U.S. Navy Admiral and Cabinet Secretary. At the end of World War I (WWI), he was Herbert Hoover's Administrative Assistant at the Belgian Relief Commission. In 1919, he began a career in financial services with Kuhn, Loeb & Company, becoming a partner in 1929. Strauss joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1925, and during World War II (WWII), served as an assistant to Secretaries of the Navy Frank Knox and James Forrestal, attaining the rank of Rear Admiral. From 1946 to 1950, he was a member of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), playing an important part in devising policies for development of atomic weapons and nuclear power, and beginning the process of tightening security and access to research facilities. In 1953, Strauss returned to the AEC as Chairman, serving until 1958, and was responsible for the investigation that accused Manhattan Project scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer of communist sympathies, which led to the revocation of Oppenheimer's security clearance and his firing as an AEC advisor. In 1958, Strauss received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Later that year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower named him to a recess appointment as Secretary of Commerce, and he served until 1959. The Senate failed to confirm him, an outcome attributed to his treatment of Oppenheimer. In retirement, Strauss remained active as a speaker and writer on the Cold War effort to defeat communism and published a memoir, 1963's "Men and Decisions".
U.S. Navy Admiral and Cabinet Secretary. At the end of World War I (WWI), he was Herbert Hoover's Administrative Assistant at the Belgian Relief Commission. In 1919, he began a career in financial services with Kuhn, Loeb & Company, becoming a partner in 1929. Strauss joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1925, and during World War II (WWII), served as an assistant to Secretaries of the Navy Frank Knox and James Forrestal, attaining the rank of Rear Admiral. From 1946 to 1950, he was a member of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), playing an important part in devising policies for development of atomic weapons and nuclear power, and beginning the process of tightening security and access to research facilities. In 1953, Strauss returned to the AEC as Chairman, serving until 1958, and was responsible for the investigation that accused Manhattan Project scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer of communist sympathies, which led to the revocation of Oppenheimer's security clearance and his firing as an AEC advisor. In 1958, Strauss received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Later that year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower named him to a recess appointment as Secretary of Commerce, and he served until 1959. The Senate failed to confirm him, an outcome attributed to his treatment of Oppenheimer. In retirement, Strauss remained active as a speaker and writer on the Cold War effort to defeat communism and published a memoir, 1963's "Men and Decisions".
Bio by: Bill McKern
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