Sidney Weintraub, Retired LBJ School Faculty Member, Dies at 91

(LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin)

Sidney Weintraub, Retired LBJ School Faculty Member, Dies at 91

AUSTIN, Texas, April 11, 2014 – Sidney Weintraub, Dean Rusk Professor Emeritus of the LBJ School of Public Affairs, died on April 10 at the age of 91 in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Sidney Weintraub had a distinguished career with the U.S. Department of State before coming to the LBJ School in 1976 as the first holder of the endowed Dean Rusk Chair. Among his positions were Chief of Commercial Policy in the State Department, Economic Counselor and Director of the U.S. AID program in Chile, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Finance and Development, and Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was also a tactical interrogator in Europe during World War II and spent a short time working as a journalist.

Professor Weintraub, who had a Ph.D. in economics from the American University, was the founding director of the LBJ School's Program in U.S.-Mexican Policy Studies.

“Sidney Weintraub was one of the giants in the field of international development,” said Dean Robert Hutchings. “Professor Weintraub was a trailblazer for the School, creating the LBJ School’s Program in U.S.-Mexican Policy Studies and leading the efforts to expand the School’s academic and research focus to encompass international affairs, international development and global economics.”

Professor Weintraub directed a number of policy research projects related to international affairs, including studies of the use of public services by undocumented workers in Texas, the operations of the U.S.-Canada automotive pact, the impact of tourism on Mexico's economy, and the impact on Texas of free trade with Mexico. In 2006, the Mexican government awarded him the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest decoration granted by Mexico to foreigners.

International affairs, particularly issues regarding trade, the international monetary system, and relations between developed and developing nations, were his primary policy interests. He wrote over 100 articles, books, monographs, chapters, and commissioned papers. He was also the author of two mystery novels.

Professor Weintraub was the holder of the William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. for 17 years from 1994 to 2011.

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During the NAFTA+20 Conference held in February 2014, Professor Emeritus Sidney Weintraub was honored at a luncheon for his integral and profound role in research leading to the North American Free Trade Agreement. This video begins with an introduction by Associate Dean Chandler Stolp with a recognition and message from Mexico's Secretary of the Economy for Dr. Weintraub followed by a personal recognition from one of his former LBJ School students and ITAM professor, Dr Rafael Fernández de Castro. A standing ovation for Dr. Weintraub appears at 31:10 in this video.