clasped hands upraised. The Democrats entered the fall campaign united for the first time in years. Credit for this accomplishment was awarded to Chairman Strauss, and Carter quickly asked Strauss to chair his election campaign. The national election was closely contested, but Carter emerged victorious, Strauss being acclaimed as a political kingmaker. Carter After ascending to the presidency in 1977, Carter named Strauss as U.S. Trade Representative. The position enjoyed cabinet-level status while allowing Strauss to apply his considerable negotiating skills to America's troubled relations with its trading partners. As Trade Representative, Strauss completed the Tokyo Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and secured the agreement's ratification by the US Congress in the Trade Act of 1979. Then, Carter asked Strauss to undertake an even more challenging task as his Personal Representative to the Middle East. Carter's previous efforts had already resulted in the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, and Carter hoped that Strauss would be able to build on the success. The handshake of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat on the White House lawn was a high point of Carter's presidency. On April 24, 1979, Carter announced that Strauss would serve as Personal Representative of the President to the Middle East Peace Negotiations (Palestinian autonomy talks). The Iranian Revolution led to the seizure of American diplomats as hostages, a crisis that dominated the last year of Carter's term. In 1980, Strauss's old friend, Connally, finally made a run for the presidency. He entered the Republican primaries as a hard-core conservative. However, he found himself running at the back of the pack while Ronald Reagan emerged as the frontrunner. Strauss chaired Carter's campaign committee again in 1980, but Carter did not win re-election. Before leaving office, Carter awarded Robert Strauss the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award. Strauss returned to his law firm's thriving Washington office. His experience as Trade Representative made him a sought-after expert on international trade matters. Reagan Carter's successor, Reagan, was to face difficulties of his own. His efforts to resolve another hostage situation led to the Iran-Contra affair. Many of the president's supporters believed that the aggressive management style of his White House Chief of Staff, Donald Regan, was making matters worse. However, Reagan remained loyal to Regan and would not consider replacing him. A presidential adviser, Michael Deaver, as well as First Lady Nancy