Paul Cellucci
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Argeo Paul Cellucci, better known as Paul Cellucci, is an American politician and statesman, and former Ambassador to Canada. He was born in Hudson, Massachusetts on April 24, 1948 into an Italian-American political family and graduated from Boston College and Boston College Law School.
He served as a member of the Massachusetts state house of representatives from 1977 to 1985. He then became a member of the Massachusetts state senate, serving from 1985 to 1991. From 1991 to 1997 he was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, becoming the Acting Governor of Massachusetts in 1997 upon the resignation of William Weld to pursue the ambassadorship to Mexico. He was elected in his own right in 1998 and sworn in as Governor of Massachusetts in 1998.
Cellucci weathered a political firestorm when it was revealed that he owed $750,000 of personal credit while advocating fiscal austerity. He successfully fought off a primary challenge from State Treasurer Joe Malone in 1998 that sank after a scandal within the state treasury. In 2001 he resigned to become Ambassador to Canada.
After 9/11, Cellucci has commended how Canada handled the crisis, especially Operation Yellow Ribbon. He has mentioned the operation many times, as well as the memorial service on Parliament Hill to honor the victims as some of the ways how Canada responded.
Cellucci's daughter Anne is married to a Canadian hockey player, Craig Adams.
On January 5, 2005 it was announced that Cellucci would be seeking to leave his ambassadorial position by March 2005, and would be entering the private sector. On March 18, Cellucci was appointed a vice-president of Magna Entertainment.
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Controversy as ambassador
In April 2003 Cellucci was condemned in many Canadian media sources when he spoke out against Canada for its lack of support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
He also earned the ire of many Canadians for his repeated warnings about the political consequences for Canada if it opted not to join the U.S. missile defence program, or pass a bill decriminalizing marijuana.
These statements, frequently perceived as implied threats, caused Cellucci to be sarcastically christened "the U.S. ambassador-turned-proconsul" by former Liberal cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy in an opinion piece titled Say no to missile defence published on April 29, 2003 in The Globe and Mail. Canada has since declined to participate in the U.S. missile defence program.
See also
External links
- Official biography (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/6306.htm)
- CBC news story of Cellucci's appointment as Ambassador (http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/CBC/2001/02/13/ambassador_010213)
- CBC news story about Cellucci's planned departure from Canada (http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/01/04/cellucci050104.html)
| Preceded by: William Weld | Governor of Massachusetts 1997 – 2001 | Succeeded by: Jane Swift |
| Preceded by: Evelyn Murphy | Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts 1991 – 1997 | Succeeded by: Jane Swift |