Ambassador Ortiz : lessons from a life of service / Frank V. Ortiz ; edited by Don J. Usner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ortiz, Frank V., 1926-2005.

Contributor:

Usner, Donald J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ortiz, Frank V., 1926-2005.

Ortiz, Frank V.

Ambassadors--United States--Biography.

Ambassadors.

United States.

Genre:

Biographies.

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

viii, 208 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, [2005]

Summary:

Ambassador Ortiz's memoir is as fascinating as has been his career over four decades in the United States Foreign Service. An Air Force veteran of World War II, Ambassador Ortiz's first assignments were in the Middle East and Ethiopia. His most significant diplomatic work was done in Latin America. There, he took on missions in Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, the Caribbean, Panama, Guatemala, and Argentina. He also held posts in Washington, D. C. at the very center of U. S. power.

Ambassador Ortiz reflects on the hazards and challenges of diplomatic life; he was falsely accused of being a top CIA agent. He recounts a little known aspect of the Cuban missile crisis. His assignments in Peru, Uruguay, and Guatemala exposed him to the terrorism of Marxist guerrilla groups.

Ortiz served under six U. S. presidents, worked directly for Henry Kissinger, and shares many intimate moments, including a remarkable meeting between President Jimmy Carter and Sir Eric Gairy, the prime minister of Grenada, who regularly spoke to God and to the crews of flying saucers.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Origins in Santa Fe 4

Chapter 2 Out Into the World: Washington Politics and Wartime Horror 21

Chapter 3 Into America's Front Line Trenches: Passing the Exams and a Special Mission to the Sudan 36

Chapter 4 Reassignment Ethiopia: At the Emperor's Court and Following in Burton's Footsteps 46

Chapter 5 Mexico City the First Time Around: A Prideful Mistake 64

Chapter 6 In the Heart of the State Department 71

Chapter 7 Mexico for a Second Time: A Successful Negotiation 77

Chapter 8 A Time of Transition in Spain-Department of State 86

Chapter 9 Peru: A Bizarre Accusation 95

Chapter 10 Uruguay: Living with Terror 105

Chapter 11 Back to the Home Office: The Southern Cone and Working with Kissinger 111

Chapter 12 Barbados and the Caribbean: Reaching the Top Rungs of the Ladder 116

Chapter 13 Guatemala: The Failure of a Mission 125

Chapter 14 Panama to Peru: A Tropical Interlude and a Contentious Return 143

Chapter 15 Argentina: The Pinnacle of a Career 158

Chapter 16 Home at Last-But Not for Long 180

Chapter 17 Home to Stay: More Lessons to Learn 188.

ISBN:

0826337120

OCLC:

56686388