Charles Anthony Gillespie Jr. (March 22, 1935 – March 7, 2008) was a
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
career
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
who helped to open the first
United States Embassy
The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...
in
Grenada
Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
.
He later served as the
United States Ambassador to Colombia
The following is a list of ambassadors of the United States, or other chiefs of mission, to Colombia and its predecessor states. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Mi ...
and the
United States Ambassador to Chile
The following is a list of ambassadors that the United States has sent to Chile. The current title given by the United States State Department to this position is Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.
See also
*Ambassadors of ...
.
Latin American
Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...
and Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
affairs.[ Many of his foreign assignments were to Latin American countries experiencing domestic strife.][ For example, Gillespie served as the interim ]Chargé d'Affaires
A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
during the 1983 United States Invasion of Grenada
The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...
as well as in Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
from 1985 until 1988, when the government sought to crack down on the illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
in Colombia and the Colombian drug cartels
A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the ...
.[ Gillespie often received daily death threats from the Colombian ]cartel
A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...
s.[
]
Early life
Charles A. Gillespie Jr. was born on March 22, 1935, in Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
.[ He received his degree from ]UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
in 1958.[ He later studied at the Maxwell School of Public Affairs at ]Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
and the National War College
The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active.
History
The National War Colle ...
in Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
[
]
Career
Gillespie served as a United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
officer in Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
from 1958 until 1962.[ He began his career in the ]Foreign Service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...
in 1965, when he was made regional security officer at the Embassy of the United States in Manila
The Embassy of the United States of America to the Philippines is the diplomatic mission of the United States in the Philippines. is situated in the Chancery Building of the Manila American Embassy along Roxas Boulevard (formerly Dewey Boulevard ...
in the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.[ He was later posted in a variety of positions around the world including the United States ]NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
mission, Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
and Managua, Nicaragua
)
, settlement_type = Capital city
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Nicara ...
.[
Gillespie served as the deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Caribbean and deputy for operations in the State Department's Inter-American Affairs Bureau from 1983 to 1985.][ Through this position he oversaw the opening of the first American embassy in ]St. George's, Grenada
St. George's (Grenadian Creole French: ''Sen Jòj'') is the capital of Grenada. The town is surrounded by a hillside of an old volcano crater and is located on a horseshoe-shaped harbour.
St. George's is a popular Caribbean tourist destinatio ...
.[ Gillespie was involved in the planning of the ]invasion of Grenada
The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...
in October 1983.[ It was the first major U.S. military operation since the ]Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.[ The invasion by the United States and several Caribbean nations led to the overthrow of the Grenadan military government which had executed Grenadan Prime Minister ]Maurice Bishop
Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of New Jewel Movement – a Marxist–Leninist party which sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education, and black liberation ...
.[ Approximately 100 people, including 19 members of the United States armed forces were killed in the invasion.][
His last posting as an ]ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
was to Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
towards the end of the Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
regime from 1988 to 1991.[
Gillespie headed the United States public relations task force to gain Congressional support for the ]North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
(NAFTA).[
]
Retirement
Gillespie retired from the United States Foreign Service in 1995.[ He became a principal member of ]The Scowcroft Group {{More citations needed, date=November 2018
The Scowcroft Group is an international business advisory firm managed by Brent Scowcroft, former National Security Advisor to U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Gerald Ford.
The company claims region ...
, an international business
International business refers to the trade of goods, services, technology, capital and/or knowledge across national borders and at a global or transnational scale.
It involves cross-border transactions of goods and services between two or more ...
consulting
A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization.
Consulting servic ...
company founded by Brent Scowcroft
Brent Scowcroft (; March 19, 1925August 6, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer who was a two-time United States National Security Advisor, first under U.S. President Gerald Ford and then under George H. W. Bush. He served as Military Assi ...
, the former National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils.
National sec ...
.[
]
Books
Gillespie co-authored the book ''Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the U.S. Foreign Service'' with Harry W. Kopp. The book was published by the Georgetown University Press
Georgetown University Press is a university press affiliated with Georgetown University that publishes about forty new books a year. The press's major subject areas include bioethics, international affairs, languages and linguistics, political sc ...
in October 2008.
Death
Charles A. Gillespie Jr. died of cancer at the age of 72 on March 7, 2008, at Scripps Memorial Hospital
Scripps Health is a nonprofit health care system based in San Diego, California. The system includes five hospitals and 19 outpatient facilities, and treats a half-million patients annually through 2,600 affiliated physicians.
The system also inc ...
in La Jolla, California
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
.[ He was survived by his children, Charles and Kristin, and three grandchildren. His wife, Vivian Havens, whom he had been married to for 45 years, died in 2003.][
]
References
External links
* Memorial Website - https://web.archive.org/web/20080423085914/http://www.charlesgillespie.info/
United States Foreign Service
Embassy of the United States to Colombia
Embassy of the United States to Chile
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, Charles A. Jr.
1935 births
2008 deaths
Ambassadors of the United States to Colombia
Ambassadors of the United States to Chile
Ambassadors of the United States to Grenada
United States Department of State officials
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs alumni
National War College alumni
History of Grenada
Deaths from cancer in California
United States Foreign Service personnel
20th-century American diplomats