, he served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 1991 until 1993. Strauss has advised and represented U.S. presidents over three administrations and for both major U.S. political parties.
An accomplished lawyer, Strauss founded the law firm now known as Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in 1945, which has grown to be one of the largest in the world with offices in 15 cities and employing over 900 lawyers and professionals worldwide. His business activities included serving on the Texas Banking Commission and as Chairman of the U.S.-Russia Business Council
U.S.-Russia Business Council
U.S.-Russia Business Council is a Washington-based trade association that represents the interests of 300 member companies operating in the Russian market. The Council’s mission is to expand and enhance the U.S.-Russian commercial relationship. Guided by member interests, the Council promotes an...
.
Strauss was inducted into the Academy of Achievement
Academy of Achievement
The Academy of Achievement is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization founded in 1961 by photographer Hy Peskin. He established the Academy of Achievement to bring aspiring young people together with accomplished people...
in 2003 and was recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
, America’s highest civilian award, on January 16, 1981. He is a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...
and The Forum for International Policy
The Forum for International Policy
The Forum for International Policy is a non-profit, non-partisan "brain trust" of nationally recognized foreign policy experts.900 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006-Board of trustees:*Dwayne Andreas*David L. Boren*John M. Deutch...
, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
and the Trilateral Commission
Trilateral Commission
The Trilateral Commission is a non-governmental, non-partisan discussion group founded by David Rockefeller in July 1973 to foster closer cooperation among the United States, Europe and Japan.-History:...
.
Strauss has occupied academic chairs and lecture positions, including one as the Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
Chair at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs is a graduate school at The University of Texas at Austin that was founded in 1970 to offer professional training in public policy analysis and administration for students interested in pursuing careers in government and public affairs-related areas...
at The University of Texas. He is also the namesake of The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law
The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law
The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law is a nonpartisan, multidisciplinary global affairs research center at The University of Texas at Austin. The Center is named for renowned lawyer and public servant Ambassador Robert S...
at The University of Texas. Additionally, Strauss has an interest in biomedical issues and has endowed two chairs at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is one of the biomedical research institutions of the University of Texas System, incorporating three degree-granting institutions, four affiliated hospitals, including Parkland Memorial, the teaching hospital, and biomedical research...
: the Helen and Robert S. Strauss Professorship in Pediatric Neurology and the Helen and Robert S. Strauss Professorship in Urology.
Early life
Strauss was born in Lockhart, TexasLockhart, Texas
-External links:* *...
, south of Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. When he was a year old, his family moved to the small town of Hamlin
Hamlin, Texas
Hamlin is a city in Fisher and Jones Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 2,248 at the 2000 census.The Jones County portion of Hamlin is part of the Abilene, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, north of Abilene
Abilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
, and later to the slightly larger nearby town of Stamford
Stamford, Texas
Stamford is a small city located on the border of Jones and Haskell counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 3,111 in 2008. H. McHarg, president of the Texas Central Railroad, named the site in 1900 for his hometown in Connecticut...
. Robert Strauss's father, who had immigrated to the United States from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as a young man, opened a small general store in Stamford.
In his sophomore year at The University of Texas at Austin Strauss campaigned for a state assembly candidate and was given a part-time job as a Committee Clerk in the Texas State Legislature. In 1937, while still an undergraduate, he volunteered for Lyndon Johnson's
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
first congressional campaign. Strauss was also a member of the Texas Cowboys
Texas Cowboys
Texas Cowboys is an honorary men's service organization at The University of Texas at Austin. Founded in 1922, its members include some of the University's most distinguished students and alumni...
, an honorary service organization at UT. In law school at the University of Texas, he met another student who would have a large impact on his career, John B. Connally. After completing his law degree, Strauss was hired as a special agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI), and served in the FBI throughout World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. At the end of the war, he settled in Dallas, where he and a fellow FBI agent, Richard A. Gump, founded their own law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
. This firm, originally known as Gump and Strauss, would eventually grow into the international law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld.
Texas political activity
Still interested in a political career, Strauss and his wife, Helen, found a more comfortable niche participating in numerous charities and community activities, and Strauss became a prodigious fundraiser for the Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. By the 1950s, Strauss's law school friend, John Connally, was serving on the staff of Lyndon Johnson, who soon became Senate Majority Leader.
When John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Lyndon Johnson were elected President and Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
in 1960, Connally, a former naval officer, was appointed Secretary of the Navy. Within a year, at Strauss's urging, Connally returned to Texas to run for governor. At the time, the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
had no significant presence in Texas, but Connally nevertheless faced stiff opposition in the Democratic primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
. Strauss's skill as a campaign adviser and fund-raiser was a crucial factor in Connally's narrow victory. Having secured the Democratic nomination, Connally easily won the general election. Connally's election finally brought Strauss the access to the Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
business establishment he had long sought. Governor Connally appointed Strauss to the Texas Banking Commission, and Strauss's law firm grew and prospered.
The world of Texas politics was turned upside down by the events of November 1963. Governor Connally and his wife Nellie were riding in the limousine with President Kennedy in Dallas when the President was fatally shot
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
. Governor Connally was severely wounded by the assassin's bullets, but soon recovered. Connally and Strauss's mentor and patron, Lyndon Johnson, was now President of the United States. Although Strauss did not regard himself as part of the President's inner circle of political advisers, Connally certainly was, and Robert Strauss's connection to Connally brought him closer to the President.
In Texas, Governor Connally was finding himself at odds with the more liberal wing of his own party, while on the national stage, Democrats were becoming bitterly divided over the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. President Johnson solicited Strauss's advice on the issue. Strauss feared that continued involvement in the war was a mistake that was endangering Johnson's presidency, but he felt too intimidated by the imposing Johnson to share his true feelings. Strauss immediately regretted withholding his true opinion from the President; he resolved that if any President ever sought his advice again, he would tell him the truth, no matter what the President wanted to hear.
National political activity
The 1968 presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 1968
The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th quadrennial United States presidential election. Coming four years after Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson won in a historic landslide, it saw Johnson forced out of the race and Republican Richard Nixon elected...
brought the Republican Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
to power and left the Democratic Party deeply divided. Strauss had long expected that his friend John Connally would one day run for president, and hoped that he would seek the Democratic nomination in the next election. Strauss opened a Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
office for his law firm and became Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
of the Democratic Party in 1971, but the same year, Connally accepted an invitation from President Nixon to serve as Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
. In 1972, the Democrats nominated George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
, while Connally supported Nixon. McGovern and the Democrats suffered a crushing defeat
United States presidential election, 1972
The United States presidential election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 7, 1972. The Democratic Party's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent Republican President Richard...
, losing in 49 of the 50 states.
In the wake of this defeat, Strauss was elected Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
. Although emboldened by their success in the Congressional elections of 1974
United States general elections, 1974
The 1974 United States midterm elections were held on November 5. These elections were held in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Richard M. Nixon's resignation from the presidency, and Gerald Ford's subsequent pardon of Nixon...
, the Democrats had no obvious front-runner for the presidential nomination in 1976. While remaining studiously neutral in the struggle for the nomination, Strauss carefully rebuilt the party's finances and planned a tightly disciplined national convention
United States presidential nominating convention
A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to erase memories of the chaotic gatherings of 1968
1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, from August 26 to August 29, 1968. Because Democratic President Lyndon Johnson had announced he would not seek a second term, the purpose of the convention was to...
and 1972
1972 Democratic National Convention
The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida on July 10–13, 1972....
. By the time the Democrats met at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, the nomination had been secured by an unexpected candidate, former Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
.
Strauss expertly managed the convention. At the 1972 convention, party infighting had delayed candidate McGovern's acceptance speech until late at night, when the television audience had gone to sleep. Strauss made sure that Carter's acceptance speech ran in prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
, and the convention
1976 Democratic National Convention
The 1976 Democratic National Convention met at Madison Square Garden in New York City, from July 12 to July 15, 1976. The assembled United States Democratic Party delegates at the convention nominated Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia for President and Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota for Vice...
ended with a memorable tableau: the leaders of the party's opposing wings, conservative George Wallace
George Wallace
George Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
and liberal George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
, flanking candidate Carter with clasped hands upraised. The Democrats entered the fall campaign united for the first time in years. Credit for this accomplishment was awarded to the Party's Chairman, Robert Strauss, and candidate Carter quickly asked Strauss to chair his election campaign as well. The national election was closely contested, but Carter emerged victorious. Strauss was acclaimed as a political kingmaker.
Service under President Carter
After ascending to the presidency in 1977, President Carter named Strauss as U.S. Trade Representative. The position enjoyed cabinet level status, while allowing Strauss to apply his considerable negotiating skills to America's troubled relations with its trading partners. As Trade Representative, Strauss successfully completed the Tokyo Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, and secured the agreement's ratification by the United States CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in the Trade Act of 1979. From this success, President Carter asked Strauss to undertake an even more challenging task, as his Personal Representative to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Carter's previous efforts had already resulted in a peace treaty
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States...
between Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and the President hoped Strauss would be able to build on this success. The handshake of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
and Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat on the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
lawn was a high point of the Carter presidency, but dark clouds were gathering on the horizon. Revolution in Iran
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
led to the seizure of American diplomats as hostages
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...
, a crisis that dominated the last year of Carter's term.
In 1980, Strauss's old friend John Connally finally made a run for the presidency. He entered the Republican primaries as a hard-core conservative, but found himself running at the back of the pack while Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
emerged as the front-runner. Robert Strauss chaired President Carter's campaign committee once again in 1980, but President Carter did not win re-election. Before leaving office, President Carter awarded Robert Strauss the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
, the nation's highest civilian award.
Strauss returned to his law firm's thriving Washington office. His experience as Trade Representative made him a sought after expert on international trade
International trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product...
matters.
Service under President Reagan
Carter's successor Ronald Reagan was to face difficulties of his own. His efforts to resolve another hostage situation led to the Iran-Contra affairIran-Contra Affair
The Iran–Contra affair , also referred to as Irangate, Contragate or Iran-Contra-Gate, was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan administration officials and President Reagan secretly facilitated the sale of...
. Many of the president's supporters believed that the aggressive management style of his Chief of Staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
Donald Regan
Donald Regan
Donald Thomas Regan ,was the 66th United States Secretary of the Treasury, from 1981 to 1985, and Chief of Staff from 1985 to 1987 in the Ronald Reagan Administration, where he advocated "Reaganomics" and tax cuts to create jobs and stimulate production.-Early life:Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts,...
was making matters worse, but the President remained loyal to Regan and would not consider replacing him. The President's adviser Michael Deaver
Michael Deaver
Michael Keith Deaver was a member of President Ronald Reagan's White House staff serving as White House Deputy Chief of Staff under James Baker III and Donald Regan from January 1981 until May 1985.-Early life:...
and First Lady
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
made a discreet approach to an experienced outsider they believed might be able to persuade the President: Robert Strauss. Others had told the President what he wanted to hear, that the controversy would blow over and that Donald Regan was more useful than not. Robert Strauss, who had closely observed the workings of two other presidential administrations, told the President the painful truth, that Donald Regan had become a liability and that the White House needed a Chief of Staff who could mend fences, especially with Congress. Among others, Strauss recommended former Senator Howard Baker
Howard Baker
Howard Henry Baker, Jr. is a former Senate Majority Leader, Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee, White House Chief of Staff, and a former United States Ambassador to Japan.Known in Washington, D.C...
, a Republican respected on both sides of the aisle for his competence and integrity. Reagan was visibly annoyed with Strauss's suggestions, but a few days later, Donald Regan submitted his resignation, and the President appointed Howard Baker to replace him. Baker skillfully managed the President's recovery from the controversy, and President Reagan left office with his popularity restored.-
Mr. Strauss was then appointed as the co-chairman, along with ex-secretary of Transportation Drew Lewis, of the National Economic Commission. This bi-partisan commission was given the task to solve the federal budget deficit that had grown to over 4 Trillion dollars. The commission lasted from 1988 to 1989, and ended in the first term of President George H. Bush.
Service under President George H.W. Bush
Reagan’s Vice PresidentVice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
, George H.W. Bush, won election to succeed him. The first President Bush also found need for the counsel of Strauss. In the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, President Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
was attempting to reform the communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
system and forge a new relationship with the United States. His efforts faced opposition from hard-liners within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
, while newly elected leaders in the Union's constituent republics agitated for more and more autonomy. President Bush appointed Strauss to serve as Ambassador to the Soviet Union, in hopes that Strauss's proven skills as a negotiator would ease the transition to a new era. The Soviet Union was also starting to transition from a dictatorship to a democracy, making it important to show that party membership should no longer be a requirement for political office and that political opposition should no longer be considered treason but rather, to use a British term, "loyal opposition", making Bush's selection of one of his own opponents especially significant. It was reported that Bush told Strauss that Bush had selected Strauss because Strauss said that he had voted against Bush and intended to do so again.
In August 1991, only weeks after a state visit by President Bush, reactionary members of the Communist Party and a few high-ranking officers of the military and KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
attempted to seize power and restore the old dictatorship. The coup
Soviet coup attempt of 1991
The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , also known as the August Putsch or August Coup , was an attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev...
collapsed, but Gorbachev's leadership had been fatally injured. Strauss presented his credentials to President Gorbachev only hours after Gorbachev resigned his post as Chairman of the Communist Party. While Strauss served in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, the first elected President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
, emerged as the most powerful figure in the fragile union. With the agreement of the elected presidents of the other constituent republics, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved and replaced by a loosely associated Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
.
In December, Gorbachev resigned the presidency of a super-state that had ceased to exist. Strauss was quickly re-appointed as Ambassador to the largest of the Soviet Union's successor states, the Russian Federation. With Strauss's assistance, President Yeltsin quickly established amicable relations with the United States. Strauss resigned this post shortly after the 1992 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....
in the United States and returned once again to private law practice with Akin Gump.
Other
Apart from his law practice and government service, Robert Strauss has long been a popular public speaker and lecturerLecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
, and has written on law, business and public affairs for professional journals, magazines and newspapers across the United States and abroad. He has served on the boards of major corporations including Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
and the Archer Daniels Midland Company. In the academic world, he has occupied the Lloyd Bentsen Chair at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs is a graduate school at The University of Texas at Austin that was founded in 1970 to offer professional training in public policy analysis and administration for students interested in pursuing careers in government and public affairs-related areas...
at the University of Texas, where he lectured to students of law, business and public affairs. Now in his ninth decade, he serves as Chairman of the U.S.-Russia Business Council
U.S.-Russia Business Council
U.S.-Russia Business Council is a Washington-based trade association that represents the interests of 300 member companies operating in the Russian market. The Council’s mission is to expand and enhance the U.S.-Russian commercial relationship. Guided by member interests, the Council promotes an...
, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
and a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...
.
His sister-in-law, Annette Strauss
Annette Strauss
Annette Strauss was a philanthropist and a former mayor of Dallas. The Annette Strauss Artist Square in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas is named in honor of her...
, served as mayor of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
from 1987 to 1991.
See also
- List of U.S. political appointments that crossed party lines