R. Peter Straus

Ronald Peter Straus (February 15, 1923 – August 6, 2012) was an American media proprietor. He was the president of WMCA, a radio station in New York City, and the chairman of Straus News, a publisher of newspapers in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. He was the director of Voice of America from 1977 to 1979.

Early life Ronald Peter Straus was born on February 15, 1923, in Manhattan, New York City. His father, Nathan Straus Jr., was a state senator and the owner of WMCA a radio station in New York City, he was of German-Jewish origins. and niece of Samuel Sachs, co founder of Goldman Sachs. His grandfather, Nathan Straus, was the owner of Macy's. and served in the United States Air Force in Germany during World War II. He was the director of African affairs at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from 1967 to 1969,

Personal life and death Straus married Ellen Louise Sulzberger, the niece of Arthur Hays Sulzberger and cousin of Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, publishers of The New York Times. Ellen died in 1995. In 1998, Straus married Marcia Lewis, the mother of Monica Lewinsky.

Straus died on August 6, 2012, in Manhattan, at 89.