Introduction

               Clayton Keith Yeutter (whose name rhymes with fighter) is described as having a “contagious smile and a booming voice.”[1] He was the type of politician who believed that “good guys finish first, not last.”[2]  Ambassador Yeutter has led a long and distinguished life, extensively served his country, and, most notably, greatly expanded United States international trade and agricultural policy.
               Ambassador Yeutter served four presidents in his long political career. He served as the U.S. Trade Representative from 1985-88, and while there, he broadened the U.S. trade agenda and was influential in international negotiations.[3] He left his position as U.S. Trade Representative to become President H.W. Bush’s Secretary of Agriculture.[4] Ambassador Yeutter “steered the 1990 Farm Bill through Congress, laying the groundwork for a far more market-oriented policy structure in American agriculture.”[5] He has since then been Chairman of the Republican National Committee and Counselor to the President.[6]
               Although he left public service in 1993, he remains ever present on the international stage. For example, “Ambassador Yeutter presently serves as Director of several major corporations, all of which are deeply involved in international commerce or international finance.”[7] In addition, his work at the law firm of Hogan Lovells is focused on issues of international trade, food, and agriculture. He has been a frequent speaker and writer on trade policy and agricultural policy.[8]

Early Life and Education

               Clayton Keith Yeutter was born on December 10, 1930 (currently 81), in Eustis, Nebraska during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.[9] After graduating from Eustis High School in 1948, Yeutter attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).[10] While there, he was a member of Farmhouse fraternity.[11] Yeutter was ranked first in his College of Agriculture graduating class and “named by the Block and Bridle Club as outstanding animal husbandry graduate in the United States.”[12] He earned his B.S. in 1952 with high distinction, “the highest scholastic honor given by the University of Nebraska.”[13]
               Yeutter’s graduation in 1952 coincided with the Korean War, and he enlisted in the United States Air Force as a Basic Airman.[14] He stayed in the military for five years, and the credits he earned under the G.I. bill allowed him to go to graduate school.[15] From about 1957 to 1975, he remained on active reserve, furthered his education, and “continued to manage his 2,500 acre farming, ranching, and cattle feeding operation, located in central Dawson County in Nebraska.”[16] 
Beginning in January 1960, Yeutter worked as a faculty member at UNL and taught agricultural economics and agricultural law part-time while working to complete his J.D. and Ph.D.[17] In law school, Yeutter served as an editor of the Nebraska Law Review. The Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity named him ‘outstanding law graduate in [the] Midwest.’[18] Yeutter received a J.D. in 1963, graduating Cum Laude and ranking first in his graduating class. He completed a Ph.D. in agricultural economics in 1966. In addition, he was named ‘outstanding graduate student’ and maintained above an “A” average for the entire graduate program.[19] Yeutter briefly taught full-time from 1965 to 1966. Yeutter’s success in the classroom followed him into his professional life as he entered politics.

Professional Career

Early Work

Executive Assistant to the Governor of Nebraska (1966-1968)

               Starting January 1966, Yeutter served as the Executive Assistant to the Governor of Nebraska. He “was responsible for coordination between government and numerous agencies of state government, including the Department of Agriculture and all state educational institutions.”[20] In addition, he “handled all of the legislative liaison work, including drafting of legislation to broaden the state tax base and to provide for state aid to education.”[21] In addition, some of this legislation created a state Department of Economic Development, established a minimum wage, merged the University of Nebraska and the University of Omaha, and established a state telecommunications commission.  Yeutter’s work for Nebraska and the University made him the natural choice as to who should be the Director for the University of Nebraska Mission in Columbia.

Director of the University of Nebraska Mission in Colombia (1968-1970)

               In September 1968, Yeutter became Director of the University of Nebraska Mission in Columbia. It was “the largest agricultural technical assistance program in the world at that time.”[22] Six Midwestern land grant universities participated in the Mission, “with funding by AID, the Kellogg Foundation, and the Ford Foundation.”[23] The Mission provided assistance “at the graduate and undergraduate level[s] in teaching, research, and extension in all major agricultural fields” to the Colombian Agricultural Institute (which somewhat approximates the USDA) and the National University.[24] After Yeutter served the University of Nebraska Mission in Columbia for two years, he accepted a position with the United States government.

Administrator of Consumer and Marketing Service Within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1970-1971)

               When Yeutter returned in October 1970, he served as Administrator of Consumer and Marketing Service within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was responsible for various programs such as “meat and poultry inspection, the grading of agricultural products, development of product standards, market news, the administration of market orders, procurement of food for commodity distribution, school lunch programs, etc.”[25] Yeutter’s work within the U.S. Department of Agriculture attracted the attention of President Nixon.

Regional Director, Committee for the Reelection of the President; Director for Agriculture (1972)

               In 1972, Yeutter contributed to the reelection campaign of President Richard Nixon. He served as Regional Director on the Committee for the Reelection of the President and as the Director for Agriculture. In his capacity as Regional Director, he was “responsible for all facets of the President’s campaign in seven Midwestern states.”[26] As Director for Agriculture, he was responsible for “the agricultural portion of the campaign in all 50 states.”[27] After the reelection effort, Yeutter returned to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Consumer Services within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1973-1974)

               In January 1973, Yeutter was appointed to Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Consumer Services. He was responsible for “essentially all regulatory and domestic market service functions in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”[28] Moreover, his agencies included: “Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service; Agricultural Marketing Service; Commodity Exchange Authority; Food & Nutrition Service; Packers & Stockyards Administration.”[29] Following this post, Yeutter moved around in the U.S. Department of Agriculture to a more internationally focused position. 

Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for International Affairs and Commodity Programs (1974-1975)

               In March 1974, Yeutter was appointed to Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for International Affairs and Commodity Programs. He was responsible for “essentially all regulatory and domestic market service functions in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the administration of all farm programs.” His agencies included: “Agricultural Stabilization & Conservation Service; Foreign Agricultural Service; Federal Crop Insurance Corporation; Commodity Credit Corporation.”[30] During Yeutter’s time as Assistant Secretary, he was in charge of negotiating an end to the trading war between the United States and the European Economic Community over cheese subsidies.[31] “That was the first time in Common Market history that they agreed to withdraw some of their agricultural subsidies,” commented Yeutter.[32] Yeutter’s success on the international stage led the government to offer him a greater role.

Deputy Special Trade Representative (1975-1977)

               In June 1975, Yeutter became the Deputy Trade Representative within the Executive Office of the President. He became an Ambassador “with responsibility for conducting trade negotiations on behalf of the President and the U.S. government.”[33] Furthermore, his post “involved contracts and negotiations with representatives of many foreign governments, as well as coordination of U.S. policy positions with other Federal departments, the Congress, and numerous private sector advisory committees.”[34] Following this post, Yeutter reentered the private sector.

Private Sector

Senior partner at the Law Firm Nelson, Harding, Yeutter & Leonard (1977-1978)

               In April 1977, Yeutter became senior partner of the law firm Nelson, Harding, Yeutter, & Leonard in Lincoln, Nebraska (he went on indefinite leave of absence while later serving as President of CME). The firm had additional offices in Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Houston, Rapid City, and Washington, D.C.[35] Yeutter was “responsible for the firm’s agriculturally related practice, and for coordinating all elements of the practice where Washington D.C. or international interests are involved.”[36] Yeutter became even more involved in international trade and agriculture after leaving the law firm. 

President and CEO of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (1978-1985)

               In July 1978, Yeutter served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the world’s second largest futures market at the time. The CME conducted futures trading “in (1) commodities, such as fat cattle, feeder cattle, hogs, pork bellies, lumber, and gold; (2) international currencies, such as the yen, German mark, French franc, and British pound; (3) interest rates, through transactions in Treasury bills, domestic certificates of deposit, and Eurodollars; and (4) the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index contract” (Nearly 40 billion contracts per year were being traded on the Exchange).[37]
   

           Yeutter, in his capacity as CME’s President and CEO, was “responsible for all its operations, including governmental relations and contacts with both national and international members and customers.”[38] In 1978, the Exchange had more than 2,000 members, and full seats sold then at around $250,000. During Yeutter’s time at the CME, from July 1978 until June 1985, the trade volume of agricultural, currency, and interest rate futures more than tripled. After Yeutter had been in the private sector for nearly a decade, the President offered him an even greater role in international trade. 

Later Work

United States Trade Representative (1985-1989)

               Following Reagan’s nomination, the Senate confirmed Yeutter as the U.S. Trade Representative in June 1985. Yeutter succeeded William E. Brock, who was named Secretary of Labor.[39] During his time as U.S. Trade Representative, Yeutter helped pass the Omnibus Trade Bill of 1988 through Congress, completed a ‘trailblazing’ Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement, managed the initial negotiations regarding the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and used American trade laws to open foreign markets to American goods.[40]
               Yeutter was considered to be an outsider because he had virtually no experience “massaging Congress” and was only “fleetingly acquainted” with President Reagan.[41] These characteristics presented a “contrast with some of his 11 predecessors in the 25-year-old Cabinet job.” Previous trade representatives either knew the president personally or had significant political experience.[42] Yeutter saw these distinctions as exaggerated.[43] He explained, “the question of generating credibility with [President Reagan] proved not to be a problem at all. First, because the access was attainable any time I needed it. Second, I didn’t always need it.”[44]
               Working closely with Treasury Secretary James Baker and Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige, Yeutter quickly formulated a comprehensive U.S. trade policy. He was in a sensitive position due to the United States’ “increasingly tense trade negotiations with Japan and with protectionist sentiment—fanned by record trade deficits—rising in Congress.”[45] In addition, “Washington, for the first time, threatened legal action that would close American markets if Japan, South Korea and other countries didn’t open theirs.”[46] However, “thanks to the initiative of Mr. Yeutter and Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige, the Administration is fighting unfair trade for the first time under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.”[47] It was a rarely used provision, but allowed Washington to apply pressure to countries who restricted their markets from the United States. In response, various markets opened in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.[48]  In addition, Yeutter persuaded 92 nations to agree to start discussing ways to ease global trading in an effort to deflate protectionism at home.[49] The idea was that “if other countries open their markets, the United States can avoid having to close its own.”[50] After Yeutter’s tremendous efforts on the international stage, his agricultural expertise was sought out again. 

Secretary of Agriculture (1989-1991)

               Following George H.W. Bush’s nomination, the Senate confirmed Yeutter as Secretary of Agriculture on February 9, 1989. Yeutter was slightly reluctant to take the job offered by President-elect Bush because “he felt ‘just burned out’ by the brutal pace of the trade job.”[51] Nevertheless, his fondness for agricultural issues prevailed. Even as Trade Representative, Yeutter was ever connected with farm issues. For instance, “because of the importance of agriculture in export markets, Mr. Yeutter has spent much of the past three and a half years fighting foreign barriers to American food exports.”[52]
               Yeutter’s main concern as Secretary of Agriculture was the quinquennial farm bill.[53] The development of the 1990 farm bill, which would become the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, was dependent on the Uruguay Round talks, which Yeutter led as the United States Trade Representative.[54] The previous bill, passed in 1985, “was export-oriented, aimed at holding down big surpluses and fighting farm export wars against the European Community with the American pocketbook.”[55] It had focused on providing financial support in the form of unprecedented subsidies to American farmers through the Food Security Act of 1985. The 1990 farm bill removed those subsidies.  After serving as the Secretary of Agriculture, Yeutter remained in politics.

Republican National Committee Chairman (1991-1992)

In January 1991, Yeutter was elected as Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He introduced himself as “’a very substantive person’ who believed that ‘good guys finished first, not last,’ and thought that the American public wanted more issue-oriented campaigns.”[56]
Yeutter was the solution to “a search fraught with embarrassment.”[57] The President’s first choice, William Bennett, revoked his initial acceptance due to a conflict of interest.[58] One anonymous Republican consultant noted that for such a prestigious job, the whole process was “terribly bungled.”[59] Yeutter presented a sharp contrast with his predecessor, Lee Atwater, whose “razor’s edge politics” was enormously popular with the committee.[60] Edward J. Rollins, who was co-chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, commented: “I don’t think people think of him in traditional R.N.C. terms, but I think he’ll do an exceptional job.”[61] Yeutter served as R.N.C. chairman for only two years, his expertise was needed elsewhere.

Counselor to the President (1992-1993)

On January 31, 1992, President H.W. Bush named Yeutter as Counselor to the President for domestic policy. Yeutter’s appointment to the newly created post, the Bush White House’s first major structural change, was designed to strengthen the formulation of domestic policy.[62]
Yeutter was given more power than the prior Counselor to the President for domestic policy, Edwin Meese. Yeutter was to fill the role of “domestic policy czar,” having control over the administration’s economic and domestic councils, which formed the cabinet’s policy-making apparatus.[63]
Ultimately, the Bush White House solved two problems; Yeutter’s move to the White House eliminated the need for a domestic policy czar and allowed for a more politically savvy R.N.C. chairman.[64] Richard N. Bond, a longtime Bush loyalist and campaign aide, was brought in to be the new chairman of the Republican Party.[65] Although he lacked the “stature” of Yeutter, he had “a reputation for relentless attention to detail and mechanics of politics and a one-minded passion for it.”[66] In the years following Yeutter’s time as Counselor to the President, Yeutter has continued to stay involved in international trade and agriculture.

Post public service

               Since February 1993, Yeutter has split his time. He has worked as a senior advisor at Hogan Lovells (formerly Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.), a Washington D.C. law firm, and as a Director of several major corporations, “all of which are deeply involved in international commerce or international finance.”[67]  Similarly, his areas of practice at Hogan Lovells are international trade and agricultural law.
Yeutter currently serves on the board of directors of Neogen Corp.[68] Before Neogen, he “served as Chairman of the Board of Oppenheimer Funds, Inc., and on the boards of directors of Coventa Holding Corp., American Commercial Lines, Inc., and the Chicago Climate Exchange.”[69] Other notable boards Yeutter served on include Caterpillar Inc., Texas Instruments, ConAgra Foods, Weyerhaeuser, and Zurich Financial Services, among many others.[70]

Family and Personal Life

               After graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1952, Yeutter married his first wife, Jeanne Vierk.[71] Vierk had been studying home economics at the same university.[72] Yeutter and Vierk had four children: Brad, Gregg, Kim, and Van.[73] Vierk passed away in 1993.[74]
               Yeutter remarried in 1995 to Cristena “Cristy” Bach.[75] They met in the White House gym.[76] It was 1986, “she was the lithe young woman on the treadmill and he was the in-shape, married older guy (and father of four) working out in the corner.”[77] In an interview Bach said, “If you’d told me then that I was going to marry the gray-haired guy on the rowing machine, I would have said you should be committed.”[78] But, that is exactly what happened.
               When they met, Yeutter was the United States Trade Representative and, and Bach was a special assistant to President Reagan for intergovernmental affairs.[79] Several years after developing a gym friendship, Bach learned that Yeutter’s wife had passed.[80] She attended the memorial service and sent a couple condolence cards.[81] Bach said, “for whatever reason, my cards resonated, and we spent a little time together on a very casual basis. And then over time it became clear that it was going to be more than that.”[82]
               Despite their 28-year age difference, Yeutter and Bach decided to have children.[83] In 1997, Yeutter and Bach flew to Russia and adopted five-month-old Victoria Yeutter.[84] Two years later, they went to Kazakhstan and adopted her sister, eight-month-old Elena.[85] Yeutter described his experience with being a father again after so long: "As Cristy and I have often said, it was either going to make me old or keep me young. I prefer the latter outcome, and I think so far it’s turning out that way. I have absolutely adored the experience of being a far more active father than was possible for me when my first four children were growing up."[86]

Honors and Awards

Honorary Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2012 New Year Honours, for service to New Zealand-United States relations[87]
Who’s Who Legal: The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, Trade and Customs, 2011[88]
Recipient of the 2011 Nebraska Cattlemen Industry Service Award[89]
The Best Lawyers in America, 2010[90]
Recipient of the 2005 AIARD Special Service Award 
Recipient of the 2002 Torch Bearer Award[91]
Recipient of the 1993 USMEF Michael J. Mansfield Award[92]
Recipient of American Society of Agricultural Consultants “1978 Distinguished Service Award”[93]
Recipient of Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben “1978 Agricultural Achievement Award”[94]
Recipient of the Israel Prime Minister’s Medal for long-time friendship to Israel and support for its economic development[95]
Recipient of FarmHouse “Master Builder of Men” award, the highest honor granted an alumnus of that fraternity[96]
Recipient of Purdue University’s (Lafayette, Ind.) “Old Masters” award, and the University of Nebraska’s comparable “Masters” award[97]
Recipient of first University of Nebraska 4-H Club Alumni award[98]
Yeutter has received honorary doctorate degrees from eight Universities:[99]
Clemson University
DePaul University
Georgetown University
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Santa Clara University
University of Arizona
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
University of Nebraska

Published Works

"Can Russian Bear Play Fair on Trade?" Politico, July 2011.
"Don't let America lose its Agricultural Edge," The Hill. July 2011.
"The Trans Pacific Partnership - with Japan, or without Japan," Law360, Portfolio Media, Inc., December 2010.
"Japan at a Trade Crossroads," Wall Street Journal, November 2010.
"Regulation should Protect our Environmental Interests - not Special Interests," San Jose (Cal.) Mercury, October 2010.
"KORUS--Are There Shortcomings? Let's Fix Them," Law360, Portfolio Media, Inc., July 14, 2010.
"A Doha Trade Deal Can Be Struck Beyond Hong Kong," Financial Times, December 15, 2005.
"No, Bring Beijing In Before It’s Too Late," Wall Street Journal – Asia, April 23, 1997.
"A NAFTA for Europe," Wall Street Journal, May 1995.

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