Joseph Zappala (born September 11, 1933) is an American businessman, investor and politician. He served as the Ambassador to Spain from 1989 to 1992.

Early life and education

Zappala was born in New York on September 11, 1933. He grew up in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and is a graduate from the

New York Institute of Finance The New York Institute of Finance (NYIF) is an American for-profit provider of continuing professional education that was founded by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1922. The institute provides continuing education to professionals in the ...

Career

Zappala founded Joseph Zappala Associates. The company has been an operator and investor in different areas including banking interests, real estate and industrial companies in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Ambassador to Spain

On October 3, 1989 Zappala was approved by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. He was official appointed as

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary 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 so ...

of the United States of America to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on October 16. He presented his

credential A credential is a piece of any document that details a qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant or ''de facto'' authority or assumed competence to do so. Examples of credentials include aca ...

s on October 16, 1989 and left his post on June 4, 1992. His nomination was controversial as he was one of several made by Bush of long-time financial backers and financial supporters including Peter F. Secchia ( Ambassador of Italy),

Walter Curley Walter Joseph Patrick Curley Jr. (September 17, 1922 – June 2, 2016) was the 57th United States Ambassador to France from 1989 to 1993, and the United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1975 to 1977. Curley was New York City's Commissioner of Pub ...

( Ambassador of France),

Mel Sembler Melvin Floyd Sembler (May 10, 1930 – October 31, 2023) was an American diplomat who was the United States Ambassador to Italy (2001–2005), and Ambassador to Australia and Nauru (1989–1993). He has also served as chairman of the board of th ...

( Ambassador of Australia),

Frederic Bush Morris Frederic may refer to: Places United States * Frederic, Wisconsin, a village in Polk County * Frederic Township, Michigan, a township in Crawford County ** Frederic, Michigan, an unincorporated community Other uses * Frederic (band), a Japanese r ...

( Ambassador of Luxembourg), and

Joy Silverman Joy Silverman (born April 8, 1947) is an American socialite and Republican Party operative and fundraiser. Early life and education Silverman was born Joy Fererh on April 8, 1947, the daughter of Jeanette (née Rothenberg) and Ben Fererh. In 195 ...

( Ambassador of Barbados). Zappala later served as Director of GeoPharma Inc., where he stepped down on December 3, 2004.

Awards

In 1992, he was awarded The

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

Gran Cruz, the highest award ever awarded to a US diplomat by the Kingdom of Spain.

Further affiliations

Zappala was on the board of directors of

Straight, Incorporated The Drug Free America Foundation (DFAF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by former US Ambassador Mel Sembler, his wife Betty Sembler (), and Joseph Zappala as Straight, Inc., renamed The Straight Foundation, Inc. in 1985 and ...

, a non-profit

drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines. The general int ...

program for teenagers and young adults, which he co-founded in 1976. The program later received harsh criticism for their employment of harmful "behavior modification" techniques like 12-hour confrontational group therapy, beatings and isolation. Zappala served on George Bush’s Presidential campaign and was the National Co-Chairman of Finance for the American Bicentennial Presidential Inaugural. He was a donor to the Republican Party in the 1980s and donated $100,000 to the Bush campaign. He also raised $25 million during his time as Co-Chairman. His donations led to negative press, following his appointment as Ambassador to Spain. In 2008 Zappala was part of a group of 100 former U.S. ambassadors who endorsed

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

for president. Zappala serves as Chairman of the Friars Foundation and is a council member and guest speaker at

The Wilson Center The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank dedicated to research and policy discussions on global issues. Established by an act of Congress in 1968, it serves as both ...

, the US's key

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

policy forum.

Personal life

Zappala lives in Florida,

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zappala, Joseph 1933 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Spain Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic People from Florida American financial businesspeople Florida Republicans 20th-century American diplomats