Charles W. 'Chuck' Larson Jr. (born April 1, 1968, in
Newton,
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
) is the former
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
of the US to the
Republic of Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
. Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Larson was the
Iowa State Senator from the 19th District from 2003–2007, was a member of the
Iowa House of Representatives
The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...
from 1993-2001, and is a former chairman of the
Republican Party of Iowa
The Republican Party of Iowa (RPI) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Iowa. The State Central Committee is chaired by Jeff Kaufmann. The RPI operates the Republican side of the Iowa caucuses and previously sponsored the ...
. He was succeeded in the Iowa Senate by
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Rob Hogg
Robert Mason Hogg (born January 24, 1967) is the Iowa State Senator from the 33rd District. A Democrat, he has served in the Iowa Senate since 2007 after having served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. He ran in the Democ ...
.
During his most recent term of office, Larson served on several committees in the Iowa Senate – the Commerce committee; the Education committee; the Judiciary committee; the Ways and Means committee; and the Ethics committee, where he was co-chair. In 2003, President George W. Bush appointed Larson to the President's Advisory Commission for Drug Free Communities, on which he continues to serve.
On November 30, 2007, the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
announced that Larson would be nominated to become Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the US to the Republic of Latvia in 2008, replacing
Catherine Todd Bailey
Catherine Todd Bailey (born 1951) is an American diplomat who served as Ambassador of the United States of America to Latvia (Appointed, 29 November 2004 Left post on 4 February 2008). Bailey was awarded the Honor of the Order of the Three St ...
.
In May 2008, Latvian President
Valdis Zatlers
Valdis Zatlers (born 22 March 1955) is a Latvian politician and former physician who served as the seventh president of Latvia from 2007 to 2011. He won the Latvian presidential election of 31 May 2007. He became President of Latvia on 8 July 2 ...
awarded Ambassador Larson the
Order of the Three Stars
Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvija ...
, which is Latvia's highest award for his service to the country.
In June 2009, President Barack Obama announced he was nominating
Judith Gail Garber to replace Larson as U.S. Ambassador to Latvia.
Work
Chuck served on the Pearl Mutual Fund board of directors from 2006 until his appointment. He prosecuted as an assistant county attorney in Jones County, Iowa from 1997 to 1999. He was then named General Counsel for the ESCO Group, a Marion, Iowa, technology services firm with more than 250 employees. He served in this capacity until 2006. He was also chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa from 2001 to 2005 and served on U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential kitchen cabinet.
Ambassador Larson is one of the founding partners of Larson Shannahan and Slifka group (LS2group), a bipartisan public affairs firm in Des Moines, IA, whose projects range from local to international covering a diverse groups of sectors.
Education
Ambassador Larson is a 1992 graduate of the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...
, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He graduated with honors and distinction and is a member of the
Phi Beta Kappa Society honors society. In 1996, Ambassador Larson received his Juris Doctor degree with distinction from the University College of Law.
Military service
Ambassador Larson served as a major in the U.S. Army Reserves spending a year in Iraq during
Operation Iraqi Freedom and was awarded a
Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in combat and the
Combat Action Badge
The Combat Action Badge (CAB) is a United States military award given to soldiers of the U.S. Army of any rank and who are not members of an infantry or special forces MOS, for being "present and actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy, a ...
.
In January 2008, Ambassador Larson's book ''Heroes Among Us,'' was released by
Penguin Publishing
Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initially ...
, profiling 29 heroes from the War on Terrorism.
References
External links
Larson on Project Vote SmartLarson's Capitol Web Address*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Chuck
Republican Party Iowa state senators
Living people
Ambassadors of the United States to Latvia
1968 births
People from Newton, Iowa
People from Fremont County, Iowa
Iowa lawyers
Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives