Mickey Kantor

Mickey Kantor

31st United States Secretary of Commerce
In office April 12, 1996 – January 21, 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Ronald Brown
Succeeded by	William M. Daley
11th United States Trade Representative
In office 1993–1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Carla A. Hills
Succeeded by	Charlene Barshefsky
Personal details
Born	August 7, 1939 (1939-08-07) (age 72) Nashville, Tennessee
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Valerie Woods Kantor (died 1978) Heidi Schulman (since 1982)
Children	Leslie, Douglas, and Russell, (died 1988) from first marriage and Alix (from second marriage)
Residence	Washington, DC^[1]^[2]
Alma mater	Vanderbilt U., Georgetown U.
Religion	Jewish

Michael "Mickey" Kantor (born August 7, 1939) is an American politician and lawyer. After serving as the Clinton-Gore campaign chair in 1992, Kantor was appointed United States Trade Representative, holding that office from 1993 to 1997. He was, in 1996 and 1997, United States Secretary of Commerce.

Life and career

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, he holds a B.A. in business and economics from Vanderbilt University, earned in 1961. He then served four years as an officer in the United States Navy, and subsequently earned a J.D. from Georgetown University in 1968. Initially, Kantor worked for the Legal Services Corporation, providing legal assistance to migrant farm workers. It was during this time that he first met Hillary Clinton. From 1976-1993, 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 also co-founded the Los Angeles Conservation Corps.

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). His efforts were broadly criticized by organized labor and environmentalists alike, for refusing to consider fundamental worker and environmental health issues in the core agreements. President Clinton later acknowledged the errors of his administration in relegating these key economic concerns to legally weak side agreements, while favoring large business interests in the NAFTA treaty document. "I think it was a mistake. I think it was part of a global trend that was wrong-headed." Kantor also engaged in organizating 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 practices law at the Washington DC office of Mayer Brown ,^[1]^[2] an international law firm based in Chicago.

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.^[3]^[4] He has children Leslie, Douglas (from the first marriage), and Alix (from the second marriage); and grandchildren Ryan, Jackson, and Zack. Another son from Valerie, Russell, died in a single-car crash in October, 1988, while a senior in high school.^[4]

References

Clinton, Bill (2005). My Life. Vintage. ISBN 1-4000-3003-X.
NNDB profile: http://www.nndb.com/people/539/000059362/

^ ^a ^b ""Profile: Mickey Kantor" on "whoswholegal"". http://www.whoswholegal.com/profiles/27330/0/Kantor/mickey-kantor/. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
^ ^a ^b ""Profile: Mayer Brown LLP" on "whoswholegal"". http://www.whoswholegal.com/firms/157/office/434/. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
^ "In Memoriam." From The Classes. Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY. March, 1979. p. 30.
^ ^a ^b "Son of Activist Kantor, 3 Others Killed in Crash." Los Angeles Times. October 30, 1988. Metro, p. 6.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Ronald H. Brown	United States Secretary of Commerce Served under: Bill Clinton April 12, 1996 – January 21, 1997	Succeeded by William M. Daley
Government offices
Preceded by Carla A. Hills	United States Trade Representative 1993 – 1997	Succeeded by Charlene Barshefsky

United States Secretaries of Commerce

Secretaries of Commerce & Labor	Cortelyou • Metcalf • Straus • Nagel

Secretaries of Commerce	Redfield • Alexander • Hoover • Whiting • Lamont • Chapin • Roper • Hopkins • Jones • Wallace • Harriman • Sawyer • Weeks • Strauss • Mueller • Hodges • Connor • Trowbridge • Smith • Stans • Peterson • Dent • Morton • Richardson • Kreps • Klutznick • Baldrige • Verity • Mosbacher • Franklin • Brown • Kantor • Daley • Mineta • Evans • Gutierrez • Locke • Bryson

United States Trade Representative

Christian Herter (1962) · William M. Roth (1967) · Carl J. Gilbert (1969) · William D. Eberle (1971) · Frederick B. Dent (1975) · Robert S. Strauss (1977) · Reubin Askew (1979) · William E. Brock III (1981) · Clayton K. Yeutter (1985) · Carla A. Hills (1989) · Mickey Kantor (1993) · Charlene Barshefsky (1997) · Robert Zoellick (2001) · Rob Portman (2005) · Susan Schwab (2006) · Ron Kirk (2009)

Cabinet of President Bill Clinton (1993–2001)

Cabinet

Secretary of State	Warren Christopher (1993 – 1997) • Madeleine Albright (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of the Treasury	Lloyd Bentsen (1993 – 1994) • Robert Rubin (1995 – 1999) • Lawrence Summers (1999 – 2001)

Secretary of Defense	Les Aspin (1993 – 1994) • William Perry (1994 – 1997) • William Cohen (1997 – 2001)

Attorney General	Janet Reno (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of the Interior	Bruce Babbitt (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of Agriculture	Mike Espy (1993 – 1994) • Dan Glickman (1995 – 2001)

Secretary of Commerce	Ron Brown (1993 – 1996) • Mickey Kantor (1996 – 1997) • William Daley (1997 – 2000) • Norman Mineta (2000 – 2001)

Secretary of Labor	Robert Reich (1993 – 1997) • Alexis Herman (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of Health and Human Services	Donna Shalala (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of Education	Richard Riley (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	Henry Cisneros (1993 – 1997) • Andrew Cuomo (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of Transportation	Federico Peña (1993 – 1997) • Rodney Slater (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of Energy	Hazel O'Leary (1993 – 1997) • Federico Peña (1997 – 1998) • Bill Richardson (1998 – 2001)

Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Jesse Brown (1993 – 1997) • Togo West (1998 – 2000) • Hershel Gober* (2000 – 2001)

acting secretary.

Cabinet-level

Vice President	Al Gore (1993 – 2001)

White House Chief of Staff	Mack McLarty (1993 – 1994) • Leon Panetta (1994 – 1997) • Erskine Bowles (1997 – 1998) • John Podesta (1998 – 2001)

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	Carol Browner (1993 – 2001)

Ambassador to the United Nations	Madeleine Korbel Albright (1993 – 1997) • Bill Richardson (1997 – 1998) • Richard Holbrooke (1999 – 2001)

Director of the Office of Management and Budget	Leon Panetta (1993 – 1994) • Alice Rivlin (1994 – 1996) • Franklin Raines (1996 – 1998) • Jacob Lew (1998 – 2001)

Director of National Drug Control Policy	Lee Brown (1993 – 1995) • Barry McCaffrey (1996 – 2001)

Trade Representative	Mickey Kantor (1993 – 1997) • Charlene Barshefsky (1997 – 2001)

Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency	James Lee Witt (1993 – 2001)*

Director of Central Intelligence	John Deutch (1995 – 1996) • George Tenet (1997–2001)

Administrator of the Small Business Administration	Erskine Bowles (1993 - 1994) • Philip Lader (1994 – 1997) • Aída Álvarez (1997–2001)

took office in 1993, raised to cabinet-rank in 1996

Persondata
Name	Kantor, Mickey
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 7, 1939
Place of birth	Nashville, Tennessee
Date of death
Place of death