Michael Roy Sonnenreich ( ; born May 5, 1938) is a lawyer, art collector, and a philanthropist who previously worked in technology, pharmaceutical, and global marketing. He is notable for co-creating the

Controlled Substances Act The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the statute establishing federal government of the United States, federal drug policy of the United States, U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of ...

while serving as the Executive Director of the

Shafer Commission The Shafer Commission, formally known as the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, was appointed by U.S. President Richard Nixon in the early 1970s. Its chairman was former Pennsylvania Governor Raymond P. Shafer. The commission is ...

. Sonnenreich is the chairman of the board of Kikaku America International, President of The Fund to Conserve United States Diplomatic Treasures Abroad (a privately funded sub-division of the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

), and Vice Chairman of PharMa International Corporation in Tokyo, Japan. He also served as a former adjunct professor of law at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, and

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

Early life

Childhood

Sonnenreich was born on May 5, 1938, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York. He is the son of late Emanuel Hirsch and Fay Rosenberg Sonnenreich. He attended

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Spec ...

in the early 1950s.

Career

Government

Sonnenreich served from 1963 to 1965 as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the military and was

honorably discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and th ...

d. After Sonnenreich graduated from Harvard Law and passed the D.C. bar exam, he started serving in the Department of Justices' criminal law division for a few years. Then, Sonnenreich had transferred to the

Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) was a bureau within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and a predecessor agency of the modern Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). History It was created by § 3 of the Reorganizatio ...

(a division of the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

) as Deputy Chief Counsel from 1969 to 1971, and was later appointed by

President Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

to be the Executive Director of the

National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse The Shafer Commission, formally known as the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, was appointed by U.S. President Richard Nixon in the early 1970s. Its chairman was former Pennsylvania Governor Raymond P. Shafer. The commission iss ...

from 1971 to 1973. While there, with the help of his friend

White House Counsel The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...

head

John Dean John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American former attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal ...

and the Director of the

BNDD The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) was a bureau within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and a predecessor agency of the modern Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). History It was created by § 3 of the Reorganizatio ...

John Ingersoll, they formulated the

. He was also President of the National Coordinating Council on Drug Education from 1973 to 1974. While working at the Supreme Court, Sonnenreich became a partner at his own firm Sonnenreich & Roccograndi in Washington, DC, specializing in International Business, Drug Law, Pharmaceutical Regulation. He terminated his law firm partnership after joining Sackler's personal legal cohort.

Relations with Arthur M. Sackler

While working in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Sonnenreich prosecuted supreme court cases against psychiatrist

Arthur Sackler Arthur Mitchell Sackler (August 22, 1913 – May 26, 1987) was an American psychiatrist and marketer of pharmaceuticals whose fortune originated in medical advertising and trade publications. He was also a philanthropist and art collector. He wa ...

concerning

Betadine Povidone-iodine (PVP-I), also known as iodopovidone, is an antiseptic used for skin disinfection before and after surgery. It may be used both to disinfect the hands of healthcare providers and the skin of the person they are caring for. It may a ...

, Senaflax,

Librium Chlordiazepoxide, trade name Librium among others, is a sedative and hypnotic medication of the benzodiazepine class; it is used to treat anxiety, insomnia and symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol and other drugs. Chlordiazepoxide has a medium to ...

and

Valium Diazepam, first marketed as Valium, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is commonly used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, a ...

. Although on opposite sides of these cases, Sackler approached Sonnenreich to join his legal team. Sonnenreich at the time wanted to stay "with the government" and did not want to work directly for Sackler; years later however, Sonnenreich accepted his job offer. Sonnenreich worked with Sackler for more than a decade. Sackler gave Sonnenreich the ability to control his assets and stocks while working for him. When Sackler died in 1987, Sonnenreich helped establish the

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery is an art museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., focusing on Asian art. The Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art together form the National Museum of Asian Art in the United States. Th ...

at the (

Freer Gallery of Art The Freer Gallery of Art is an art museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. focusing on Asian art. The Freer and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery together form the National Museum of Asian Art in the United States. The Freer and Sac ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

) and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art to preserve some of both their art collections.

Later career

Sonnenreich has served as a board member and trustee of many companies, among them Wi2Wi, Tyhee Development Corp. Ltd.,

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

, and Medical Tribune International. Sonnenreich was president of the

Washington National Opera The Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performa ...

from 1996 to 1998 and again from 2002 to 2006. He was chairman of the

DC Jazz Festival The DC Jazz Festival, originally the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, is a jazz festival held in early to mid June for nearly two weeks in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 2004 by jazz manager Charles Fishman and changed to its ...

(2010–2014) and commissioner of the

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) is an agency of the District of Columbia government. As of October 2022, the Interim Executive Director is David Markey. CAH was created as an outgrowth of the U.S. Congress Act that established ...

(2008–2011). Secretary Glickman and Sonnenreich lead the international conference on government regulation and the world food supply in 1997, while Sonnenreich was on the board at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

and

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. In 2007, Sonnenreich "used his extensive Rolodex (and uncanny political abilities) to help free a group of jailed workers employed in an American factory in Asia, thereby averting the shut-down of that company's operations," prompting a reconciliation with the host government.

Recognition

In 2008, he was named Distinguished Washingtonian by the

University Club of Washington, DC The University Club of Washington, D.C., is an American private club in downtown Washington, D.C., United States. History The first organizational meeting of The University Club of Washington, DC was held at the new Willard Hotel on February 22, ...

. Also, the ''Washington Life Magazine'' listed Michael Sonnenreich in the ''Power 100'' three consecutive times, occurring in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnenreich, Michael Living people Lawyers from New York City Military personnel from New York City Philanthropists from New York (state) American people of Polish-Jewish descent United States national commissions Complutense University of Madrid alumni Harvard Law School alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni 1938 births