It is with great sadness that we mark the recent passing of Ira Wolf, a longtime friend of many of us here at the Mansfield Foundation. Mansfield Foundation President Frank Jannuzi first met Ira twenty years ago when both were working on Capitol Hill. “Ira was an early friend and mentor for me in the Senate, where his intelligence, constant good cheer, kindness, and sharp wit marked him as one of the best of the best. I am grateful that our paths often intertwined, and on behalf of all of us at the Foundation, express my deepest sympathy to Ira’s family, friends, and professional colleagues.”
During a long and distinguished career in public service, Ira deployed his deep expertise to advance U.S. interests, serving as a Foreign Service Officer, Assistant United States Trade Representative for Japan and China, advisor to Senators John D. Rockefeller IV and Max Baucus, and staff director of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. His private sector roles included serving as Vice President of Eastman Kodak Company in Japan, Director of Government Relations-Japan for Motorola, and most recently, Japan Representative of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), where he helped spearhead a Japan-U.S. exchange program on translational research — bridging the gap between basic research and disease treatment and prevention.