Chester Edward Norris, Jr. (December 1, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was U.S. Ambassador to

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

from 1988 to 1992. His tenure there saw the first contracts negotiated between American energy corporations and the EG government, a process that would make EG a site of vital interest to the US, and transform it into a major African oil producer. The main street in the wealthiest suburb of the capital,

Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly Santa Isabel) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea and the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko, ( bvb, Etulá, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a p ...

, is named Chester E. Norris Avenue in recognition of his relationship with the regime of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasago. A tanker owned by the

-based firm Atlantic Methanol Production Company is also named the Ambassador Norris in his honor. Norris was born in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, and attended the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

, from which he graduated in 1951. He also attended the US Maritime Academy and later the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

. Norris joined the US Foreign Service in 1965 and had postings in Saudi Arabia, Australia, the U.K., and Israel. In 1982-86 he was Counselor for Economic Affairs at the US Embassy in Lagos, and in 1987 was appointed Deputy U.S. Representative on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Since retiring from his ambassadorship and the foreign service, Norris has been a consultant for

Ocean Energy Marine energy or marine power (also sometimes referred to as ocean energy, ocean power, or marine and hydrokinetic energy) refers to the energy carried by ocean waves, tides, salinity, and ocean thermal energy, ocean temperature differences. The ...

, a firm involved in oil drilling in EG. He has also been controversial as an "Obiang admirer" to quote one business publication. Norris has been quoted as saying that President Obiang "really wants to bring about democracy and improve the human rights record" in EG, and conditions under him are "already pretty good." Obiang's bad press, Norris went on, is due to misinformation in the Spanish press, reflecting that country's jealousy of American oil corporations' exclusive contracts with the Obiang government. Obiang has been widely condemned in even the American press, however, for being one of Africa's worst despots with one of the worst human rights records on the continent. Norris' predecessor as US Ambassador, Francis "Frank" Ruddy, has called the Obiang regime "a corrupt, rotten government", while Norris' successor, Ambassador John E. Bennett, left the country on receiving death threats after calling for improvements in human rights conditions. Norris died on November 15, 2016, in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Chester E. 1927 births 2016 deaths People from Bangor, Maine United States Department of State officials Ambassadors of the United States to Equatorial Guinea University of Maine alumni United States Merchant Marine Academy alumni National War College alumni United States Foreign Service personnel