Rodman Clark Rockefeller (May 2, 1932 – May 14, 2000) was the oldest son of former U.S. Vice President Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller and his wife Mary Todhunter "Tod" Clark

Mary Rockefeller

Mary Todhunter Clark Rockefeller was the first wife of Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, a Governor of New York. He served, after their divorce, as the 41st Vice President of the United States.-Biography:...

, and was a fourth-generation member of the Rockefeller family

Rockefeller family

The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...

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Biography

Rockefeller was president from 1968 to 1972 and chief executive from 1972 to 1980 of the International Basic Economy Corporation, a commercial genetics and agribusiness concern based in New York and incorporated by his father in 1946. Its activities, all in Latin America, included developing corn production there and building thousands of low-cost homes in three places in Mexico. He was also chairman of IBEC Inc. a successor concern, from 1980 to 1985, and of Arbor Acres Farm, based in Glastonbury, Conn., a seller of genetic material for poultry stock, for some years.

Rockefeller was co-chairman of the Mexico-United States Business Committee, an organization focusing on economic and political issues of interest to both nations' business communities. The passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement

North American Free Trade Agreement

The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...

 in the mid-1990s has been called the culmination of his and the committee's efforts. The honors he received included a prestigious Mexican decoration, the Order of the Aztec Eagle

Order of the Aztec Eagle

The Order of the Aztec Eagle is a Mexican order and is the highest decoration awarded to foreigners in the country.It was created by decree on December 29, 1933 by President Abelardo L. Rodríguez as a reward to services given to Mexico or humankind by foreigners...

.

He was on the board of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Rockefeller Brothers Fund

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund , , is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was set up in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle of the five famous Rockefeller brothers: John D...

 for nine years. For many years, he was a trustee of Rockefeller Financial Services, which manages the family's office (known as "Room 5600"), its investment companies and its many foundations. He was the head of the finance committee of Rockefeller Financial Services for many years and was a longtime trustee of Rockefeller Financial's holding company, Rockefeller & Company.

Rockefeller attended both Deerfield Academy

Deerfield Academy

Deerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a four-year college-preparatory school with approximately 600 students and about 100 faculty, all of whom live on or near campus....

 and Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

. While at Dartmouth, he was a member of Green Key, co-editor of Dartmouth's Freshman Handbook, and elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Rockefeller continued his education at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

's Graduate School of Business Administration and received his master's degree

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

. Rockefeller served as chairman of Pocantico Associates, a private capital and real estate investment company. He was also a trustee

Trustee

Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...

 of the Institute of International Education

Institute of International Education

Institute of International Education - is a non-profit organization promoting international exchange of education and training. It was established in 1919 and is based in the USA....

, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, the Museum of Modern Art

Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...

, the Americas Society, and New York Blood Center.

Rockefeller married Barbara Ann Olsen in 1953 and the couple had four children: Meile

Meile Rockefeller

Meile Louise Rockefeller is the daughter of Rodman Rockefeller and his first wife, Barbara Ann Olsen. Her grandfather is former New York Governor and former U.S. Vice President Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller...

, Peter, Stuart, and Michael. That marriage ended in divorce in 1979 and he married the former Alexandra von Metzler, known as Sascha, in 1980.