After his stint at the Commerce Department, Frank Weil worked on international trade issues at Washington law firms. Frank A. Weil, a former New York lawyer and investment bank executive who became an assistant secretary of commerce during the Carter administration and chaired the national board of the Smithsonian Institution, died May 29 at his home in Washington. He was 93.Mr.
After two years as assistant secretary of commerce for domestic and international business, he worked on international trade issues at Washington law firms and then became chairman of Abacus & Associates, an asset management and venture capital firm in New York. He retired at age 90.N.Y., on Feb. 14, 1931. His father was a stockbroker, and his mother was a chemist. His maternal grandfather was an early investor and executive with what became the retail giant Sears, Roebuck & Co.
He was a partner at the investment firm Loeb, Rhoades & Co. before being named head of Abacus Fund in 1967. He served on many corporate and not-for-profit boards and advisory bodies, and chaired the board of the Council for Excellence in Government, which was a nonprofit group in Washington. He was involved in voter-registration efforts as well as public-private partnerships to address social and civic concerns. He also was a prolific blogger.
His wife of 72 years, Denie Sandison, died in 2023. In addition to his son William of Washington, survivors include three other children, Debbie Weil of Stonington, Maine, Amanda Weil of Manhattan and Sandison Weil of Port Chester, N.Y.