Charles W. Larson, Jr.

Charles Larson, Jr. specializes in communications with the legislative and executive branch of the federal government, media relations, and international business and trade.

Charles Larson was appointed by President George W. Bush to be the U.S. ambassador to Latvia. After confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Chuck was sworn in by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Jan. 7, 2008, and served in this capacity until Jan. 20, 2009.

Prior to his appointment, Chuck served from 2003 to 2007 as an Iowa senator. From 1993 to 2001, he was a member of the Iowa House. While serving in the House, Larson chaired the House Economic Development Committee and the House Judiciary Committee.

As a major in the U.S. Army Reserves, Chuck served for a year in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service in combat and the Combat Action Badge. As a result of this experience, Chuck wrote Heroes Among Us, which profiles 29 heroes from the War on Terrorism. It was released in January 2008 by Penguin Publishing Group.

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.

Chuck is a 1992 graduate of the University of Iowa, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He graduated with honors and distinction and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honors society. He received his Juris Doctorate degree with distinction in 1996 from the University of Iowa College of Law. In May 2008, Latvian President Valdis Zatlers awarded Ambassador Larson the Order of the Three Stars, which is Latvia’s highest award for his service to the country.