Charles A. Gillespie Jr.
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. He later served as the United States Ambassador to Colombia and the United States Ambassador to Chile.
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) |
Gillespie spent over thirty years in the United States foreign service as a specialist in Latin American and Caribbean affairs. Many of his foreign assignments were to Latin American countries experiencing domestic strife. 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. Gillespie often received daily death threats from the Colombian cartels.