Roy Michael Huffington (October 4, 1917 – July 11, 2008) was an American oilman originally from Tomball in Harris County, Texas, who later served as United States Ambassador to Austria.
HUFFCO
In 1956, he set up his own oil and natural gas exploration company known as Roy M. Huffington, Inc. (Huffco). <!-- note: Partially supported by ref name="HCobit" -->
From 1990 to 1993, Huffington served as Ambassador to Austria in the administration of U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush. He then returned to Houston and resumed the position of chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Roy M. Huffington, Inc., an independent international oil company.<!-- note: Partially supported by ref name="HCobit" -->
Philanthropy
Roy Huffington joined the Board of the Salzburg Global Seminar, an international policy center based in Salzburg, Austria, with offices in Washington, D.C., while serving as U.S. Ambassador to Austria. In 1994, he was elected chairman of the Salzburg Global Seminar Board, a position which he held until 2007. Huffington also served as the chairman of the Asia Society, a New York-based charity, for seven years in the 1980s. Arianna Huffington, an unsuccessful candidate for governor of California in the 2003 recall election, is the founder of the Huffington Post.
Roy Huffington died of natural causes in Venice, Italy.
- 1987, The John Rogers Award, the Institute for Energy Law
- 1992, Texas Business Hall of Fame