Robert Adam Mosbacher Sr. (March 11, 1927 – January 24, 2010) was an American businessman, accomplished yacht racer, and a Republican

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. A longtime friend and political ally of

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, Mosbacher served in Bush's Cabinet as

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 ...

from 1989 to 1992.

Early life

Mosbacher was born in

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Moun ...

, to Gertrude (née Schwartz) and Emil Mosbacher. His grandparents were

German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

immigrants. 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 like

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

, a friend of his father. After graduation from The Choate School, he went to Texas as a wildcatter. He befriended future president

in Texas.

Sailing career

Sailing as a member of the Knickerbocker Yacht Club, Mosbacher led the team that won the Scoville Cup and the Midget Yacht championship for under-15 racers in 1940 on

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. He went on to win the Southern Ocean Racing Conference championship in 1958 and the Mallory Cup, also in 1958. Mosbacher later appeared on the cover of

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

, on May 18, 1959, with his brother Bus Mosbacher, for a feature article titled ''Kings of the Class-Boat Sailors''. Mosbacher won the silver medal in World Championships Dragon class in 1967 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In 1969, he won the gold medal in World Championships Dragon class at Palma de Mallorca by one point. As of 2010, he was still only one of two Americans to have ever won the World Championships in the Dragon class. SolingWorldChampionshipTrophy

He won the gold medal in World Championships Soling class in 1971 in Oyster Bay, NY, on a boat named "Adlez" built by Abbott with rigging from Melges. He lost to Buddy Melges in the 1972 Olympic Trials (Soling class) in

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

. Buddy Melges went on to win the Gold Medal in the Soling Class at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in Germany. Mosbacher won the bronze medal in World Championships 5.5 metre class in 1985 at Newport Beach. In 1988, he won the

Scandinavian Gold Cup Scandinavian Gold Cup is a sailing race held annually for 5.5 metre yachts. It is a nation race, meaning that each participant nation can send only one boat/team. Despite its name, it has been an international competition almost through its entire ...

for 5.5 metre yachts. He was described in Stuart H. Walker's book ''Advanced Racing Tactics'' as a keenly competitive racer "unwilling to settle for second". Mosbacher participated in a semi-final match race against

Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...

in the Mallory Cup in 1960. On the final windward leg, Mosbacher was slightly ahead.

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.

Political career

Mosbacher was the finance chairman of

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

's failed election bid in 1976. He also lost his own race for delegate to the

1976 Republican National Convention The 1976 Republican National Convention was a United States political convention of the Republican Party that met from August 16 to August 19, 1976, to select the party's nominees for president and vice president. Held in Kemper Arena in Kansa ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, to a slate backing

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, Ford's rival for the party nomination. Mosbacher, running in the then 7th congressional district, lost to

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Walter Mengden of Houston, 39,276 to 26,344 votes. Earlier, Mosbacher in 1970 headed the fund-raising effort for George H. W. Bush in his losing Senate campaign against Lloyd M. Bentsen and again in Bush's presidential campaigns in 1980 and 1988. In 1992, he would serve as the general chairman of Bush's re-election campaign. As U.S. Secretary of Commerce, he was the principal Cabinet official responsible for initiating the

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). 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 President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. The agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994. 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 the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...

. He then became Secretary of Commerce in 1989 after he directed the

1988 Presidential Election Campaign. He also served as a director of the

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

. In 2008, he was the general chairman of

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

's bid for the White House.

Business interests

Mosbacher was a charter member and past chairman of the All American Wildcatters Association and served on the board of directors and executive committee of the

American Petroleum Institute The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in extraction of petroleum, production, oil refinery, refinement, pipeline ...

. He was a former director of Texas Commerce Bank and also of

New York Life Insurance Company New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) is the third-largest life insurance company and the largest mutual insurance, mutual life insurance company in the United States, and is ranked #69 on the 2025 Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporat ...

. Mosbacher was a former president of the American Association of Petroleum Landmen and a former chairman of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association. In 1989, Mosbacher received an honorary doctoral degree from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

. He was trustee emeritus of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies and president of the board of Odyssey Academy, a public charter school located in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

Mosbacher Institute

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.

Family and personal life

Mosbacher's brother was Emil "Bus" Mosbacher Jr., who successfully defended the

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

as skipper of the ''Weatherly'' in 1962 and again in 1967 as skipper of the '' Intrepid''. Mosbacher was married four times: * In 1946, he married Jane Pennybacker. Born

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 ...

, Mosbacher converted to Pennybacker's

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

religion. They had four children: Diane "Dee" Mosbacher, Robert Mosbacher Jr., Kathryn Mosbacher, and Lisa Mosbacher Mears. The marriage ended upon his wife's death from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

in 1970. * His marriage to Sandra Smith Gerry ended in divorce in 1982. * In 1985, he married Georgette Paulsin, herself twice previously married. They divorced in 1998. * His last marriage of 10 years to Michele "Mica" Mosbacher (Mica McCutchen Duncan) ended with his death. Mosbacher's eldest daughter Diane "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. His son, Robert Mosbacher Jr., is a businessman, public servant, and a former Republican politician.

Death

On January 24, 2010, Mosbacher died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at the age of 82. He is buried at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.Mosbacher remembered as prolific fundraiser
''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

References

External links

*
Looking into the Crystal Ball: Forecasting the Future of Oil and Gas, ''World Energy Magazine'' Volume 10 Number 2
by Robert Mosbacher.
High Oil Prices and Consumer Opinion: A Problem of Perspective, ''World Energy Magazine'' Volume 3 Number 1
by Robert Mosbacher {{DEFAULTSORT:Mosbacher, Robert 1927 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American politicians 5.5 Metre class sailors American energy industry businesspeople American male sailors (sport) American people of German-Jewish descent American Presbyterians Burials at the Congressional Cemetery Choate Rosemary Hall alumni Converts to Calvinism from Judaism Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Texas George H. W. Bush administration cabinet members Jewish members of the Cabinet of the United States Soling class sailors Politicians from Houston People from Wallingford, Connecticut Politicians from Mount Vernon, New York Texas Republicans United States secretaries of commerce Washington and Lee University alumni Soling class world champions 20th-century American sportsmen