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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Robert S. Strauss
ROBERT S. STRAUSS
Awarded by
President Jimmy Carter
January 16, 1981
For Americans politics is the art of the possible. Through intelligence, ability, and the many friendships earned during his service as the leader of his party and his Nation, Robert S. Strauss has refined that art into a science. With diligence, persistence, and wit, he successfully concluded the multilateral trade negotiations at a time when many believed that they were doomed for failure. For strengthening the system of trade which links the nations of our increasingly interdependent world he has earned our gratitude and respect.
Biography
Robert Strauss became Chairman of the Board of the U.S.-Russia Business Council in January 1993. He is a Partner at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.
In August 1991, Mr. Strauss was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he in turn became U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation. In November 1992, he resigned from the Foreign Service to rejoin his law firm.
Mr. Strauss served as a Special Agent in the FBI after receiving his law degree from the University of Texas. In January 1946, he entered private law practice and founded the firm that became Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P., with offices in Texas, Washington, Brussels, and Moscow.
Mr. Strauss served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1973 to 1976. He served as Chairman of President Carter's election campaign in 1976, and then in President Carter's Cabinet as Special Trade Representative. Over the next two-and-a-half years, Mr. Strauss successfully concluded the Tokyo Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and directed its passage through Congress, culminating in the Trade Act of 1979. Following the completion of the trade agreements, President Carter asked Mr. Strauss to serve as his Personal Representative to the Middle East peace negotiations.
In 1981, Mr. Strauss was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award. A popular lecturer, he speaks extensively across the country and abroad and has authored numerous articles for professional journals, newspapers and magazines. He has served on the boards of directors of numerous U.S. corporations and public institutions. He previously held the Lloyd Bentsen Chair at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, where he has lectured at the School of Law and the Graduate School of Business.
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Medal History
