Mosbacher was born in Mount Vernon, New York, to Gertrude (née Schwartz) and Emil Mosbacher.[2] His grandparents were German Jewish immigrants.[3] 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, a friend of his father. After graduation from The Choate School, he went to Texas as a wildcatter. He befriended future president George H. W. Bush in Texas.[1]
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.[4] He went on to win the Southern Ocean Racing Conference championship in 1958 and the Mallory Cup, also in 1958.[5] Mosbacher later appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, on May 18, 1959, with his brother Bus Mosbacher, for a feature article titled Kings of the Class-Boat Sailors.[6][7]
He was described in Stuart H. Walker's book Advanced Racing Tactics as a keenly competitive racer "unwilling to settle for second".[10]
Mosbacher participated in a semi-final match race against Ted Turner in the Mallory Cup in 1960. On the final windward leg, Mosbacher was slightly ahead. Ted Turner 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.[11]
Political career
Robert Adam Mosbacher shaking hands with Boris Yeltsin
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.[citation needed]
As U.S. Secretary of Commerce, he was the principal Cabinet official responsible for initiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (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. The agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994. [citation needed]
In 1989, Mosbacher received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Houston. 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.[14]
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.[15]
In 1946, he married Jane Pennybacker. Born Jewish, Mosbacher converted to Pennybacker's Presbyterian 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 in 1970.[16]
His marriage to Sandra Smith Gerry ended in divorce in 1982.[16]
In 1985, he married Georgette Paulsin, herself twice previously married. They divorced in 1998.[16]
His last marriage of 10 years to Michele "Mica" Mosbacher (Mica McCutchen Duncan) ended with his death.[16]
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.[17] His son, Robert Mosbacher Jr., is a businessman, public servant, and a former Republican politician.[citation needed]
^ abBlumenfeld, Laura (September 3, 1992). "The Lesbian in the GOP Family – Robert Mosbacher is Caught Between The Party Line and His Daughter Diane". Washington Post. p. D1.
^"Houston Businessman to Head Ford 1976 Fund-Raising Drive". The New York Times. December 4, 1975. p. 34.
^Billy Hathorn, "Mayor Ernest Angelo Jr. of Midland and the 96–0 Reagan Sweep of Texas, May 1, 1976," West Texas Historical Association Yearbook Vol. 86 (2010), p. 81
