Joseph C. Wilson

Joseph Charles Wilson IV (November 6, 1949 – September 27, 2019) was an American diplomat who was best known for his 2002 trip to Niger to investigate allegations that Saddam Hussein was attempting to purchase yellowcake uranium; his New York Times op-ed piece, "What I Didn't Find in Africa"; and the subsequent leaking by the Bush/Cheney administration of information pertaining to the identity of his wife Valerie Plame as a CIA officer. He also served as the CEO of a consulting firm he founded, JC Wilson International Ventures, and as the vice chairman of Jarch Capital, LLC.

Joseph Charles Wilson IV was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on November 6, 1949, to Joseph Charles Wilson III, and Phyllis (Finnell) Wilson; he grew up in California and Europe. He was raised in a "proud Republican family" in which "there [was] a long tradition of politics and service to the farm" and for which "[p]olitics was a staple around the table". Wilson's father Joe was a Marine pilot in World War II and narrowly escaped death by taking off immediately before the bombing of the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, in which 700 other American servicemen died.

In 1968, Wilson entered the University of California, Santa Barbara, majoring, he said, in "history, volleyball, and surfing" and maintaining a "C" average. He worked as a carpenter for five years after his 1972 graduation. Later, he received a graduate fellowship, studying public administration. Wilson was influenced by the Vietnam War protests of the late 1960s.

Having become fluent in French as a teenager, Wilson entered the US Foreign Service in 1976, where he would be employed until 1998.

From January 1976 through 1998, he was posted in five African nations; as a general services officer in Niamey, Niger, (his first assignment) he was "responsible for keeping the power on and the cars running, among other duties". From 1988 to 1991, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission (to US Ambassador to Iraq April Glaspie) at the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. In the wake of Saddam's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, he became the last American diplomat to meet with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, sternly telling him in very clear terms to leave Kuwait. When Hussein sent a note to Wilson (along with other embassy heads in Baghdad) threatening to execute anyone sheltering foreigners in Iraq as a deterrent, Wilson publicly repudiated the President by appearing at a press conference wearing a homemade noose around his neck and declaring, "If the choice is to allow American citizens to be taken hostage or to be executed, I will bring my own fucking rope."

Despite Hussein's warnings, Wilson sheltered more than 100 Americans at the embassy and successfully evacuated several thousand people (Americans and other nationals) from Iraq. For his actions, he was called "a true American hero" by President George H. W. Bush. From 1992 to 1995, he served as US ambassador to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe.

From 1995 to 1997, Wilson served as Political Advisor (POLAD) to the Commander in Chief of US Armed Forces, Europe (EUCOM), in Stuttgart, Germany. From 1997 until 1998, when he retired, he helped direct Africa policy as Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton and as National Security Council Senior Director for African Affairs.

After retiring from government service in 1998, Wilson managed JC Wilson International Ventures Corp., an international business development and management company. Early in 2007, Wilson became vice chairman of Jarch Capital, LLC., to advise the firm on expansion in areas of Africa considered "politically sensitive."