Kimmitt_Robert

Ambassador Robert M. Kimmitt

Kimmitt_Robert

Ambassador Robert M. Kimmitt

Senior International Counsel

  • Co-Chair, Crisis Management and Strategic Response Group
Washington DC + 1 202 663 6250

Ambassador Robert M. Kimmitt advises clients on issues spanning public policy, national security, international investment and governance. Both in government and the private sector, he has held a wide variety of senior positions at the intersection of international business, finance, law and policy. Ambassador Kimmitt originally joined the firm in 1997 and rejoined in 2009 after serving as Deputy Secretary of the US Department of the Treasury. He serves as co-chair of the Crisis Management and Strategic Response Group.

As Deputy Secretary of the Treasury from 2005 to 2009, he had significant responsibility for the Department's international agenda, including cross-border investment in his leadership role on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

As a partner at the firm from 1997 to 2000, Ambassador Kimmitt focused on international transactions in regulated industries, primarily in the areas of defense, aerospace, telecommunications and banking. 

Prior to joining the firm, he served as American Ambassador to Germany (1991–1993), Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (1989–1991), General Counsel to the Department of the Treasury (1985–1987), and Executive Secretary and General Counsel of the National Security Council at the White House (1983–1985).

In addition to his government service, Ambassador Kimmitt was Vice Chairman and President of Commerce One, a Silicon Valley software company (2000–2001). He also served as Executive Vice President for Global Public Policy (2001–2005) at Time Warner Inc., and from 2009 to 2012, he chaired the Deloitte Center for Cross-Border Investment, which provided strategic advice on the execution of cross-border acquisitions and divestitures.

Ambassador Kimmitt has authored many articles, including "Public Footprints in Private Markets," a seminal look at Sovereign Wealth Funds that was published in Foreign Affairs magazine. 

Professional Activities

Ambassador Kimmitt serves on the International Advisory Board of The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. He is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission. He is Chairman Emeritus of the American Council on Germany, and his foreign language is German.

Recognition

For his service during the Gulf Crisis and War, former President George H.W. Bush presented him with the Presidential Citizens Medal, the country's second highest civilian award.

For his service as American Ambassador to Germany, he was awarded Germany's highest honor, the Bundesverdienstkreuz, as well as the US Defense Department's Distinguished Public Service Award.

During his service as Deputy Secretary and General Counsel to the US Treasury Department, Ambassador Kimmitt twice received the department's Alexander Hamilton Award, and he also received the Arthur Flemming Award for distinguished public service.

For his service as Chairman of the CIA External Advisory Board, Ambassador Kimmitt twice received the CIA Director’s Award.

During his combat service with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam (1970-1971), he earned three Bronze Star Medals, the Purple Heart, the Air Medal and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He retired as a Major General in the Army Reserve.

He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Marymount University in 2009; he received the Distinguished Graduate Award from West Point in 2010 and the Outstanding Alumnus Award of the US Army War College in 2015.

Ambassador Kimmitt was selected by peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for government relations (2012-2024) and is recommended in the 2016 edition of The Legal 500 United States for his government relations practice.

In the December 2011, 2013 and 2015 issues of Washingtonian magazine, Ambassador Kimmitt is recognized among "Washington's Best Lawyers" for his national security practice.

In 2016, Ambassador Kimmitt was named a finalist for The American Lawyer's Transatlantic Lawyer of the Year.

In 2024, Ambassador Kimmitt was shortlisted in the Attorney of the Year category of the The American Lawyer Industry Awards. 

Insights & News

View all of Robert's insights & news

Credentials

  • Education

    • JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 1977

      Editor-in-Chief, Law & Policy in International Business

    • BS, United States Military Academy, 1969

      with distinction

    •      

  • Admissions

    • District of Columbia

  • Clerkships

    • The Hon. Edward A. Tamm, US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1977 - 1978

Credentials

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