Michael Kantor (born August 7, 1939) is an American attorney who served as the

United States Trade Representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting Foreign trade of the United States, United States ...

from 1993 to 1996 and

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

in 1996 and 1997.

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Kantor comes from a family of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

furniture retailers led by his parents, including his father, Henry Kantor. Kantor earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business and economics from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

in 1961. He then served four years as a supply officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and subsequently earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in 1968.

Career

Initially, Kantor worked for the

Legal Services Corporation The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a publicly funded, 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established by the United States Congress. It seeks to ensure equal access to justice under the law for all Americans by funding organizations providing c ...

, providing legal assistance to migrant farm workers. From 1976 to 1993, he practiced law with the Los Angeles law firm of Manatt, Phelps, Phillips & Kantor (now Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP), and was active in Democratic politics and fundraising. He formerly served and is founder of the LA Conservation Corps. An advocate of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

, Kantor, as Trade Representative, led U.S. negotiations that created the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

(WTO), such as the

Uruguay Round The Uruguay Round was the 8th round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), spanning from 1986 to 1993 and embracing 123 countries as "contracting parties". The ...

, and

North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

(NAFTA). Kantor also engaged in organizing the Miami Summit of the Americas and three meetings of the

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy , economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of Association of Southeast Asia ...

, including the U.S.-hosted First Leaders' Meeting. With the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

of the newly formed European Union, he expanded the trans-Atlantic market. Kantor became United States Secretary of Commerce on April 12, 1996, succeeding

Ron Brown Ronald Harmon Brown (August 1, 1941 – April 3, 1996) was an American politician and lobbyist who served as the 30th United States Secretary of Commerce during the first term of President Bill Clinton. Before this, he was chairman of the Democ ...

, who had been killed in the

1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash On 3 April 1996, a United States Air Force Boeing CT-43A (Flight IFO-21) crashed on approach to Dubrovnik, Croatia, while on an official trade mission. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-200 originally built as a T-43A navigational trainer and later co ...

. Kantor practices law in the Los Angeles office of

Mayer Brown Mayer Brown is a global white-shoe law firm, founded in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It has offices in 27 cities throughout the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, with its largest offices being in Chicago, Washington, D.C., New ...

, an international law firm based in Chicago. He is the board of directors co-chair of

Vision to Learn Vision to Learn is a US nonprofit organization that provides free optometry services to children in low-income communities. History Founded by philanthropist Austin Beutner in 2012, the organization started with a single mobile clinic in Los ...

and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy; a board officer of

Drug Strategies Drug Strategies is a non-profit research institute located in Washington, D.C. Drug Strategies works to identify and promote more effective approaches to substance abuse and to increase public understanding of current research on what works and w ...

; a leadership council member of the

Sargent Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. He was a member of the Shriver family by birth, and a member of the Kennedy family through his marriage to Eunice Kennedy. ...

Center on Poverty Law; a steering committee member of Japan House; and a board member of Lexmark International, Inc. and the

Pacific Council on International Policy The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

Personal life and honors

Kantor has been married to broadcast journalist Heidi Schulman since 1982, following the death of his first wife, Valerie Woods Kantor in a 1978

plane crash An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. He has three children. Another son, Russell, died in a single-car crash in October, 1988, while a senior in high school.. He formerly served on the board of directors of CBRE, board of visitors for

Georgetown Law Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over ...

, and international advisory board for FleishmanHillard. Kantor was awarded the

Order of the Southern Cross The National Order of the Southern Cross () is a Brazilian Orders, decorations, and medals of Brazil, order of chivalry founded by List of monarchs of Brazil, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, Pedro I on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate ...

by the government of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in 2001.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kantor, Mickey 1939 births Clinton administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians American corporate directors Georgetown University Law Center alumni Jewish members of the Cabinet of the United States Living people Politicians from Nashville, Tennessee Tennessee Democrats United States Navy officers United States secretaries of commerce United States trade representatives Vanderbilt University alumni People associated with Mayer Brown

Early life and education

Career

Personal life and honors

See also

References

External links