Tom Schieffer

Tom Schieffer
27thUnited States Ambassador toJapan
In office April 11, 2005 – January 20, 2009
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Howard Baker
Succeeded by	John Roos
United States Ambassador toAustralia
In office August 23, 2001 – February 18, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Edward Gnehm
Succeeded by	Robert McCallum Jr.
Member of theTexas House of Representatives from the 32nd district
In office January 9, 1973 – January 9, 1979
Preceded by	District Created
Succeeded by	Bob Ware
Personal details
Born	John Thomas Schieffer (1947-10-04)October 4, 1947 Fort Worth,Texas,U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Texas at Austin

John Thomas Schieffer(born October 4, 1947) is an American diplomat and entrepreneur who served asU.S. Ambassador to Australiafrom 2001 to 2005 and asU.S. Ambassador to Japanfrom 2005 to 2009.

Schieffer is the founder and President of Envoy International, a consulting firm that provides a wide range of services to clients with international interest.Schieffer is also a keynote speaker on international issues, trade, the global economy, leadership, and organizational management.

Schieffer is a friend and former business partner of PresidentGeorge W. Bush.He is the younger brother ofBob Schieffer,a formerCBS Newsreporter and host ofFace the Nation.Schieffer and his wife, Susanne, reside inFort Worth, Texas.

Early life and education

John Thomas (Tom) Schieffer was born in Fort Worth, the youngest child of the late John E. Schieffer and the former Gladys Payne, both originally fromAustin.His father was the managing partner of a construction company. His mother stayed home to rear the children.

In addition to his brother, Bob, Schieffer has a sister, Sharon Schieffer Mayes, who became a high school principal atKeller High Schoolat a time when only two percent of the principals in Texas' largest high schools were women.She also had a successful career as an administrator in theKeller Independent School District.

Schieffer grew up in Fort Worth attending public schools and graduated fromArlington Heights High Schoolin 1966. He attended theUniversity of Texas at Austin,receiving a B.A. degree in 1970 in government and earned a master's degree in international relations in 1972. His master's thesis was entitled, "An Examination of the Nuclear Weapons Debate in India". The thesis correctly predicted that India wouldexplode a nuclear device in 1974and pursue the acquisition of nuclear weapons as the result of the security threat presented byChina.

Early political career

While in college, Schieffer worked in the offices of State SenatorDon Kennardand GovernorJohn Connally.

Schieffer ran in the 1972Democraticprimary against incumbent Speaker Pro-Tem Tommy Shannon, who was involved in the statewideSharpstown scandal.After leading the primary and winning the run-off, Schieffer was nominated by Democrats to run at age 24. He won the general election that fall, winning county wide with more than 60% of the vote while Democratic presidential candidateGeorge McGovernreceived just over 30% in the state. Sworn in at age 25, Schieffer was one of the youngest members of the class of 1972.

The first piece of legislation Schieffer passed was a bill renaming the State Finance Building theLyndon B. JohnsonState Office Building. Johnson, whom Schieffer admired greatly for passing the landmark civil rights bills of 1964, 1965 and 1968, had died in January 1973. During his first session, Schieffer successfully argued for funding the Fort Worth State School - a mental health facility - receiving the editorial kudos of theFort Worth Star-Telegramfor having "earned his spurs" as an effective legislator in Austin.

Re-elected with over 60% of the vote in the 1974 general election (he had no opposition in the Democratic primary), Schieffer was named Chairman of the Local and Consent Calendars Committee in his second term, a position he retained in his third term as well. Schieffer was the lead author on the bill that established the first Presidential primary in Texas. He was also the lead author on the bill that restricted the catch of redfish along the Texas coast, a measure that conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts had sought for years. Schieffer also co-authored legislation that closed a loophole on child care facilities that wanted to operate without meeting state standards.

The first two terms Schieffer was in the legislature, Tarrant County state representatives were elected countywide. After the Legislature passed a single member district plan, he was elected to a third term from a single member district. In January 1978, a federal court overturned the existing single member district plan and redrew the lines. Schieffer, who retained only one precinct out of his old district, carried every precinct in the Democratic primary but narrowly lost his seat toRepublicanBob Ware in the general election.

Schieffer remained active in Democratic Party politics, supporting candidates like SenatorLloyd M. Bentsen, Jr.,GovernorMark White,and CongressmanPete Geren.

Legal career

After losing his legislative seat, Schieffer returned to course work at The University of Texas law school. At the time, Texas law allowed legislators who had served three terms to take the State Bar exam a year early if they had taken two years of course work at an accredited law school. Schieffer completed his two years and passed the state bar exam. He was admitted to the practice of law on October 31, 1979, and became a corporate lawyer in Fort Worth, specializing in the oil and gas industry.

Civic and board experiences

In civic matters, Schieffer was appointed a Trustee of the Tarrant County Junior College (nowTarrant County College) and was elected to a full term without opposition. Schieffer served as a board member of the Texas Commerce Bank in Fort Worth and as an advisory board member to the bank when it was later acquired byJPMorgan Chase.

In addition, Schieffer served on the board of Drew Industries, aNew York Stock Exchange-listed company. Always interested in educational issues, Schieffer has served on the boards of the Winston School in Dallas, the Tarrant County Community College Foundation, theDallas County Community CollegeFoundation, and the Penrose Foundation, which provides college scholarships for Hispanic students. Schieffer also served on theTexas RangersFoundation Board and was active with his wife Susanne inHabitat for Humanity,the Food Bank of Tarrant County, and the Dallas Can Academy.

Schieffer currently serves on a number of national and International Boards. He is a member of the International High Speed Rail Association Board headquartered in Japan; the International Advisory Board of the Mansfield Foundation in Washington; the Council of American Ambassadors Board in Washington; the honorary board of the Japan America Society of Dallas-Fort Worth, and is an honorary counselor of the US-Japan Council.He was elected a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy in 2016.

Texas Rangers baseball club

Schieffer's success in his law practice and business career allowed him to join an investment group led by George W. Bush and Edward W. (Rusty) Rose that bought the Texas Rangers baseball club on April 21, 1989. Having begun as only an investor in the group, Bush and Rose asked Schieffer to be the Partner-In-Charge of Ballpark Development in July 1990. Schieffer toured ballparks around America and successfully negotiated a public-private partnership with the City ofArlington,which became a model for cooperation between cities and private entities in development projects. The Rangers and the City of Arlington announced a new stadium deal in October 1990. An election was held in January 1991, which sought the approval of Arlington voters. More people voted in that special election than had voted in the combined Democratic and Republican primaries the year before. The citizens of Arlington approved the agreement by a 65% - 35% margin. The turnout remains the largest in Arlington's history for a special election.The Ballpark in Arlington was opened in 1994 on time and on budget. It received rave reviews from fans inside and outside of Arlington.

After passage of the referendum in January 1991, Schieffer was named President of the Rangers and served in that position longer than any other individual has. When George W. Bush became governor in 1995, Schieffer was named to succeed Bush as the team's Co-Managing General Partner along with Rusty Rose. The franchise won its first division title in 1996. They won the division again in 1998 and 1999.

The Bush-Rose partnership sold the franchise in 1998 to Dallas investorTom Hicks.Under the terms of the sale, Schieffer was required to stay as president of the club for an additional year. Schieffer resigned as President of the Rangers in April 1999. While Schieffer was President of the Rangers, he also served as President of the J. Thomas Schieffer Management Company and the Pablo Operating Company, two entities that managed investments and oil and gas properties for clients.

On August 23, 2014, Schieffer was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame for his contributions to the franchise.

Ambassador of the United States to Australia

In April 2001, President Bush asked Schieffer to become the Ambassador of the United States to Australia. He accepted and presented his credentials inCanberraon August 23, 2001, as the 22nd representative of the U.S. president. His two immediate predecessors had been Directors-General of the U.S. Foreign Service, although it has been noted that Australian governments sometimes value a U.S. Ambassador's personal links to the president currently in office.

Returning to America to attend the first summit betweenPrime MinisterJohn Howardand President Bush on September 10, 2001, Schieffer was in Washington on September 11, 2001, when theSeptember 11 attacksoccurred. Returning to Australia on September 12 with the Prime Minister on boardAir Force Two,Schieffer and the White House worked with the Prime Minister and the Australian government to invoke the ANZUS treaty for the first time in its 50-year history so that Australia could come to the aid of the United States as a result of the terrorists' attack. Subsequently, Schieffer attended five more war time summits with the President and Australian Prime Minister in the next three and a half years as Australia helped America in Afghanistan and Iraq. During his tenure in Canberra, he coordinated closely with the Government of Australia on efforts to fight global terrorism and helped to deepen cooperation on rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

During Schieffer's tenure in Australia, the United States also negotiated afree-trade agreementwith Australia and significantly deepened the intelligence ties between the two countries. In his report to the State Department, the Inspector General said that Schieffer had exhibited extraordinary leadership and organizational skills in leading the American Embassy in Canberra. The Inspector General said he had examined 83 embassies around the world and had found none that would compare.Later, theState Departmentrecognized the business plan for the Embassy organized by Schieffer as one of the three best in the world. After Bush's victory in theNovember 2004 presidential election,Schieffer announced that he would not be serving another term in Canberra. He returned to the United States at the end of 2004, although he did not formally resign as ambassador until April 1, 2005.

Ambassador of the United States to Japan

Based upon his work in Australia, then-Secretary of StateColin PowellandDeputy Secretary of StateRichard Armitagerecommended to President Bush that Ambassador Schieffer be moved to Japan to replace the retiring former Senate Majority LeaderHoward Bakeras ambassador. Schieffer became one of only three non-career appointees to serve in both the first and second terms of the Bush administration as an Ambassador. On April 1, 2005, Schieffer was sworn in as the 22nd Ambassador of the United States to Japan, having been confirmed by theUnited States Senateunanimously for the second time.

During his tenure in Japan, Schieffer was again cited by the office of the Inspector General for an exemplary job of leading and managing the 1000-plus personnel embassy. He was also intimately involved in negotiating the most far-reaching reorganization of the U.S.-Japan alliance since the signing of the Security Agreement in 1960.The U.S.-Japan alliance has been and continues to be the linchpin of both countries' security in Asia and the Pacific. Under the terms of the new agreement, Japan agreed to provide billions of dollars in assistance to the United States to help modernize U.S. facilities in Japan. Schieffer was also instrumental in strengthening the intelligence ties between the two countries. Heavily involved in thesix-party talks,which centered on North Korea's attempts to become a nuclear weapons state, Schieffer was also praised by both Japan and U.S. officials for diplomatic skills throughout the talks. Schieffer was praised by Japan and U.S. human rights groups for keeping the issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korean intelligence agents before negotiators. During his time in Japan, Schieffer attended five more summits with the U.S. president and three Japanese prime ministers including the2008 G-8 SummitinHokkaido.He departed this post on January 20, 2009.

Honors

In November 2013, the Emperor of Japan awarded Schieffer theGrand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun,the highest honor that can be bestowed on a foreigner to recognize his significant contributions in promoting friendly relations and understanding between the United States and Japan. Schieffer was appointed an Officer of theOrder of Australia,the highest award that can be presented to a foreigner by the Australian government, for his work in strengthening the Australian American Alliance. After ending his almost eight year diplomatic career,Secretary of DefenseRobert Gatesawarded Schieffer theDepartment of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service,the highest civilian awardThe Pentagonhas to offer, for his work in strengthening the US - Japan Alliance. TheFederal Bureau of Investigationhonored him for his efforts to combat the international scourge ofchild pornography.TheDirector of National Intelligenceawarded him theNational Intelligence Reform Medal.TheCentral Intelligence Agencypresented him with the Donovan Award. TheDefense Intelligence Agencypresented him with the Director's Award Medal. TheNational Security Agencypresented him the Director's Distinguished Service Medal. TheNational Geospatial-Intelligence Agencypresented him its Medallion for Excellence. All of the medals and awards presented to Schieffer by members of the intelligence community were for his work in strengthening and reforming the intelligence cooperation between the United States and Australia, and the United States and Japan.

Family

Schieffer is married to Susanne Silber Schieffer, who is originally fromSan Antonio.She was the director of a small state agency before they were married. They have one son.

Gubernatorial candidacy

On March 2, 2009, Tom Schieffer announced that he was forming an exploratory committee to consider seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of Texas in 2010. In June, Schieffer formally announced his candidacy. His campaign stressed the importance of improving education in a fast, globalizing world to enhance the future competitiveness of Texas. Despite raising over $1 million for his campaign, Schieffer withdrew from the race on November 23, 2009, citing an inability to raise enough cash to fund an effective campaign. He urgedHoustonMayorBill Whiteto enter the race instead. White announced his candidacy for governor on December 4, 2009. He would win the Democratic nomination but lose the general election to incumbentRick Perry.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On April 25, 2011, Major League Baseball CommissionerBud Selig,who had taken over operations of the strugglingLos Angeles Dodgersfranchise, announced that he was appointing Schieffer to monitor the club's business and financial operations. Schieffer's oversight of the franchise ended when the Dodgers filed forChapter 11 Bankruptcyon June 27, 2011.

See also

• List of United States political appointments that crossed party lines

External links

• Tom Schieffer for Governor
• Department of State
• Source Watch
• Embassy Row
• Council of American Ambassadors
• Australian Politics
• AppearancesonC-SPAN