Tom Schieffer
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John Thomas "Tom" Schieffer (born October 4, 1947) is the current United States Ambassador to Japan, and served as U.S. Ambassador to Australia from 2001 to 2005. Schieffer is a friend and former business partner of President George W. Bush. His only brother is CBS News reporter and host of Face the Nation Bob Schieffer.
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[edit] Early life and Education
Schieffer was born to John E. Schieffer and Gladys Payne Schieffer on October 4, 1947 in Fort Worth, Texas. His father was the managing partner of a construction company. His mother stayed home to rear the children.
He grew up in Fort Worth attending public schools, and graduated from Arlington Heights High School in 1966. Schieffer attended the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in government and minored in history, receiving a B.A. degree in 1970 and a masters degree in international relations in 1972. While still in college he worked in the offices of State Senator Don Kennard and Governor John Connally.
[edit] Early career
In 1972, at age 25, he was elected as a Democrat to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served three terms before being defeated in 1978.
Schieffer was admitted to the bar in 1979 and became a corporate lawyer in Fort Worth, specializing in the oil and gas industry. At this time he belonged to the conservative wing of the Texas Democratic Party associated with Connally and Senator Lloyd Bentsen. He was the Fort Worth area co-ordinator for Democratic Governor Mark White's election campaigns.
[edit] Involvement in Dallas - Ft. Worth Area
Schieffer’s civic and charitable interests have focused on politics, education and youth activities. He was the Tarrant County Coordinator for Governor Mark White, the Finance Chairman for Congressman Pete Geren and active for many years in the campaigns of Senator Lloyd Bentsen. In 1987, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Tarrant County Junior College, a publicly elected Board and was elected without opposition in 1988. Over the years, Schieffer has served on numerous charitable and civic Boards and has received numerous civic and humanitarian awards.
In 1989, Schieffer became a partner of George W. Bush and Edward W. Rose in Ballpark Development, the company that bought the Texas Rangers baseball club. He invested US$1.4 million in the venture, and was responsible for the operations of the company as well as the building of The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas. By the time Bush was elected Republican Governor of Texas in 1994, Schieffer was identified as a political supporter.
The partnership sold the team in June 1998, with all the partners realizing very large profits, but Schieffer stayed on until April 1999, when he resigned to become a consultant. He then formed the J. Thomas Schieffer Management Company, which he headed until he was nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Australia by the incoming Bush Administration in 2001. He also served on the boards of the Penrose Foundation, the Dallas County Community College Foundation, the Dallas 2012 Olympic Committee, the Tarrant County College Foundation and the Winston School. He was also a member of the executive committee of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce where he co-chaired the Legislative Affairs Committee.
[edit] Ambassador in Canberra
Schieffer presented his credentials in Canberra on August 23, 2001 as the 22nd representative of the US president, 63 years after the first, Clarence E. Gauss, a professional diplomat from Connecticut, presented his credentials to Australia's governor-general of the time, Lord Gowrie, on January 12, 1940. A political appointment had been expected, since nearly all U.S. Ambassadors to Australia have been political appointees. Australian governments have usually valued the fact that the U.S. Ambassador has had personal links to the President of the day.
Within weeks of Schieffer's arrival in Canberra the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States made him a prominent figure in Australia. On the day of the attacks he was in Washington, D.C., accompanying visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard. In Australia he made frequent media appearances and spoke at memorial services and other meetings condemning the attacks. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks he commanded bipartisan respect among Australian politicians.
During 2002 and 2003, however, Schieffer came under increasing criticism for his closeness to the conservative Howard government, which was a prominent ally of the Bush administration before and during the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Schieffer's relations with the opposition Australian Labor Party deteriorated after the November 2001 election, when Simon Crean replaced the pro-American Kim Beazley as leader. The Ambassador's relations were even more strained with Mark Latham, who replaced Crean as Labor leader in December 2003. Latham had previously described Bush as incompetent and dangerous, and his pledge in March 2004 to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq, should his party come to power, ensured that his relations with Schieffer remained cool. Schieffer responded that such a policy would encourage terrorist attacks such as the Madrid bombings, further straining his relations with the opposition.
After Bush's victory in the November 2004 presidential election, Schieffer announced that he would not serve 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.
[edit] Ambassador in Tokyo
The White House announced in January 2005 President Bush's intention to nominate Schieffer as US ambassador to Japan. He was confirmed by the Senate, and began serving as Ambassador in Tokyo on April 1. With the favorable relations between US and Japan, he coped with the BSE beef import problem, reorganization of US military bases in Japan, and other issues.
On March 16, 2006 he visited Niigata City with the families of victims of North Korean abductions of Japanese.
[edit] Family
Schieffer is married and has one son.
[edit] Sources
- Department of State
- Source Watch
- Embassy Row
- Council of American Ambassadors
- Australian Politics.com
| Preceded by: Edward William Gnehm, Jr. |
U.S. Ambassador to Australia 2001-2005 |
Succeeded by: Robert McCallum, Jr |
| Preceded by: Howard Baker |
U.S. Ambassador to Japan 2005– |
Succeeded by: Present |
