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Charles A. Gillespie Jr.
Charles A. Gillespie Jr.
	Gillesip Jr (right) with President Ronald Reagan, 1987
United States Ambassador to Chile
	In office; December 20, 1988 – December 10, 1991
President	Ronald Reagan; George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Harry George Barnes Jr.
Succeeded by	Curtis Warren Kamman
United States Ambassador to Colombia
	In office; August 28, 1985 – September 19, 1988
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Lewis Arthur Tambs
Succeeded by	Thomas E. McNamara
United States Ambassador to Grenada ; Acting
	In office; February 2, 1984 – March 1984
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Post established
Succeeded by	Loren Lawrence
Personal details
Born	March 22, 1935; Long Beach, California, U.S.
Died	March 7, 2008 (aged 72); La Jolla, California, U.S.
Spouse	Vivian Havens (1958-2003, her death)

Charles Anthony Gillespie Jr. (March 22, 1935 – March 7, 2008) was a United States career diplomat who helped to open the first United States Embassy in Grenada.^[1] He later served as the United States Ambassador to Colombia and the United States Ambassador to Chile.^[1]^[2]

Gillespie spent over thirty years in the United States foreign service as a specialist in Latin American and Caribbean affairs.^[1] Many of his foreign assignments were to Latin American countries experiencing domestic strife.^[2] For example, Gillespie served as the interim Chargé d'Affaires during the 1983 United States Invasion of Grenada as well as in Colombia from 1985 until 1988, when the government sought to crack down on the illegal drug trade in Colombia and the Colombian drug cartels.^[1] Gillespie often received daily death threats from the Colombian cartels.^[2]

Early life

Charles A. Gillespie Jr. was born on March 22, 1935, in Long Beach, California.^[1] He received his degree from UCLA in 1958.^[1] He later studied at the Maxwell School of Public Affairs at Syracuse University and the National War College in Washington, D.C.^[1]

Career

Gillespie served as a United States Army officer in Europe from 1958 until 1962.^[1] He began his career in the Foreign Service in 1965, when he was made regional security officer at the Embassy of the United States in Manila in the Philippines.^[1] He was later posted in a variety of positions around the world including the United States NATO mission, Mexico City and Managua, Nicaragua.^[1]

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.^[2] Through this position he oversaw the opening of the first American embassy in St. George's, Grenada. Gillespie was involved in the planning of the invasion of Grenada in October 1983. It was the first major U.S. military operation since the Vietnam War.^[1] 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. Approximately 100 people, including 19 members of the United States armed forces were killed in the invasion.^[1]

His last posting as an ambassador was to Chile towards the end of the Augusto Pinochet regime from 1988 to 1991.^[1]^[3]

Gillespie headed the United States public relations task force to gain Congressional support for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).^[1]

Retirement

Gillespie retired from the United States Foreign Service in 1995.^[1] He became a principal member of The Scowcroft Group, an international business consulting company founded by Brent Scowcroft, the former National Security Advisor.^[1]

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 in October 2008.^[1]^[4]

Death

Charles A. Gillespie Jr. died of cancer at the age of 72 on March 7, 2008, at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California.^[2] 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.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Woo, Elaine (2008-03-11). "Charles A. Gillespie Jr., 72; Diplomat served in Grenada, Colombia and Chile". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2019-12-15. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Charles Gillespie, longtime diplomat". Los Angeles Times. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Program AMBASSADOR CHARLES ANTHONY GILLESPIE, JR" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 19 September 1995. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
^ Kopp, Harry; Gillespie, Charles A. (2008). Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the U.S. Foreign Service. Georgetown University Press. ISBN 9781589012196.

External links

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Sally A. Shelton as United States Ambassador to Grenada	*United States Chargé d'Affaires ad interim, Grenada* February 2, 1984 – March 1984	Succeeded by Loren E. Lawrence
Preceded by Lewis Arthur Tambs	United States Ambassador to Colombia August 28, 1985 – September 19, 1988	Succeeded by Thomas Edmund McNamara
Preceded by Harry George Barnes Jr.	United States Ambassador to Chile December 20, 1988 – December 10, 1991	Succeeded by Curtis Warren Kamman