Richard G. Capen Jr.

Richard Goodwin Capen Jr.^[1] (born July 16, 1934) is an American businessman and former United States Ambassador to Spain from 1992 to 1993.^[2]

Richard Goodwin Capen Jr.
United States Ambassador to Spain
In office July 8, 1992 – February 17, 1993
President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Joseph Zappala
Succeeded by	Richard N. Gardner
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs
In office January 5, 1970 – May 1, 1971
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Jack L. Stempler
Succeeded by	Rady A. Johnson
Personal details
Born	(1934-07-16) July 16, 1934 (age 90) Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater	Columbia University (BA)

Biography

Capen was born in Hartford, Connecticut on July 16, 1934.^[3] He graduated from Columbia College in 1956 on a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship and served in the U.S. Navy after college from 1956 to 1959.^[4][5] He served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs from 1969-1970 and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs from 1970 to 1971 responding to Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird.^[6] He is a recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal in 1971.^[7]

Before being nominated for ambassadorship, he was vice chairman of the second largest domestic newspaper publisher Knight Ridder from 1989 to 1991 and chairman and publisher of The Miami Herald from 1983 to 1989.^[4][8] Under Capen's stewardship, the newspaper won five Pulitzer Prizes.^[9] He also served as the senior vice president of Copley Newspapers.^[10]

In 1984, he received the John Jay Award from Columbia College for distinguished professional achievement. He served as a director of American Funds and Capital Guardian from 1994-2018.^[11]

Capen has been a long-time resident of La Jolla, California is former executive with Copley Newspapers (1961–1979) and newspaper columnist. He is the author of Finish Strong, published in 1996, and Empowered by Faith, published in 2004. He is a retired director emeritus of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.^[12]

References

1. "Commentary: The powerful legacy of Billy Graham's ministry". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
2. "Richard Goodwin Capen Jr. - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
3. George Bush, 1989. Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. 1990. p. 637. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
4. "Nomination of Richard Goodwin Capen, Jr., To Be United States Ambassador to Spain | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
5. "Letters to the Editor". Columbia College Today. 28 June 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
6. "Department of Defense Key Officials, September 1947 - December 2017" (PDF). Department of Defense. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
7. "Box 63, folder "Transition, 1974 - Presidential Meetings (2)" of the Philip Buchen Files" (PDF). Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
8. "Richard G. Capen Jr., senior vice president of Knight-Ridder..." UPI. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
9. "PUBLISHER SAYS THE MIAMI HERALD WAS MORALLY OBLIGATED TO PUBLISH HART STORY". Deseret News. 1988-09-23. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
10. "Former La Jollan Expected to Be Named Envoy to Spain". Los Angeles Times. 1992-04-02. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
11. "Retired navy admiral joins Carnival Corp.'s board: Travel Weekly". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
12. "Former La Jollan Expected to Be Named Envoy to Spain". Los Angeles Times. 1992-04-02. Retrieved 2021-09-15.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN