Schweich’s death leaves a void

Allen Andrews

Last Thursday afternoon, my colleagues and I were stunned to receive word that our State Auditor, Tom Schweich, had passed away.

Shortly after the end of session, we came together with the Governor, the Senate, and other concerned staff in the Capitol, to hold a prayer service in the House Chamber in memoriam of this great man who left us all too soon.

This is a devastating loss for his family and our state as we have now lost a leader and a man of high integrity, character and dedication.

Below are a few of the highlights of Tom’s outstanding life and career:

• A graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School, Schweich spent more than two decades as an attorney with Bryan Cave LLP.

• Schweich served as chief of staff for the Danforth Special Counsel Investigation into the conduct of the U.S. government in connection with the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.

• He also served as Chief of Staff to three United States Ambassadors to the United Nations and, in that capacity, helped to uncover the Oil for Food Scandal and root out other corruption at the UN.

• He also served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Acting Assistant Secretary of State at the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in the State Department.

• Schweich led diplomatic missions to approximately 30 countries.

• From 2007 – 2008, Schweich served as the US Coordinator for Counternarcotics and Justice Reform in Afghanistan, where he helped curtail opium production across the country and rebuild the country’s legal infrastructure and law enforcement bodies.

• He authored three books — “Protect Yourself from Business Lawsuits;” “Crashproof Your Life,” and “Staying Power.”

• As State Auditor, his office helped uncover more than 30 corrupt government officials embezzling millions of Missourians’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars, and identified tens of millions of dollars in waste and abuse in state and local government.

As I close this week’s article, I ask that we all pause to pray for the Schweich family as they cope with this tragic loss.