Thomas F. Stroock (October 10, 1925 – December 13, 2009) was an American businessman,

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

, and a Republican politician from

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

Biography

Early life

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Stroock attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, alongside future U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush. He was a member of

Chi Phi Fraternity Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was for ...

. After graduation, he served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

during World War II and then relocated to Wyoming, where he devoted his remaining years. He was brought to Casper, Wyoming in 1949 by his current employer, the Stanolind Oil and Gas Company.

Career

Upon settling in Casper, he founded several petroleum companies. He served as a member of the

Wyoming State Senate The Wyoming Senate is the upper house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 30 Senators in the Senate, representing an equal number of constituencies across Wyoming, each with a population of at least 17,000. The Senate meets at the Wyomi ...

from

Natrona County Natrona County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 79,955, making it the second-most populous county in Wyoming. Its county seat is Casper. Natrona County comprises the Casper, WY ...

in 1967, from 1971 to 1974, and finally from 1979 to 1989. He was the Senate vice president in 1989. In 1974, he left the state Senate to run unsuccessfully on the GOP ticket for Wyoming's at-large seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, having been defeated by the incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Teno Roncalio. In 1989, he was named

United States Ambassador to Guatemala The following is a list of ambassadors of the United States, or other chiefs of mission, to Guatemala. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.'' See ...

by his former Yale classmate President Bush. He held that post until 1992. In 1989, he was named

by his former Yale classmate President Bush. He held that post until 1992. During his time as ambassador, he fought against drug trafficking. He also had to handle the case of the American nun Dianna Ortiz, who had been abducted, raped, and tortured by the Guatemalan military, with possible complicity of the United States, and whose account he was unwilling to accept.

Personal life

He and his wife, Marta, had four daughters. He died on December 13, 2009, at the age of eighty-four.Former U.S. ambassador, oilman Stroock dies Trib.com

References

External links

Thomas F. Stroock Papers
at the American Heritage Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Strook, Tom 1925 births 2009 deaths Businesspeople from New York City Politicians from Casper, Wyoming Republican Party Wyoming state senators American energy industry businesspeople Ambassadors of the United States to Guatemala Yale University alumni United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American businesspeople