Peter D. Cleary ’74

Peter died Feb. 11, 2021, peacefully in his sleep. 

He came to Princeton from California but was also raised in Canada, Switzerland, the Middle East, and New York. He majored in philosophy and originally joined Tiger Inn but migrated to Ivy. 

In 1977 he earned a law degree from Harvard, where he met his wife, Katherine D’Arcy. He had a distinguished career specializing in cross-border energy, infrastructure, and finance with numerous firms in Washington, D.C., and the Middle East.

Peter became a partner at Coudert Brothers in Hong Kong in 1985 and started its Japan office in 1987. He also served as general counsel of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank, and took time for a summer sabbatical in Florence, Italy. 

He retired to New Mexico in 2018, where he enjoyed literature, skiing, riding his horse Pancho, and roping cattle. He was a self-taught expert in several art fields, including Japanese Zenga, Khmer sculpture, and Caucasian carpets. He came to his first reunion for our 45th at the urging of a roommate, Keith McKay, and had a wonderful experience. 

Peter is survived by his wife, Katherine; three children, Alexandra, Thomas, and Elizabeth; and two brothers, Michael and Sean.