Robert S. Strauss

Robert S. Strauss has served as Chairman of the Board of the U.S.-Russia Business Council since January 1993. He is a Founding Partner at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP.

"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 Federal Bureau of Investigation (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, LLP, 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 James Earl Carter, Jr.'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."

Copied from the U.S.-Russia Business Council Web Site.

He is also on the board of counselors for the Arabic media group Layalina Productions.


 * Recipient of the 1997 Raoul Wallenberg Award

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Affiliations

 * Trustee, Forum for International Policy
 * Trustee, George Bush Presidential Library Foundation
 * Board of Counselors, Layalina Productions
 * Director, American Council for Capital Formation