Joseph Bernard Gildenhorn

Joseph Bernard Gildenhorn (; September 17, 1929 – October 21, 2023) was the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland from 1989 to 1993 and was a co-founder of JBG Smith.

Biography Early life and education Gildenhorn was born September 17, 1929 in Washington, D.C., to Oscar, a retail grocer, and Celia Gildenhorn. Both of his parents were born in the Russian Empire (presently Poland) and immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century.

Gildenhorn graduated from Jackson-Reed High School (then called Woodrow Wilson High School). He then received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1954 where he was a member of the Editorial Board of the Yale Law Journal and Order of the Coif.

Career After law school, Gildenhorn served in the United States Army and was stationed in Germany. Upon returning to Washington, he worked for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Gildenhorn was a long-time supporter of the Republican Party and George H. W. Bush. Gildenhorn was the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland from 1989 to 1993, appointed by George H. W. Bush.

Gildenhorn was a financial supporter of John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Institute for Bone and Joint Health of Sibley Memorial Hospital. He also endowed the University of Maryland’s Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies and the Gildenhorn Recital Hall at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.