Robert O. Harris

Robert O. Harris (November 11, 1929 – October 1, 2007) was an American labor lawyer who served as Chairman of the National Mediation Board and ombudsman of the International Monetary Fund.

Biography Harris was born in New York City. He graduated from Columbia College in 1951, and received a LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1954. Harris also served as an alternate member of the National Capital Planning Commission.

On July 20, 1977, President Jimmy Carter named Harris to the National Mediation Board, which governs labor relations in the railroad and airline fields. He twice served as chairman from 1979 to 1980 and from 1982 to 1983 and was reappointed to the board by Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, serving until 1984.

Harris was the International Monetary Fund's ombudsman from 1984 until 1989, then worked as an arbitrator and mediator in the airline industry.

In the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, Harris served on various presidential emergency boards, which convene when labor disputes threaten to interrupt interstate commerce.

Harris served as a trustee of the National Cathedral School and lived in Washington, D.C. until 1994, when he moved to Chevy Chase, Maryland. He died of pancreatic cancer Oct. 1, 2007 at Georgetown University Hospital.