LAMAMIMET

Robert James Woolsey Jr. was born on September 21, 1941, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He graduated from Stanford University with high honors in 1963, earned a Master of Arts from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 1965, and received his Bachelor of Laws from Yale Law School in 1968.

Woolsey held important positions in both Democratic and Republican administrations throughout his career. He served as Under Secretary of the Navy from 1977 to 1979 during President Jimmy Carter's administration, as Ambassador to the Negotiation on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe from 1989 to 1991 during President George H.W. Bush's term, and as Director of Central Intelligence from 1993 to 1995 during President Bill Clinton's first term. As CIA Director, he advocated for the agency during budget uncertainty at the end of the Cold War and preserved officer morale while building relationships between the Intelligence Community and law enforcement.

After leaving government service, Woolsey remained active in national security and energy policy. He served as a senior vice-president at Booz Allen Hamilton, joined venture capital firms, and became an advisor on energy security issues. He was a founding member of the Set America Free Coalition dedicated to reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, served on the board of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and was a senior advisor to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign before resigning in January 2017. Woolsey died on July 21, 2026, at his home in Washington, D.C., from a stroke at the age of 84.