Frank V. Ortiz Jr. Explained

Frank V. Ortiz Jr.
Country1:Argentina
Ambassador From1:United States
Predecessor1:Harry W. Shlaudeman
Successor1:Theodore E. Gildred
President1:Ronald Reagan
Term Start1:November 18, 1983
Term End1:August 29, 1986
Country2:Peru
Ambassador From2:United States
Term Start2:November 10, 1981
Term End2:October 27, 1983
Predecessor2:Edwin Gharst Corr
Successor2:David C. Jordan
President2:Ronald Reagan
Country3:Guatemala
Ambassador From3:United States
Term Start3:July 17, 1979
Term End3:August 6, 1980
Predecessor3:Davis E. Boster
Successor3:Frederic L. Chapin
President3:Jimmy Carter
Country4:Barbados
Ambassador From4:United States
Term Start4:July 29, 1977
Term End4:May 15, 1979
Predecessor4:John Francis Maisto
Successor4:Oliver P. Garza
President4:Jimmy Carter
Office5:United States Ambassador to Grenada
Term Start5:July 29, 1977
Term End5:May 15, 1979
Predecessor5:Theodore R. Britton, Jr.
Successor5:Sally Shelton-Colby
President5:Jimmy Carter
Birth Date:14 March 1926
Birth Place:Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.
Nationality:American
Spouse:Dolores Duke
Alma Mater:Georgetown University

George Washington University
Profession:Diplomat, Professor
Death Place:Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.

Francis Vincent Ortiz Jr. (March 14, 1926 – February 27, 2005) was an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Argentina from 1983 to 1986,[1] United States Ambassador to Peru from 1981 to 1983, United States Ambassador to Guatemala from 1979 to 1980 and Ambassador of the United States to Barbados, and Grenada as well as Special Representative to Dominica, Saint Lucia, Antigua, St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, and St. Vincent from 1977 to 1979.[2]

Biography

Ambassador Ortiz was born on March 14, 1926, to Frank Valencia Ortiz y Barbero (1896–1992) and Margaret Mary Delgado y Garcia de Noriega (1900–1993) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where his family has lived since the 17th century. Both his parents were Democratic politicians. He had one younger sister and one younger brother. He graduated from Santa Fe High School. At age 17, he went to Washington, D.C., to work as an aide in the United States Senate.[3] In 1945, he joined the United States Air Force and fought in World War II.[3]

He received a B.S. from Georgetown University in 1950, and an M.S. from George Washington University in 1957.[1] He also attended the University of Madrid in 1950, the American University of Beirut in 1952, and the National War College in 1956-1957.[1] During his time at Georgetown, his roommate was Ismael Moreno Pino, who later served as Deputy Foreign Minister and Ambassador of Mexico, representing his country in Germany, the Netherlands, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, the OAS in Washington, D.C., and the UN in New York and Geneva, Switzerland; the two later coincided again as heads of mission in Lima.

Ortiz married Dolores Duke, with whom he had four children. Frank Ortiz died in Santa Fe on February 27, 2005, at the age of 78. Dolores Ortiz died in Santa Fe on December 27, 2013, at the age of 88.

Career

From 1951 to 1953, he worked in the United States Department of State on issues pertaining to Egypt and Sudan. From 1953 to 1955, he was an economic officer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and a political officer in Mexico City from 1955 to 1957.[1] From 1957 to 1961, he worked as an assistant in the Department of State.[1] From 1967 to 1970, he worked as a political counsellor in Lima, Peru, and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Montevideo, Uruguay from 1970 to 1973.[1] From 1973 to 1975 he worked in the State Department with regards to Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, and became Deputy Executive Secretary from 1975 to 1977.[1]

From 1977 to 1979, he was Ambassador to Barbados and Grenada, and Special Representative to Dominica and Saint Lucia.[1] He was Ambassador to Guatemala from 1979 to 1980. Then he was appointed Political Advisor to Southern Hemispheric Military Command in Panama. From 1981 to 1983, he was Ambassador to Peru.[1] He was then Ambassador to Argentina from 1983 to 1986.

During the late 1980s he taught at the University of New Mexico. In 1990, he retired to Santa Fe and became very involved in preserving Spanish New Mexican culture and history at the New Mexico History Museum, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Las Golondrinas and elsewhere.[3]

Works

Notes and References

  1. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40479 The American Presidency Project
  2. https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10388.htm U.S. Department of State, Barbados
  3. Web site: Executive Order 2005-010 . 2008-12-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060924011530/http://www.governor.state.nm.us/orders/2005/EO_2005_010.pdf . 2006-09-24 . dead .