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 Edmund McNamara
United States Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Grenada
In office February 2, 1984 – March 1984
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Post established
Succeeded by	Loren Lawrence
Personal details
Born	(1935-03-22)March 22, 1935 Long Beach, California, U.S.
Died	March 7, 2008(2008-03-07) (aged 72) La Jolla, California, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Vivian Havens (1958-2003, her death)

Charles Anthony “Tony” Gillespie Jr. (March 22, 1935 – March 7, 2008) was a former 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.

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.

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