James Costos | |
---|---|
United States Ambassador to Spain | |
In office September 24, 2013 –January 18, 2017 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Alan Solomont |
Succeeded by | Duke Buchan |
United States Ambassador to Andorra | |
In office April 4,2014 –January 18,2017 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Alan Solomont |
Succeeded by | Duke Buchan |
Personal details | |
Born | 1963 (age 59–60) Lowell,Massachusetts,U.S. |
Citizenship | United States |
Political party | Democratic |
Domestic partner | Michael Smith |
Alma mater | University of Massachusetts Lowell |
Occupation | President Secuoya Studios |
James Costos (born 1963) is an American diplomat who was the United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra from 2013 to 2017. [1] He was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate on August 1,2013.
Outside of his diplomatic work,Costos served as a former executive for HBO,and is the current president of film production company Secuoya Studios. He has also been appointed as a member of the board of directors for the Spanish pharmaceutical company Grifols in October 2020,and the American LGBTQ advocacy group,Human Rights Campaign,in October 2021.
Costos was born in 1963 and grew up in Lowell,Massachusetts. He is a second-generation Greek-American,whose father served as a U.S. Marine and was stationed at Camp David during the Truman administration. [2] He is the first in his family to graduate college. He earned a degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1985. [3]
Ambassador Costos was a corporate leader and executive in the international retail and international entertainment industries,most notably at HBO and Tod's. He is an active supporter of humanitarian organizations,including the Human Rights Campaign and the Santa Monica Museum of Art,and an advocate for cultural institutions and cultural diplomacy. He has served on the board of directors of the Humane Society of the United States,the country's largest animal protection organization. [3]
President Obama nominated Costos for the position of U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Principality of Andorra on June 14,2013. [4] The U.S. Senate voted to confirm the nomination on August 1,2013,and Costos was sworn in on August 22,2013. [3] [5] He presented his credentials to the Spanish government in Madrid on September 24,2013. [5] He presented his credentials to the Co-Princes of Andorra in La Seu d'Urgell on April 4,2014,and in Paris on July 23,2014. [6]
His business career has made him an expert on the issue of the enforcement of laws against digital piracy,a particular concern of U.S. businesses with respect to Spain. His initial focus,he said,was on issues of international security and thanking Spain for allowing the U.S. to deploy part of its anti-missile shield defense and for hosting U.S. military bases. In September 2013,Costos visited the bases at Rota and Morón to mark the 60th anniversary of the agreement under which they were established. [7]
In July 2016,President Obama was the first sitting president to visit Spain in 15 years. Ambassador Costos accompanied President Obama,the first U.S. president to visit Naval Station Rota,where Costos oversaw the arrival of four U.S. Navy destroyers based there,as part of a NATO anti-missile defense shield. [8]
In his speech at Rota,President Obama said,"Spain is a strong NATO ally,we’re grateful for Spain’s many decades of hosting U.S. forces,and we’re major trading partners. That’s why the United States is deeply committed to maintaining our relationship with a strong,unified Spain. We need Spain’s continued contributions to the campaign against ISIL,to counter-terrorism efforts that prevent attacks,and to NATO efforts that enhance our defense and deterrence posture. We need a growing Spanish economy to help sustain trade,growth in the EU,and entrepreneurship so that globalization is creating jobs and opportunity for all people,not just a few at the top.” [9]
Building on the policy objectives of President Obama to promote global entrepreneurship,Ambassador Costos created and launched an event called InCubed (IN3) in June 2015,where innovators,investors and institutions would meet to network and exchange ideas. “You said you wanted access to Silicon Valley,”Costos told them. “Well,I have brought Silicon Valley to you." [10]
In October 2013 the Spanish government summoned him to address allegations that the National Security Agency had recently collected data on 60 million telephone calls in Spain. [11]
While visiting California in 2014,President Obama and his wife Michelle stayed at the Costos-Smith home. [12]
In June 2015,he joined other gay U.S. ambassadors in a statement supporting international trade agreements,linking open markets to the development of open societies that provide civil rights protections. [13]
In February 2017,Ambassador Costos joined the Board of Directors of PJT Partners,an advisory-focused investment bank. Paul J. Taubman is the chairman and CEO of PJT Partners. Mr. Taubman founded PJT Partners in early 2013 and,in October 2014,announced the intention to merge into the spun-off Blackstone advisory businesses. [14]
In April 2020,during the COVID-19 pandemic,Spain's Grupo Secuoya,owner of the Madrid studios used by Netflix for its first European Production Hub,named Ambassador Costos,former HBO Executive,as president of Secuoya Studios,its TV fiction-film content production arm. [15]
Costos was appointed in October 2020,to the board of directors of Grifols S.A.,a Spanish global biotherapeutics company listed on the IBEX 35. Grifols employs 24,000 people and had revenues of 5.1 billion euros in 2019,which grew by 13.6%,while net profit increased by 4.8% to 625 million euros. [16]
Grifols began Phase 3 clinical trials in patients with COVID-19 with its therapeutic manufactured in Clayton,North Carolina. Grifols is manufacturing the experimental therapy from the plasma of healthy,recovered COVID-19 patients,and was the first to deploy a large-scale collection of this plasma,as well as the first to manufacture and deliver the clinical anti-SARS-CoV-2 hyperimmune globulin. [17]
In October 2021,Costos was appointed to the Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors and the HRC Foundation Board of Directors. [18] When Costos was appointed U.S. Ambassador in 2013,the Human Rights Campaign said "Costos is a true citizen of the world,he has incredible global business experience and is a respected and innovative leader. He has solid business and political relationships at the highest levels and a proven commitment to community,philanthropy,human rights,and democracy that make him an outstanding choice to be the nation's next Ambassador to Spain.” [19]
President Biden,in June 2022,appointed Costos to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board,an “educational and cultural exchange”network that connects students and professionals to international graduate and study programs. Costos said,“It’s a great privilege to continue the work I did when I was at the embassy,I always wanted to spend a lot of my time with the next generation of folks who are coming up behind us,because they will be our future leaders,and we have to invest our time and our resources in them." [20]
Costos characterized President Trump's handling of COVID-19 as a complete failure,"my country failed the world in this effort by not being adequately prepared for the pandemic and by recklessly refusing to take the lead on a coordinated global response." He insists that "competent leadership and a firm reliance on science is required to take the necessary actions to save our planet for future generations to come. Science and research are not fake news." [21]
Costos explained,"We must work to restore trust in our leadership and join together to solve our world problems. Electing former Vice-President Joe Biden to the White House in November is the fundamental first step Americans should take to heal the soul and spirit of our nation,with the concomitant goal of immediately refocusing our nation’s global agenda." [21]
Costos lives in Los Angeles,California,with his partner Michael S. Smith,the official interior designer for the Obama White House. He is a vegetarian but imposed no dietary restrictions on embassy functions. On the subject of LGBT rights,Costos has said "I am not an activist. I broadly support human rights for straight,gay,women’s issues. And I just happen to be gay... This doesn't define me as a person,but it is part of who I am. It's like being a vegetarian:it's one more facet of James Costos." [7] He said he and Smith had been welcomed in Spain "with great accommodation" and that because Spain already provides LGBT civil rights,the role he and Smith played was symbolic for those who still suffered from a lack of enforcement in support of their rights:"What we can do through our messaging is give a sense of hope." [22]
After leaving the White House in January 2017,the Obamas departed Washington for Palm Springs,where they were guests in the Costos-Smith home for several days before traveling to the British Virgin Islands to stay at the home of Sir Richard Branson. [23]
Juan Carlos I is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until his abdication on 19 June 2014. In Spain, since his abdication, Juan Carlos has usually been referred to as the rey emérito.
Infanta Cristina is the younger daughter of King Juan Carlos I and his wife, Queen Sofía. She is sixth in the line of succession to the Spanish throne, after her brother King Felipe VI's children, her sister Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo, and Elena's children.
Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party leader.
Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano is Queen of Spain as the wife of King Felipe VI.
Josep Borrell Fontelles is a Spanish politician serving as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy since 1 December 2019. A member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), he served as President of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2007 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation in the Government of Spain from 2018 to 2019.
The 2007 Morocco–Spain diplomatic conflict was a short-lived disturbance of international relations between Morocco and Spain that arose after the announcement of the impending visit of the King of Spain to the Spanish-ruled autonomous cities Ceuta and Melilla, which are claimed by Morocco.
The 2015 Madrilenian regional election was held on Sunday, 24 May 2015, to elect the 10th Assembly of the Community of Madrid. All 129 seats in the Assembly were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
Gabriela Alejandra Rivadeneira Burbano is an Ecuadorian politician. She was President of the National Assembly of Ecuador between May 2013 and May 2017. Previously she was Governor of Imbabura Province from 2011 to 2012.
James Walter Brewster Jr., commonly known as Wally Brewster, served as the United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate of the United States on November 14, 2013. Brewster was the first person in a same-sex marriage to represent the United States at the ambassadorial level in the Americas. He left office on January 20, 2017. Ambassador Brewster currently serves as a Principal for Insignias Global, an international political and brand advisory firm. He also serves on the Advisory Board for the Atlantic Council, Parliamentarians for Global Action and the National Democratic institute.
Pablo Iglesias Turrión is a Spanish political scientist and former politician. During his political career, he served as Second Deputy Prime Minister and as Minister of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda of the Government of Spain from 2020 to 2021. He also served as Member of the Congress of Deputies from 2016 to 2021, representing Madrid. Iglesias is a co-founder of Podemos, a left-wing political party that he led from 2014 until his resignation in 2021.
Juan Carlos Monedero Fernández-Gala is a Spanish political scientist and writer. He is a professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and a host of La Tuerka. He was one of the leading members of Podemos until he resigned in April 2015.
Eva María Isanta Foncuberta is a Spanish actress, known mostly for her roles as Beatriz Villarejo in Aquí no hay quien viva, and Maite Figueroa in La que se avecina.
Javier Tebas Medrano is a Spanish lawyer and the president of Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, the association responsible for administering Spain's two highest-tier professional football leagues. First elected in April 2013, he was re-elected for a third term in December 2019.He resigned in November 2023 to stand for re-election.
An independence referendum was held on 1 October 2017 in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, passed by the Parliament of Catalonia as the Law on the Referendum on Self-determination of Catalonia and called by the Generalitat de Catalunya. The referendum, known in the Spanish media by the numeronym 1-O, was declared unconstitutional on 7 September 2017 and suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain after a request from the Spanish government, who declared it a breach of the Spanish Constitution. Additionally, in early September the High Court of Justice of Catalonia had issued orders to the police to try to prevent the illegal referendum, including the detention of various persons responsible for its preparation. Due to alleged irregularities during the voting process, as well as the use of force by the National Police Corps and Civil Guard, international observers invited by the Generalitat declared that the referendum failed to meet the minimum international standards for elections.
Pablo Casado Blanco is a Spanish former politician. He was a member of the Congress of Deputies representing Madrid until 4 April 2022, having previously represented Ávila between 2011 and 2019. From 2015 to 2018, he also served as vice secretary general of communication of the People's Party (PP). From July 2018 until April 2022, he was the president of the PP.
Carmen Lamela Díaz is a Spanish judge. Lamela serves as examining magistrate at the Third Court of the National Court of Spain. Her area of expertise is criminal law.
Isabel Natividad Díaz Ayuso is a Spanish politician and journalist serving as the president of the Community of Madrid since 2019. She is the president of the People's Party of the Community of Madrid.
Ten is a Spanish free-to-air television channel run by Central Broadcaster Media, belongs to Grupo Secuoya.
José Manuel Villarejo Pérez is a Spanish businessman and a former officer in Spain's National Police Corps. He was arrested in 2017 and could face a jail term of 109 years if convicted. He is accused of involvement in a network of corrupt politicians, businesspeople, police officers and media figures known as the “sewers of state”. His trial started in October 2021.
Antonio García Ferreras is a Spanish journalist and television presenter.