Craig Roberts Stapleton

Bush taps top fund-raiser as ambassador to France

(Washington-AP, Apr. 13, 2005 7:33 AM) A Greenwich man is being tapped to be the next U.S. ambassador to France.

President Bush has chosen Craig Stapleton, a cousin by marriage and top campaign fund-raiser, for the post. If the Senate confirms Stapleton, a Democrat, he will get the plum post in Paris after serving earlier in the Bush administration as ambassador to the Czech Republic. Stapleton was the U.S. ambassador in Prague from August 2001 to January 2004, when he returned to his home in Greenwich to help Bush's successful re-election campaign. Stapleton and his wife were among the top fund-raisers for Bush in both the 2000 and 2004 election cycles.

Craig Stapleton is married to President George Walker Bush's cousin Dorothy.

In April 2005, the Washington Post reported that Stapleton had been appointed U.S. ambassador to France.

Nomination
According to OpenSecrets.org,


 * "Being a big contributor to the president and his party gives one a good chance of getting an ambassadorship. But being a big contributor and a relative of the president certainly increases the odds in one's favor. Craig Stapleton, nominated as the next ambassador to the Czech Republic, can sport both credentials: a substantial contributor (he contributed $41,000 to Republican candidates and party committees in 1999-2000) and the president's relative (his wife, Dorothy, is a Bush cousin). Stapleton, his wife, and his daughter gave a total of $61,500 to the GOP in 1999-2000, including $4,000 to the Bush campaign and $5,000 to the Bush-Cheney recount fund. Stapleton is president of Marsh and McLennan Real Estate Advisors Inc. He is a former partner with President Bush in the Texas Rangers baseball team, and served on the board of the Peace Corps under Bush's father. He and his wife were both listed among the Bush campaign's Pioneer fund-raisers."

Arrival in Prague
August 17, 2001, U.S. Department of State: "Craig Roberts Stapleton, U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic, arrived in Prague on August 24 and presented his credentials to President Vaclav Havel on August 28, 2001. Ambassador Stapleton was sworn in by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in Washington, D.C. on August 17, after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 3.

"President George W. Bush nominated Craig Stapleton as Ambassador to the Czech Republic on April 6, 2001. Prior to assuming his duties in the Czech Republic, Mr. Stapleton was a real estate executive, serving since 1982 as President of Marsh and McLennan Real Estate Advisors, Inc., New York, New York, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Marsh and McLennan Companies. His responsibilities included negotiating office leases in the major cities of the United States, Canada and Europe.

"Mr. Stapleton previously served on the Board of Directors of a number of publicly traded U.S. companies, including Alleghany Properties, Cornerstone Properties, Security Capital Corporation, Sonoma West and T.B. Woods. He was a partner of President Bush in the ownership of the Texas Rangers from 1989-98.

"Mr. Stapleton's charitable involvement has focused on private education. He has served as a Trustee of the Brunswick School, Greenwich, CT, and numerous committees at Harvard including Chairman of the Committee to Nominate Overseers, the Committee of University Resources, the Visiting Committee for Harvard College, the Schools and Scholarship Committee, the Harvard Alumni Association and the Harvard Capital Campaign. He served on the Board of the Peace Corps under President George Herbert Walker Bush."

Official Portrait. - Czech Embassy: Craig Roberts Stapleton, U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic, presented his credentials to President Vaclav Havel on August 28, 2001, after having been nominated by President George W. Bush as Ambassador to the Czech Republic in April, 2001.

"He is a graduate of the Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard College (magna cum laude) and Harvard Business School.

"Mr. Stapleton was a real estate executive, serving since 1982 as President of Marsh and McLennan Real Estate Advisors, Inc., New York. His responsibilities included negotiating office leases in the major cities of the United States, Canada and Europe.

"Mr. Stapleton also served on the Board of Directors of a number of publicly traded U.S. companies. His charitable involvement has focused on private education. He has served as a Trustee of the Brunswick School, Greenwich, CT, and numerous committees at Harvard. Moreover, he served on the Board of the Peace Corps under President George H. W. Bush."

Analysis
Morons Are Everywhere, May 17, 2003: "Right now we've got L. Paul Bremer heading up Iraq. Not one media outlet has reported WHO the guy is. He is (was) the head of Marsh Crisis Consulting (ie., Crisis Consulting Practice of Marsh, Inc.) which is a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies. The President of the real estate division was Craig Stapleton who is now the Ambassador to the Czech Republic. Craig Stapleton is the husband of Dorothy, George Bush's cousin. Marsh & McLennan specializes in high-risk services for international corporations. All very cozy."

Stapleton steps down
White House For Sale Blog, September 25, 2003, "A Pioneer Comes Home":


 * "The Prague Post reports that a Pioneer from the 2000 campaign is stepping down as ambassador to the Czech Republic. Craig Stapleton is leaving his post to help out on the 2004 campaign. President Bush has nominated Alabama businessman William Cabaniss, Jr., to fill the spot, subject to Senate confirmation. Although Cabaniss is not a Pioneer for Bush, don't jump to the conclusion that diplomatic appointments have ceased to be paybacks for donors and fundraisers. Cabaniss and his wife have given $34,050 to Republican candidates since 1999, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign contributions."

SourceWatch resources

 * Bush Family Genealogy
 * Bush's Rangers