Robert Holmes Tuttle (born August 4, 1943) is a businessman specializing in
car dealerships. He was the
United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom from July 2005 to February 2009.
[US embassy close to admitting Syria rendition flight]
'' The Guardian'', December 27, 2005
Early life and career
Tuttle is a graduate of
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, and earned his
Master of Business Administration degree at the
University of Southern California. Tuttle is the son of
Holmes Tuttle Holmes P. Tuttle (June 17, 1905 – June 16, 1989) was a successful California businessman and autodealer, and headed President Ronald Reagan's unofficial "Kitchen Cabinet".
Early life and career
Tuttle was born in Tuttle, Oklahoma. The city is ...
, founder of the Southern California chain of auto dealerships and, in the 1960s and 1970s, a prominent force behind the political rise of actor
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
. Tuttle previously worked in the White House during the Reagan administration as an assistant to the
President in 1982, and director of presidential personnel in 1985. An avid tennis player, he enjoyed occasional games of tennis at the White House tennis court. Tuttle was also on the
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
of the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Diplomatic career
United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom

A California native, he was nominated to be ambassador by
U.S. President George W. Bush. He had raised more than $200,000 for
Bush's 2004 presidential campaign and inauguration ceremony. Both Tuttle and his predecessor
William Stamps Farish III were both wealthy private citizens with personal and financial ties to the Bush family.
Controversy over congestion fee
Tuttle was the Ambassador to the United Kingdom during the U.S. Embassy's refusal to pay the
London congestion charge
The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm Saturday an ...
. The embassy has claimed that the charge is a form of
taxation, and the diplomats and their staff are therefore exempt under the 1961
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Transport for London, which is headed by the
Mayor of London, considers the charge to be a fee for service rather than a tax, and points out that other embassies in London pay it, and US embassies in other cities pay similar road charges.
In March 2006, the Mayor of London,
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office i ...
, said that Tuttle was trying to "skive out of
aying
Aying is a municipality in the district of Munich in Bavaria, Germany. It is known for the Ayinger Brewery
Ayinger Brewery ( ; german: Brauerei Aying) is in Aying, Bavaria, Germany, about 25 km south of Munich. Ayinger beers are exported ...
like some chiselling little crook". A survey published in 2007 showed that the
United States owed £1.5 million in outstanding congestion charge payments. Livingstone again chided Tuttle, and called him a "venal little crook" for his refusal to pay.
Later career
Tuttle is a partner in the Tuttle-Click Automotive Group based in Irvine, California, and the Jim Click Automotive Group based out of Tucson, Arizona. He currently serves as the chairman of the board of directors of the
Pacific Council on International Policy
The Pacific Council on International Policy is an independent, non-partisan, membership-based organization dedicated to global engagement. Founded in 1995 in partnership with the Council on Foreign Relations and the University of Southern Califor ...
. He is a trustee of the
Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
in Washington, D.C.
In 2020, Tuttle, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."
Personal life
He is married to the former Maria Denise Hummer. Tuttle and his wife are both avid collectors of contemporary art.
Interview with Robert Tuttle
''Country Life'', December 4, 2008. He has two daughters from a previous marriage.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuttle, Robert H
1943 births
Living people
Marshall School of Business alumni
California Republicans
Businesspeople from California
Stanford University alumni
Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom
Fellows of King's College London
21st-century American diplomats