Charles Arthur Ford is a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 diplomat, a former United States Ambassador to Honduras

United States Ambassador to Honduras

The following is a list of United States Ambassadors, or other Chiefs of Mission, to Honduras. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.-See also:...

, and is currently the Business Engagement Advisor to the Commander, United States Southern Command

United States Southern Command

The United States Southern Command , located in Miami, Florida, is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning and operations in Central and South America, the Caribbean The United States Southern Command...

.

Ford was born in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

 about 1950. He obtained his B.A. in Economics from the College of William and Mary

College of William and Mary

The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...

 in 1972, and his M.A. in Latin American Studies

Latin American Studies

Latin American studies is an academic discipline dealing with the study of Latin America and Latin Americans.-Definition:Latin American studies critically examines the history, culture, politics, and experiences of Latin Americans in Latin America and often also elsewhere .Latin American studies...

 from George Washington University

George Washington University

The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

 in 1975.

Career

Ford has received numerous honors and awards, such as the Department of Commerce Silver Medal for expansion of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service network into the former Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

; the Department of Commerce Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement in Federal Service; and the Department of Commerce/International Trade Administration Bronze Medal for outstanding achievement at the U.S. Mission to the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

.

As a member of the United States Foreign Service since 1982, Ford has had an extensive experience in Latin America. He served as a Commercial Minister at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium; Commercial Counselor, U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela; Commercial Minister, U.S. Embassy in London, United Kingdom; Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Operations, United States and Foreign Commercial Service; Regional Director in Europe, United States and Foreign Commercial Service, Department of Commerce; Director, Office of Latin American Trade Policy, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce; Commercial Attaché, U.S. Embassy in Guatemala; Commercial Consul, U.S. Consulate in Barcelona, Spain; Commercial Attaché, U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Argentina.

Ford served as a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Operations, at the United States Foreign Commercial Service, and as the Vice President of the American Foreign Service Association.

Ambassador to Honduras

Ford began his duties as Ambassador of the United States in Honduras on November 8, 2005.

On November 18, 2005, Ford declared a disaster due to the impact of the heavy rains from Tropical Storm Gamma

Tropical Storm Gamma (2005)

Tropical Storm Gamma was the 24th tropical storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in Honduras since Hurricane Mitch of 1998. Gamma formed on November 18 from a tropical wave which had left the coast of Africa on November 3...

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Ford is married to Lillian Ford, and they have two children, Monica Ann and Michael Arthur Ford.

Sources

• Nomination at the White House web site
• Bio at U.S. State Dept.
• Bio at U.S. Virtual Presence Post
• Honduras - Tropical Storm Gamma, USAID

Hugo Llorens

Hugo Llorens

Hugo Llorens Acosta is a United States diplomat, and the current United States Ambassador to Honduras. Posted to a variety of countries in his thirty-year career, in 2002-03 he was the principal advisor to the President and National Security Advisor on issues pertaining to Colombia, Venezuela,...