ANNE WEXLER AO:
Policy, Pragmatism, & Public Service
At the midpoint of her career as a political consultant, Anne Wexler was described by Jimmy Carter’s White House Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan as “the most competent woman in Democratic politics in this country” – a remarkable achievement by any standard, made even more so by the realities of the male-dominated field at the time.
It was 1978, and having served as a lynchpin in several key roles of the Carter transition team and administration, Anne Wexler was credited for garnering crucial support from various business and opinion leaders, and assisting the passage of a number of significant legislative victories.
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Prior to this, Wexler had run several high-profile election campaigns, enlisted an enthusiastic young volunteer, Hillary Clinton, in her first political role, and successfully recommended the late Juanita Kreps as the first woman and economist to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Wexler herself would go on to become the first woman to own a lobbying firm – one of Washington’s most influential, in fact, with an enviable client list featuring General Motors, American Airlines, and the Motion Picture Association of America.
Unbeknown to many, Wexler was also a foundational figure in the rapid growth of the Australian-U.S. bilateral relationship at the turn of the millennium, having taken the Government of Australia as a client during that time. Her efforts to secure a free trade agreement between the two countries were so successful, the Australian Government in 2002 awarded Wexler with a Medal of the Order of Australia; an exceptionally rare honour for a non-citizen. She also played a central role in the founding of the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue (AALD) -- a private diplomatic initiative that has for 27 years brought together current and future leaders for high-level discussions on the Australian-U.S. alliance.