Ambler H. Moss, Jr., professor and founding dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Miami, passed away in Coral Gables, Florida on December 27, 2022.
Moss seemed to be destined for a life devoted to public service. Born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 1, 1937, he was a descendant of founding father George Mason, and his grandfather, Hunter Holmes Moss, Jr., served as a judge and member of the US House of Representatives from West Virginia.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1960, Moss went on to serve his country honorably as an officer in the US Navy from 1960 to 1964. He never forgot his Navy career, serving as a life member of the American Legion and Navy League.
Moss continued to serve his country with distinction as a diplomat, representing the US as vice consul in Barcelona, Spain (1964-1966), special assistant to the US Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) (1966-1969), and Spanish desk officer at the US Department of State (1969-1970).
While carrying out his diplomatic career, Moss decided to combine it with a career in law. He received a juris doctor degree from George Washington University in 1970 and was an attorney at Coudert Brothers in Washington, DC and Brussels, Belgium. There, he practiced in the areas of European anti-trust law, international franchising transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and international sales transactions.
Returning to the diplomatic sphere in 1977, Moss was a member of the Panama Canal Treaty negotiating team, where he was special assistant to the co-negotiator. He went on to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations (1977-1978) before President Jimmy Carter appointed him as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Panama. Moss served as ambassador from 1978 to 1982, serving concurrently as a member of the US-Panama Consultative Committee and again from 1995 to 2001.
As ambassador, Moss represented the US during a particularly difficult time for Panama and for relations between both countries. The country was under the grip of a military dictatorship, and Moss had to walk a fine line between ensuring that the Panama Canal Treaties would not falter as the country’s political situation caused uncertainty for the treaties’ success. His tenure in Panama occurred at a time when Central America was suffering the effects of civil wars in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala, making his service as ambassador particularly challenging.
Following his service in Panama, Moss and his family moved to Miami, Florida, where he began an academic career that spanned over three decades. He arrived in South Florida at a time where the city was becoming a hub for relations between the US and Latin America. In 1984, Moss became the founding dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Miami, a position that he held until 1994.
During the same period, he was the driving force behind the Dante B. Fascell North-South Center, serving as its director from 1984 to 2004. For two decades, Moss served as the heart and soul of the center, created by an act of Congress “to promote better relations between the United States and the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean and Canada through cooperative study, training, and research.” As director, Moss brought together the academic, government, private, and nonprofit sectors together to analyze global and regional issues affecting the Western Hemisphere, including trade, economics, the environment, migration, and security. At the same time, he positioned the center at the heart of South Florida’s ever-growing and increasingly influential role in Latin America.
Throughout his accomplished academic career, Moss wrote numerous articles and book chapters and served as a sought-after authority of Inter-American affairs, European Union-US relations, US-Latin American relations, US foreign policy analysis, the United Nations, and diplomatic negotiation. He taught many students of international studies and was always willing to offer a helping hand after students left his classroom.
At the same time, Moss became a respected leader of the Miami community. He was of counsel at Greenberg Traurig from 1994 to 2010 and was a member of the Board of Espirito Santo Bank and Caucedo Investments, a container port operation in the Dominican Republic. In addition, he served as a member of the Steering Committee for the groundbreaking first Summit of the Americas, held in Miami in 1994. Moss was also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, the International Institute of Strategic Studies, and the Institute of Catalan Studies.
During his distinguished academic, diplomatic, and legal careers, Moss received well-earned recognition from his peers. He was awarded a Fulbright Senior Lectureship to teach at the University of Barcelona and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (2009) and received decorations from the governments of Catalonia, Spain, Panama, and Argentina. He also received the Harold Weill Medal from the New York University School of Law, the US Department of the Army Commander’s Award for public service, and the “Lawyer of the Americas” citation by the Inter-American Law Review of the University of Miami.
Moss is survived by his beloved wife, Serena Welles, children Ambler H. Moss III, Benjamin S. Moss, Serena M. Moss, and Nicholas G.O. Moss, and grandchildren Slater Serle Moss, Acadia Serle Moss, and Oliver Moss. Moss was a true Renaissance man, and his reassuring presence and tranquil demeanor will be missed by all who knew him.
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