Reagan Appoints Estee Lauder Heir Ronald Lauder as Ambassador to Austria

President Ronald Reagan appointed Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics fortune and a Republican donor, as U.S. Ambassador to Austria in 1986, a position Lauder held through 1987. Lauder had previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Affairs from 1983 to 1986. During his ambassadorship, he publicly repudiated Austrian President Kurt Waldheim over his Nazi-era military record. The appointment established a pattern of Lauder trading campaign donations and party loyalty for government positions and diplomatic access spanning four decades.