Mickey Kantor

Template:Short description Template:Infobox officeholder Michael Kantor (born August 7, 1939) is an American attorney who served as the United States Trade Representative from 1993 to 1996 and United States Secretary of Commerce in 1996 and 1997.

Early life and education

Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Kantor comes from a family of Jewish furniture retailers led by his parents, including his father, Henry Kantor.<ref name="JewishVirtualLibrary">Template:Cite web</ref> Kantor earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business and economics from Vanderbilt University in 1961. He then served four years as a supply officer in the United States Navy and subsequently earned a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University in 1968.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

File:Photograph of President William J. Clinton and U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor - NARA - 2174698.jpg

Kantor with President Bill Clinton in 1993

Initially, Kantor worked for the Legal Services Corporation, 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the 1992 campaign, Kantor served as head of pre-transition planning for the Clinton administration, and then formally led transition planning once their election was certified.<ref name="CRS1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="blanks">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="vox">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="secretlyplanning">Template:Cite web</ref>

An advocate of free trade, Kantor, as Trade Representative, led U.S. negotiations that created the World Trade Organization (WTO), such as the Uruguay Round, and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Kantor also engaged in organizing the Miami Summit of the Americas and three meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, including the U.S.-hosted First Leaders' Meeting. With the European Commission 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, who had been killed in the 1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kantor practices law in the Los Angeles office of Mayer Brown,<ref name="mayerbrown.com">Template:Cite web</ref> an international law firm based in Chicago. He is the board of directors co-chair of Vision to Learn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the University of Southern California Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a board officer of Drug Strategies;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a leadership council member of the Sargent Shriver Center on Poverty Law;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a steering committee member of Japan House;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a board member of Lexmark International, Inc.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Pacific Council on International Policy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 in San Diego.<ref>"In Memoriam." From The Classes. Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY. March, 1979. p. 30.</ref><ref name="LA Times" /> He has three children. Another son, Russell, died in a single-car crash in October, 1988, while a senior in high school.<ref name="LA Times">Template:Cite web.</ref>

He formerly served on the board of directors of CBRE,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> board of visitors for Georgetown Law,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and international advisory board for FleishmanHillard.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kantor was awarded the Order of the Southern Cross by the government of Brazil in 2001.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of Jewish United States Cabinet members

External links

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