the Reagan Administration (1987–1989). Schmitz worked on the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Forests for the Future Initiative, and attended the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit. He also worked extensively on regulatory reform and on issues relating to German Reunification. Career post-Bush Administration After the White House, Schmitz joined Mayer Brown LLP (1993–2009) as a partner to help establish its first German office in Berlin, primarily working on issues related to antitrust, media, energy and environment, and being admitted to the Berlin Rechtsanwaltskamer in 1994. Schmitz was a founder and Managing Partner at Schmitz Global Partners LLP, and a Managing Director at Prime Policy Group. He is now the President of Prime Transatlantic. Schmitz’s career has focused on Transatlantic relations, especially German-American relations. He has worked on international agreements including the 1996 U.S.-German Open Skies Aviation Agreement (superseded by the EU-US Open Skies Agreement), and the 1997 US-EU Heavy Electrical Equipment Procurement Agreement, which resulted in German Procurement Code reform. Schmitz has been a proponent of market-based instruments to address environmental concerns. Personal life and activities Schmitz lives in McLean, Virginia with his wife, Joan M. Schmitz (née Manee). The two have five grown children, Mary, Anna, John M., C. Maximilian, and Julia, and two grandsons. In 1995, Schmitz and his family planted a vineyard, Chappelle Charlemagne, in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Throughout his career, Schmitz has served on numerous boards, including The Atlantic Council, The American Council on Germany, C2ES (formerly The Pew Center on Global Climate Change), Aspen Institute Berlin, IESE, and Friends of Dresden. Schmitz, fluent in German from a young age, has received recognition as a prominent German-American, receiving honors including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (1990) from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, the Officers Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Deutsches Bundesverdienstkreuz First Class), awarded by German President Richard von Weizsaecker (1990), the Distinguished German American of the Year Award (2000) from the United German American Committee, and Robert Bosch Fellow of the Year (2011). References 1955 births American people of German descent George H. W. Bush administration personnel Georgetown University alumni Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Living people Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from McLean, Virginia Stanford Law School alumni United States congressional aides United States Department of Justice lawyers Virginia