David H. Wilkins

David Horton Wilkins
David Horton Wilkins
28th United States Ambassador to Canada
	In office; June 29, 2005 – present
Preceded by	Paul Cellucci
Personal details
Born	October 12, 1946 (age 77); Greenville, South Carolina
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Susan Clary
Children	James, Robert

David Horton Wilkins (born October 12, 1946) is the current United States Ambassador to Canada. Prior to the appointment, he was the Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives.

Early life

The son of William Walter and Evelyn Wilkins of Greenville, South Carolina, Wilkins graduated from Greenville High School, then attended Clemson University on a tennis scholarship, and graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in 1968. He then received his law degree from the University of South Carolina. After serving as a first lieutenant in the United States Army in the early 1970s, he returned to Greenville, where he practiced law for more than 30 years.

David and his wife Susan have two sons, James and Robert. Both are married and work in Greenville.

State Legislator

Wilkins, a Republican, was first elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1980 and served there for 25 years. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives, serving six years as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and two years as speaker pro tem before being elected speaker, a position he held for 11 years. He was the first Republican elected speaker of any legislative body in the South since Reconstruction and retired as the third longest serving speaker in South Carolina history.

In his 25 years in the Legislature, David Wilkins played a key role in major reform legislation including South Carolina’s historic ethics bill and the Education Accountability Act. Wilkins was also a central figure in the relocation of the Confederate flag from the State Capitol Building.

As Speaker he also played a key role in banning video gambling from South Carolina and worked to prevent a state lottery. Under his watch, the state adopted the Martin Luther King holiday.

While the country experienced a severe economic downturn during Wilkins' years as speaker, he refused to raise taxes and as a result, South Carolina was one of only a handful of states that did not raise taxes during the recession of the 1990s.

Throughout his career, Wilkins has received numerous awards including the 2004 Excellence in State Legislative Leadership Award from the National Conference of State Legislatures. In naming Wilkins for this prestigious national award, his staunch position for relocating the Confederate flag was cited as well as his refusal to cancel a national conference in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Wilkins has been named Outstanding Legislator of the Year by a wide range of organizations. He was past President of the National Speakers' Association and past chairman of the Southern Legislative Conference.

Wilkins resigned as Speaker of the South Carolina House on June 2, 2005.

A strong supporter of President George W. Bush, Wilkins served as state chairman of the Bush–Cheney '04 campaign and as co-chair of the campaign in 2000. He was appointed by the President to the Board of Visitors to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2002.

Ambassador to Canada

On April 4, 2005, it was reported that Wilkins would be chosen as the new U.S. ambassador to Canada, replacing Paul Cellucci. President Bush officially nominated him for the post on April 27, and he formally became U.S. Ambassador to Canada on June 29 when he presented his credentials to Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. Before his appointment, Wilkins had only been to Canada once, when he was in the U.S. Army Reserve three decades prior.

The Wilkins' arrived in Canada in June 2005 and in less than nine months on the job, the Ambassador had travelled to every province and territory in Canada.

Upon his arrival in Canada, the Ambassador immediately pledged his steadfast commitment to "strengthening the ties that bind our two great nations." In an April 2008 interview, Wilkins reiterated that sentiment stating, “we have the greatest relationship and certainly the largest trading relationship the world's ever known, and I think the best relationship. To just remind ourselves on both sides of the border how important we are to each other and keep trying to make it stronger -- that's certainly my goal.”

In the first 20 months of his tenure as ambassador, the top irritant between the nations – softwood lumber – was resolved, despite protests by the Canadian lumber industry. In addition to the softwood lumber dispute, David Wilkins has addressed a number of other issues including the Northwest Passage, Rendition, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Canada’s role in Afghanistan.

Ambassador Wilkins will serve in Canada until the end of President Bush’s term in early 2009. He has been frequently named as a potential candidate for governor of South Carolina in the next election, however in August 2008 Ambassador Wilkins announced his intentions not to seek the 2010 Republican Gubernatorial nomination.

Clemson University Trusteeship

David H. Wilkins was elected by Clemson University to a life trustees seat on its 13 member board on March 28, 2007. Wilkins has served on Clemson University's board of visitors, was awarded an honorary doctorate of humanities from Clemson in 2003, and has earned the Alumni Association's Distinguished Service Award.

References

http://clemsonews.clemson.edu/WWW_releases/2007/March/gressette_wilkins.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/arar/

External links

Preceded by Paul Cellucci	US ambassador to Canada 2005 – present	Succeeded by --