Charles J. Nelson
Charles Joseph Nelson (1921 Battle Creek, Michigan-2011, Washington, DC) was an American Ambassador, academic and USAID administrator.[1]
Nelson graduated from Lincoln University in 1942 and served in the US Army in Europe during World War II. After his Army service, he received a master's degree in public administration from New York University in 1948.[2]
Nelson began working for the Mutual Security Administration (the forerunner of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)) in the Philippines as Deputy Chief of the Rural Development Division from 1952 to 1958. After a short stint in Iran, he returned to the Philippines as Chief of the Community Development Division from 1958 to 1960.[1]
He joined the Peace Corp, working in West Africa and returned to USAID. Richard Nixon nominated him to be the US Ambassador to Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland (currently called Eswatini) on June 9, 1971, and he served from 1971 to 1974.[3] From 1974 until 1978, Nelson worked in Nairobi, Kenya as USAID's Director of Kenya Programs. He spent the following three years heading Howard University‘s international studies graduate program.[1]
Nelson died of kidney failure on January 15, 2011, in Washington, DC.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Lewis, Linda (6 May 2015). "CHARLES JOSEPH NELSON (1921-2011)". Black Past. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
- ^ Bernstein, Adam. "Charles J. Nelson". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
- ^ "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project Ralph J. Bunch Legacy: Minority Officers AMBASSADOR CHARLES J. NELSON" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. 31 October 1981. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- 1921 births
- 2011 deaths
- Ambassadors of the United States to Botswana
- Ambassadors of the United States to Lesotho
- Ambassadors of the United States to Eswatini
- Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni
- Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service alumni
- Howard University faculty
- People of the United States Agency for International Development
- United States Army personnel of World War II
- American expatriates in the Philippines
- American expatriates in Iran
- American expatriates in Kenya
- American diplomat stubs