Robert Mosbacher | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 28thUnited States Secretary of Commerce | |
| In office January 31, 1989 – January 15, 1992 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | William Verity |
| Succeeded by | Barbara Franklin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Adam Mosbacher (1927-03-11)March 11, 1927 Mount Vernon, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 24, 2010(2010-01-24) (aged 82) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4, (includingDee andRobert) |
| Education | Washington and Lee University(BA) |
Robert Adam Mosbacher Sr. (March 11, 1927 – January 24, 2010) was an American businessman, accomplishedyacht racer, and aRepublicanpolitician. A longtime friend and political ally ofGeorge H. W. Bush, Mosbacher served in Bush'sCabinet asSecretary of Commerce from 1989 to 1992.[1]
Mosbacher was born inMount Vernon, New York, to Gertrude (née Schwartz) and Emil Mosbacher.[2] His grandparents wereGerman Jewish immigrants.[3] He had a sister, Barbara, and a brother,Emil Mosbacher Jr., a two-time America's Cup-winning yachtsman and former Presidential Chief of Protocol. Mosbacher had a colorful childhood, growing up around characters likeGeorge Gershwin, a friend of his father. After graduation fromThe Choate School, he went to Texas as a wildcatter. He befriended future presidentGeorge H. W. Bush in Texas.[1]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| World Championships | ||
 | 1971 Oyster Bay | Soling |
 | 1985 Newport Beach | 5.5m |
Sailing as a member of theKnickerbocker Yacht Club, Mosbacher led the team that won theScoville Cup and the Midget Yacht championship for under-15 racers in 1940 onLong Island Sound.[4] He went on to win the Southern Ocean Racing Conference championship in 1958 and the Mallory Cup, also in 1958.[5] Mosbacher later appeared on the cover ofSports Illustrated, on May 18, 1959, with his brother Bus Mosbacher, for a feature article titledKings of the Class-Boat Sailors.[6][7]
Mosbacher won the silver medal inWorld Championships Dragon class in 1967 inToronto. In 1969, he won the gold medal inWorld Championships Dragon class at Palma de Mallorca by one point.[8] As of 2010, he was still only one of two Americans to have ever won theWorld Championships in the Dragon class.
He won the gold medal inWorld Championships Soling class in 1971 in Oyster Bay, NY, on a boat named "Adlez" built by Abbott with rigging fromMelges. He lost toBuddy Melges in the 1972 Olympic Trials (Soling class) inSan Francisco Bay.[9]Buddy Melges went on to win theGold Medal in the Soling Class at the1972 Summer Olympics in Germany. Mosbacher won the bronze medal inWorld Championships 5.5 metre class in 1985 at Newport Beach. In 1988, he won theScandinavian Gold Cup for 5.5 metre yachts.
He was described in Stuart H. Walker's bookAdvanced Racing Tactics as a keenly competitive racer "unwilling to settle for second".[10]
Mosbacher participated in a semi-final match race againstTed Turner in the Mallory Cup in 1960. On the final windward leg, Mosbacher was slightly ahead.Ted Turner attempted to force Mosbacher into a mistake by executing a grueling tacking duel. The windward leg involved fifty-two tacks. In the end, Mosbacher won by five seconds.[11]
Mosbacher was the finance chairman ofGerald Ford's failed election bid in 1976.[12] He also lost his own race for delegate to the1976 Republican National Convention inKansas City,Missouri, to a slate backingRonald Reagan, Ford's rival for the party nomination. Mosbacher, running in the then 7th congressional district, lost toState SenatorWalter Mengden of Houston, 39,276 to 26,344 votes.[13]
Earlier, Mosbacher in 1970 headed the fund-raising effort for George H. W. Bush in his losing Senate campaign againstLloyd M. Bentsen and again in Bush's presidential campaigns in 1980 and 1988.[citation needed] In 1992, he would serve as the general chairman of Bush'sre-election campaign.[14][15]
AsU.S. Secretary of Commerce, he was the principal Cabinet official responsible for initiating theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He was a strong proponent of the agreement, which created the largest unified market in the world. The agreement was not signed into law in the U.S. until December 8, 1993, during the administration of PresidentBill Clinton. The agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994.[citation needed]
Mosbacher was a member of President Reagan's Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives 1981–83 and vice chairman of the board of trustees of theWoodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He then became Secretary of Commerce in 1989 after he directed theGeorge H. W. Bush 1988 Presidential Election Campaign. He also served as a director of theCenter for Strategic and International Studies. In 2008, he was the general chairman ofJohn McCain'sbid for the White House.[citation needed]
Mosbacher was a charter member and past chairman of theAll American Wildcatters Association and served on the board of directors and executive committee of theAmerican Petroleum Institute. He was a former director ofTexas Commerce Bank and also ofNew York Life Insurance Company. Mosbacher was a former president of the American Association of Petroleum Landmen and a former chairman of theMid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.[citation needed]
In 1989, Mosbacher received an honorary doctoral degree from theUniversity of Houston. He was trustee emeritus of theAspen Institute for Humanistic Studies and president of the board of Odyssey Academy, a public charter school located inGalveston, Texas.[16]
The Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy was founded in October 2009 upon the request of President George H.W. Bush to honor Mosbacher.[17]
Mosbacher's brother wasEmil "Bus" Mosbacher Jr., who successfully defended theAmerica's Cup as skipper of theWeatherly in 1962 and again in 1967 as skipper of theIntrepid.[citation needed]
Mosbacher was married four times:
Mosbacher's eldest daughterDiane "Dee" Mosbacher is a psychiatrist and lesbian activist. In 1992, Robert Mosbacher Sr. was the first Republican Campaign Chair to meet with leaders from the National Lesbian Gay Task Force.[19] His son,Robert Mosbacher Jr., is a businessman, public servant, and a former Republican politician.[citation needed]
On January 24, 2010, Mosbacher died ofpancreatic cancer at theUniversity of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at the age of 82.[20][21] He is buried at theCongressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.[22]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Commerce 1989–1992 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
