1 the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs
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The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR ROBERT S. STRAUSS Interviewed by: Charles Stuart Kennedy Initial interview date: October 25, 2002 Copyright 2006 ADST TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Born and raised in Te as University of Te as Democratic Party politics Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Field Agent 1941-1945 John ,dgar Hoover Criminal activity investigations Communist Party Te as governor John Connolly Advice to Presidents .ump and Strauss /a0 Firm1 Dallas1 Te as 1945-1922 Democratic Party politics Hubert Humphrey Democratic Party reforms (minorities) Humphrey-5uskie campaign President Ni on ,lected Chairman of the Democratic Party (1922) John Connally .eorge 5c.overn Chairman of the Democratic Party 1922-1929 1922 Democratic convention 7atergate President Ni on 5oney raising Home robbery 1928 Democratic convention 5ike Berman 9ansas City mid-term convention Possible candidates 1 Jimmie Carter :the outsider; Jesse Jackson and the black element .erry Ford and the Republican ticket Congressional 0ing of Democratic Party Party organization Democratic governors Scoop Jackson /loyd Bentsen Hamilton Jordan Jody Po0ell Ni on Pardon Fritz 5ondale Presidential 0ives Ni on and foreign policy Henry 9issinger Carter as politician Special Trade Representative 1929 Trade Act of 1929 Tokyo Round Helmut Schmidt The French Foreign negotiators President Carter on trade issues Congress on trade issues Dealing 0ith the press Oil shortage Strauss family influence 7atergate reflections ITT contribution controversy John 5itchell Special Negotiator for the 5iddle ,ast 1929-1980 Post Camp David Trade mission to ,gypt and Israel An0ar Sadat Frame0ork for negotiations As a Je0ish negotiator Sadat@s objectives Je0ish settlements 7orking 0ith President Carter Special interest groups Congressional allies 2 Democratic Party Presidential Campaign 5anager 1980-1981 9ennedy vs. Carter as candidate Republicans choose Reagan and Bush Sol /ino0itz Campaign issues .ump and Strauss /a0 Firm1 Dallas1 Te as 1981-1991 Democratic chairman of a National ,conomic Commission 1981-1991 ,conomic plan for the country (bipartisan) Commission membership 9issinger Commission on Central America .eorge Bush Advice to la0 students Ambassador to the Soviet Union 1991-1992 Relations 0ith President Bush Prior relations 0ith .orbachev Soviet coup Anatoly Dobrynin Bush administration Celtsin US support to .orbachev Dera 5urray Family ,nvironment Control of nuclear 0eapons Republican conservatives Congressional influence US anti-communism 7estern ,urope interests 5otorola Advice from Dobrynin Celtsin visit to US James Baker D0ayne Andreas 9.B ,mbassy operations Security CIA Dissolution of Soviet ,mpire 5eetings 0ith 7estern ambassadors James Collins ,mbassies in Ne0 Republics A 7ork schedule Comments and impressions 1992-2002 Russian mafia Celtsin Russian government Russian political parties President Bush The French Foreign commercial interests in Russia Bush-Clinton election US political parties Congress Campaign financing Ne0t .ingrich Bill Clinton and Hilary Clinton Al .ore INTERVIEW Q: This an interview with Ambassador Robert S. Strauss being done on behalf of the ssociation for Diplomatic Studies and Training, and I(m Charles Stuart Kennedy. Mr. mbassador, can we start at the beginning* When and where were you born, and can you tell me a little about your family* STRAUSSE 5y mother 0as from Hempstead1 Te as. Her father came to Hempstead1 shortly after the Civil 7ar. Her grandfather1 0ho 0ould be my great grandfather1 0as the first Reform rabbi in Te as. He came about 18821 -A1 -41 -5. Civil 7ar time. Q: I ta,e it the family originates in -ermany* STRAUSSE .ermany1 yes. 5y father 0as a .erman immigrant. He came to this country at the age of about 20 or 21. He had been educated in France. I think his father had died and his mother had remarried1 and I don@t think he had much use for having her children around there1 and they put him in a private school in S0itzerland. They could afford to; apparently they 0ere people of some substance. So he came to this country at the age of about 20. He 0as a musician. He met my mother in south Te as1 0here she lived. Her family then moved from Hempstead to /ockhart1 Te as1 0here her father had a little store. As many of the immigrant families did1 they@d go to these little small to0ns. They 0ent to /ockhart1 and that@s 0here my mother gre0 up. Q: Loc,hart is where* 4 STRAUSSE /ockhart is about 25 miles south of Austin1 Te as. I remember going there freFuently enough to have a recollection of the house 0here I 0as born. Q: /ou were born when* STRAUSSE In October 19181 so I 0ill celebrate my 84th birthday this month. Q: Congratulations. STRAUSSE And I still 0ork five days a 0eek pretty hard. Q: I(m glad I(m taping you. STRAUSSE Cou may not have many more years to do it. I don@t think I@ll make over 10 or 15 more years. Q: /our mother(s family actually were shop,eepers* STRAUSSE Ces1 yes. Q: /our father was a musician* STRAUSSE A musician and a salesman. He 0as selling pianos 0hen he met my mother traveling in south Te as out of San Antonio. I don@t think he lived in San Antonio; he@d center 0hen he traveled to sell his pianos in that part of the country. He@d stay in San Antonio and go to these little to0ns. Q: That was the era when every respectable person wanted to have an upright piano in the parlor whether they played it or not. STRAUSSE ,verybody 0anted one1 e actly. And my father1 he loved pianos. I guess my grandfather probably helped him and my mother start a little store of their o0n. He 0anted to Fuit traveling1 and she 0anted him to because they had just married and they 0anted to settle do0n. They moved to 0est Te as then1 to a little to0n called Hamlin and later to a to0n called Stamford1 Te as1 0hich is 0here I gre0 up. Q: Where* I(m not a Te0an. STRAUSSE These are in 0est Te as out near Abilene1 Te as. Q: /ou grew up there* How old were you there* STRAUSSE It@s Stamford1 a to0n of about A500 people. Q: What was the principal occupation in that area* 5 STRAUSSE Farming1 cattle and cotton. Q: Were your family running a store then* STRAUSSE They ran a little store then1 yes. Q: Did you get involved in that* STRAUSSE Oh1 yes1 I 0ould 0ork after school sometimes1 but most of the times I didn@t. I 0as out playing. 5y parents 0ere not much in the 0ay of taskmasters1 and my mother 0as scared to death I 0ould spend too much time around that store and end up at the store. She 0anted me to be a la0yer. One time 0hen I 0as 10 or 12 years old she told her family that Bobby is going to be a la0yer and he is going to be a diplomat and he@s going to be the first Je0ish governor of the state of Te as. Q: What happened* STRAUSSE As a matter of fact1 I had a couple of opportunities to run for governor after that1 but I didn@t have any desire to be governor1 and may or may not have been successful. But it 0as sort of a standing joke among my relatives. Q: /our mother had the right idea. STRAUSSE She had the right idea. Q: How old were you when you moved to Stamford* STRAUSSE I 0as ready to start the fifth grade. Q: What was it li,e growing up in the town* STRAUSSE It 0as a nice life. Doors 0ere open; no one ever locked a door. 5y brother and myself1 my father and motherE there 0as nothing particularly different about us than the other families in to0n1 I guess. People ask me 0hat it 0as like being Je0ish1 and I say1 0ell1 I really had no Je0ish background1 e cept my mother insisted that 0e kno0 0e 0ere Je0ish and have some respect for our faith and a feel for it. Q: No Bar Mit4vah* STRAUSSE No1 no1 I couldn@t spell it. I couldn@t spell it 0hen I got through high school1 much less then. But my mother convinced me that I 0as one of .od@s chosen people as a Je01 and I can remember being kind of embarrassed 0alking around to0n realizing I 0as one of .od@s chosen people1 and I couldn@t say anything about it. Instead of feeling a sense of inferiority1 I rather had a sense of superiority and kind of hated the fact that I 8 couldn@t mention it1 it 0ould be in poor taste. Q: /our mother sounds li,e a very powerful woman. STRAUSSE She 0as a very po0erful influence on me and on my brother. Q: What did your brother do* STRAUSSE 5y brother 0as a successful businessman. Q: What about school* How did school grab you* STRAUSSE 7ell1 I 0as never a student1 and my mother didn@t encourage me to be a student. It used to drive my father crazy 0hen she used to say1 :Don@t study too hard1 Bobby.; 5y dad 0ould say1 :Cou kno0 he isn@t studying too hard. He doesn@t study a damn bit. That@s the most idiotic thing1 ,dith. 7hy do you keep telling him not to study too hardG; She said1 :7ell1 it gives him ulcers1 and it@ll upset his stomach. 7hat you need to do1; she@d say1 :is just learn to live 0ith people and like people.; And I s0ear to goodness that I think that that had an impact on my ability.