LBJ Foundation Board member Robert S. Strauss dies at 95

Mar 20, 2014

Robert S. Strauss, who rose from the Texas Plains to become an influential Washington insider, leading the Democratic Party and hopscotching among White House posts when not making millions as a lobbyist and deal maker, died Wednesday. He was 95.

Mr. Larry Temple, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the LBJ Foundation, offered this tribute: "It is with profound personal sadness that we mourn the loss of our colleague and friend Bob Strauss. Although all humans are unique, Bob truly was one of a kind. His heart, his judgment, his generosity of spirit, his ready willingness always to help others, and his facility for friendship were like no other. Bob counseled every President --- Democrat and Republican --- from LBJ to Obama. I am proud to say that I counted him as a close friend for more than 50 years. Godspeed, Strauss family."

Mr. Strauss was known for a quick wit and a rough-hewn persuasiveness that recalled his small-town roots and enhanced his prowess among a vanishing breed of back-room power brokers. His knowledge, contacts and instincts — running across parties and administrations — ran so deep that he was almost invariably included in the tiny, powerful fraternity known as Washington’s “wise men.”

He called himself a “centrist, a worker, a doer, a putter-together. read more

Honoring a Legacy: Ambassador Robert S. Strauss, 1918-2014 - A tribute by The Robert S. Strauss Center For International Security and Law at The University of Texas at Austin