Michael Brackett Smith

Michael Brackett Smith, a longtime top government trade negotiator who helped lead the U.S. push during the 1980s to create the present-day global trading system, died November 8 from complications of pneumonia. He was 85.

As a high-ranking policymaker during the Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations, Michael led international negotiations such as the Uruguay Round that ultimately replaced the previous array of restrictive tariffs with a set of worldwide rules designed to open markets, govern trade in goods and services, and protect intellectual property. He also negotiated dozens of bilateral and multilateral trade pacts—involving semiconductors, automobiles, motorcycles, aircraft, and textiles—designed to reduce foreign countries’ barriers to U.S. exports.

Born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Michael graduated from Harvard University in 1958 and joined the U.S. Foreign Service. Ultimately, he became Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, leading 123-country talks on overhauling the entire global trading system. Michael retired from the Foreign Service in 1988 and established Rockmere Associates, his own trade consulting firm. In recent years, he divided his time between his home in McLean, Virginia, and Marblehead. He was an avid sailor and a well-read student of naval history. He also served as a docent at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum.

Michael is survived by his wife of 33 years, Deborah Wince-Smith; three sons, Eric, Devereux, and Christian, all graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy; a daughter, Leslie Rosen; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. An earlier marriage, to Nancy Hodgson, ended in divorce.

A memorial service will be held at the Washington National Cathedral at 10 a.m. on Monday, December 6. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions be sent in Michael’s honor to the St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 26 Pleasant Street, Marblehead, MA 01945; the Marblehead Museum, 170 Washington Street, Marblehead, MA 01945; or to the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation, attn: Liz Root, 274 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402.