Louis B. Susman

Louis B. Susman was sworn in as the United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s on July 29, 2009 by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  He took up his duties in London on August 17, 2009 and retired on April 3, 2013.

A banker and a lawyer with extensive experience, Ambassador Susman was the Vice Chairman of Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking.  He is also a former member of the Citigroup International Advisory Board.  Prior to joining Salomon Brothers, Inc. in June 1989, Mr. Susman practiced law in the City of St. Louis for 27 years and was a senior partner at the St. Louis‑based law firm of Thompson & Mitchell.

Ambassador Susman is presently the Non-Executive Chairman of Edelman, Special Advisor to BDT Capital Partners and Special Advisor to Henry Crown & Co.  In addition, Ambassador Susman is a member of the Board of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and a member of the Board of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

His practice focused on mergers and acquisitions and general corporate law, and as part of his practice, he was a member of the Board of Directors and Management Committee of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1975 to 1989.  In that capacity, under his direction, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 1982 and the National League Championships in 1985 and 1987.

Ambassador Susman has long been active in the public sector.  In 1988 he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U. S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, which provided oversight to the U. S. Information Agency.  He was a Director of the Center for National Policy in Washington, D.C., a nonpartisan organization that examines national public policy issues.  Mr. Susman is also a member of the Chairman’s Circle of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and a member of the Board of The Art Institute of Chicago and The Northwestern Children’s Memorial Hospital and a member of the International Council of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University in St. Louis.  He has previously served on many public and private corporation boards.

Ambassador Susman has been active in the political arena in the U.S. for many years.  He was a Senior Advisor to President Obama’s Campaign and was the National Finance Chairman for Senator Kerry’s Presidential Campaign in 2004.

Ambassador Susman received his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1959 and his LL.B. from Washington University in 1962 where he was elected to Phi Delta Phi.  In addition, he received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, Connecticut College, 2012, he has received T.S. Eliot Alumni of the Year Award at Washington University in St. Louis.  He is married to the former Marjorie Sachs.  They have two children and three grandchildren.

Source: University Programs and Events Planning Resources, November 2013